What's Happening: Winter 2012
Emerald Ash Borer Information meeting
Wednesday, December 14, 7 pm
Woodstock Town Offices (Comeau Main Room), 45 Comeau Drive, Woodstock
The Emerald Ash Borer poses a serious threat to the health of our regional forests. Discovered in Ulster County in 2010, Michael Callan of the DEC will be updating us on the latest work regarding this invasive threat and what communities can do to help. We will also be joined by several local arborists who will tell us best practices for homeowner management.
Donor Appreciation Day
Sunday, January 1, 1 - 3 pm
Kleinert/James Gallery, Woodstock
Please join us for music, food and conviviality as we celebrate the new year and everyone who makes our work possible!
Previous WLC events
Art for the Land: A Fine Art Auction to benefit the Woodstock Land Conservancy
Sunday, October 23, Live auction begins at 1 pm
Fletcher Gallery, 40 Mill Hill Road 
The online catalogue will be available for viewing starting October 6 at www.fletchergallery.com.
Join us for a festive opening to preview the artworks on Thursday, October 20, 5 -8 pm. Previews will also be available Friday and Saturday, October 21 and 22, 12 to 6pm each day.
All are invited to the live auction on Sunday, October 23. On Auction day, final viewing starts at 10am and the Auction will begin at 1pm
Geology Walk with Bob Titus at Sloan Gorge Preserve
Sunday, September 25, 10 am - 12:30 pm
Weather update Saturday evening, August 24 - Though some rain is predicted for tomorrow morning, we're going to go ahead and walk tomorrow at 10 am. Please dress for the weather with boots and rain gear. Hopefully we won't need it!
Join us on a walk exploring the geological history of Sloan Gorge Preserve. Our guide will be Bob Titus, a professor of Geology at Hartwick College, who created the geology trail at this 88-acre WLC property in West Saugerties. This is a rare opportunity to see the preserve through his eyes and expertise. Looking at massive ledges of Catskill sandstone, we’ll travel back in time 400 million years, when mountains the size of the Himalayas towered over the Catskill Delta. We’ll learn how the gorge was formed and why such a steep narrow canyon has such a tiny little creek.
You can read more about Sloan Gorge in this article by Professor Titus.
Scarecrow Fest!
Saturday, October 1, 10 am - 4 pm
Zena Cornfield, Woodstock NY (914 Zena Road, 12498)
A day of fun on the Zena Cornfield, featuring food, music, activities, and Scarecrows made by you, or your favorite Woodstock folks. For complete details, check out our Scarecrow Fest page!
Where's the Zena Cornfield? Above is the approximate address, but click here a map & directions.
Make a day of it in Woodstock! Join the Woodstock Guild for their Cornutopia event on October 1 at 7 pm. Put on your dancing shoes and head to the Byrdcliffe Barn for CORNUTOPIA, celebrating local musical talent and regional food. Musical entertainment will be provided by Mark Houghtaling, Neil Herlands and the Kurt Henry Band. Food from the grill will be cooked by Peter Barrett, food and wine editor at Chronogram Magazine. For details and to purchase tickets, click here.
Family Walk to Celebrate Ulster County Creek Week
with Matt Helffrich and Rosalind Dickinson
Saturday, September 17, 10:30 am
Comeau Property, 45 Comeau Drive, Woodstock
Educators Rosalind and Matt will lead us on an exploration of what's happening in the woods as summer draws to a close. We'll also check out the health of the stream in conjunction with Ulster County Creek Week. This walk is geared towards children and families.
Please bring sturdy shoes - we'll meet in the upper parking lot.
Introduction to Permaculture talk with Ethan Roland
Friday, August 19, 6 pm, Woodstock Community Center, 56 Rock City Road
Have you heard about permaculture but still don't know exactly what it is? Are you familiar with permaculture principles but aren't sure how to start applying those principles to your own land? Please join us for an introduction to permaculture with permaculture designer Ethan Roland.
Ethan is an international expert in sustainable agriculture, ecological design, and permaculture based in the Hudson River Valley. Working with land-owners and organizations, Et
han's company AppleSeed Permaculture LLC transforms underused land into productive and profitable farms and agro-ecosystems.
Ethan will also discuss the Carbon Farming Course he organizes, which combines cutting-edge agricultural practices with the tools of ecological design to build healthy soil, profitable farms, and keep carbon in the soil (and out of our atmosphere!).
Top farmers and researchers from around the world will gather at this unique event in 2012 to train farmers, policy-makers, investors, and land-owners in the best practices of carbon farming. To read more about Ethan and his work, visit www.appleseedpermaculture.com.
Meet the Raptors with Ellen Kalish
Saturday, July 16, 10 am, 3512 Route 212, Bearsville (please note the new location!)
Ravensbeard Wildlife Center is a group of wildlife rehabilitators, naturalists, educators and concerned people committed to building a broader community with respect for all nature. They provide wildlife rehabilitation and work in communities and schools to promote peaceful cohabitation with our natural surroundings. Join us as Ellen Kalish introduces us to the raptors of Ravensbeard. We'll see and learn about the birds of prey in our area. This event was a huge success last year among adults and children alike.
To read more about Ellen and Ravensbeard's work, visit www.ravensbeard.org.
Directions: 3512 Route 212 is located two doors west of the Cub Market and Bearsville Post Office, across from the Woodstock Highway Garage. Please park on the road opposite the garage or in the Highway Department parking lot.
Mindfulness Meditation on Mt Tobias
Sunday June 5, 8 am – 11:15 am, followed by a bring-your-own-lunch together
What does it mean to be on the land with gentle attention to the present moment? How does attention to the present moment affect our relationship to the land? This introduction to the nature of mindfulness meditation will include a walking meditation in the beautiful forest and old logging trails of a 100-acre property on the shoulder of Mt Tobias. Our guides for the morning are Ajahn Sundara, a French-born ordained monastic in the Buddhist Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah, and Rabbi Joanna Katz, who with Rabbi Jeffrey Roth founded the Elay Chayyim Center for Jewish Spirituality and, more recently, the Awakened Heart Project for Jewish Meditation and Contemplative Judaism. Rabbis Roth and Katz are also meditation and spiritual healing practitioners at the Stone Ridge Healing Arts center.
First Annual Vernal Fling
Saturday, April 30, Byrdcliffe Barn, 5:30 pm - 8 pm
Celebrate burgeoning spring with WLC as we honor Jerry Wapner with the William R.Ginsberg Stewardship award. Join us for drinks, dinner, music and dancing with Blue Food, and a silent auction of exceptional items. Space is limited, so reserve your tickets now!
Birding Walk with Peter Schoenberger
Saturday, April 16, Wilson State Park, 7 am 
If you've never had the pleasure of joining Peter for a birding walk, this is your chance! Come meet the Blue-headed Vireo (pictured here) and other winged and feathered inhabitants of Willow under Peter's expert guidance.
If you're an experienced birder or if this is your first time, Peter's keen eye and enthusiasm make for a memorable morning. Photo: Peter Schoenberger
Emerald Ash Borer Informational Event
Thursday, March 10, 6:30 pm, Woodstock Community Center
The Emerald Ash Borer was discovered in our area last summer. This infestation poses a serious environmental threat to our region. If you want to learn more about Emerald Ash Borer, steps homeowners can take, and the Woodstock community action plan, please join us for this informational event. A DEC representative will make a presentation, and Jim Hansen will talk about his EAB red ribbon project in Woodstock.
Why Food, Farms and Eating Local Matter: A Talk with Joel Salatin and Hudson Valley Farmers
Joel Salatin is coming to Woodstock! 
On Saturday, February 19, the Woodstock Land Conservancy and the Woodstock Farm Festival will host a talk with America's most influential farmer, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms.
A humorous and dynamic speaker, Joel will talk about importance of local food to our economy, our environment, and our health, and have you thinking about food in a whole new way. A panel discussion featuring Hudson Valley processors, farmers, and policy makers titled ‘The State of the Food System in the Hudson Valley,’ will follow Mr. Salatin’s talk.
If you’re interested in sustainable agriculture, or just want to know how to make better choices about the food you eat, you won’t want to miss this program.
Joel is a visionary for creating a more sustainable food system and is a passionate defender of local food. He has been featured in The Omnivore's Dilemma, Food, Inc. and Fresh: the movie. If you're not yet familiar with his work, check out Polyface Farms and his bio here.
We are very excited for our panel, where we will be joined by regional farmers, processors, and policy makers working to support and expand our local food system. These good folks are Matt Longyear of Longyear Farm, Ken Migliorelli of Migliorelli's, Miriam Latzer of Loose Caboose Farm, Jim Hyland of Farm to Table Co-packers, Sara Grady of Glynwood Center and Don Lewis of Wild Hive Farm. The panel will be moderated by Sabine Hrechdakian, former WLC board member, a founder of the Woodstock Farm Festival, and former head of Publicity and Special Projects at Greenmarket.
Sloan Gorge Preserve
The Woodstock Land Conservancy's Sloan Gorge Preserve opened to the public in June 2007. Located at the foot of Overlook Mountain on the Woodstock-Saugerties town line, the 88-acre Preserve is a treasure trove of mixed hardwood and coniferous forests, vernal pools, a seasonal stream, and bluestone quarries, and has the first interpretive “geology trail” in the area. Read more about Sloan Gorge in the article by Robert Titus in the Spring 2007 issue of Kaatskill Life.
Directions to Sloan Gorge. From the center of Woodstock, take Rock City Road .6 mile, then turn right on Glasco Turnpike. Go 1.7 mi and then turn left on West Saugerties Rd. After 1.1 mi, turn right on Goat Hill Rd. Bear right at the corner again for .1 mi to Stoll Rd. Turn left on Stoll Road. After .2 mi you’ll see the WLC kiosk on the left. Please park only in the Sloan Gorge parking lot.
Birding at Sloan Gorge. Photo by Sonya Shoptaugh.
Landscape Forever, a remarkable collaboration between WLC and the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW), remains available through the exhibition catalog. Newly-commissioned work by ten local photographers provides a unique and inspiring look at lands that WLC has been instrumental in protecting through easements, purchase, or partnerships with conservation organizations and agencies. Curated by Dion Ogust, the exhibition catalog includes work by Richard Edelman, Gay Leonhardt, Bill Miles, Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott, Fawn Potash, Peter Schoenberger, Carla Shapiro, and Williams & Russ. The exhibit was on view at CPW in January and February, 2010. The catalog is available for purchase ($20) by calling John Winter at 347-408-1273.
Woodstock Elementary School presents a Flickr exhibition of student work made in conjunction with the Landscape Forever exhibit. For more information and to see a slideshow of the student exhibit, click here.