NEWS

Meet Our Honorees! We are thrilled to announce the winners of the William R. Ginsberg Stewardship Award: Kathy, Matt and Heather Longyear. They will be joined by Matt and Heather's children as three generations of Longyears are honored for their land stewardship and community service. We will also honor Zoe Keller as she accepts the Emerging Leader Award. This award is new for 2026, and we cannot think of a more deserving inaugural winner than Zoe, an acclaimed artist and advocate. Join us at our 14th annual Vernal Fling, May 16 at White Feather Farm, to celebrate with the Longyear family and Zoe. Tickets are on sale now. Just click on the Vernal Fling page in the menu below for all the details.

Around 100 community members participated in WLC's "How is the Sawkill?" event March 14. One of the clearest takeaways was that understanding the Sawkill means looking at it from many angles. Through mapping, ecological data, personal memory and art, the creek comes into focus not just as a waterway but as a relationship shaped by place and community. As Judy Abbott shared, the Munsee Lenape understood waterways not as human-centered resources but as living relationships among all beings. That perspective reminds us that caring for the Sawkill is about stewardship and reciprocity. A video of excerpts from the event will be available in the coming weeks.

As part of our 2026 program theme "Ecologies of Water," WLC is excited to present “Know Your Watershed,” a monthly series designed to deepen our understanding of water in the Woodstock and eastern Catskills areas. Be sure to check back during the first week of each month to learn with us.

Our "Ecologies of Water" program slate for 2025 as well as our collaboration with the "Mapping the Sawkill" project got global attention when the Drinkable Rivers organization featured WLC staff member Miranda Javid in an interview on its website. Drinkable Rivers is based in The Netherlands and its focus is on working toward a world where water from rivers is clean enough to drink.

The Woodstock Land Conservancy's support for extending a shared-use rail trail through the undesignated section of the U&D Corridor from the Ashokan Rail Trail to Kingston received coverage in the November issue of the Chronogram.

Two of our preserves with public trails served as interactive classrooms for dozens of outdoor enthusiasts who were brought to the Hudson Valley by national retailer REI. They took a geological tour at Sloan Gorge and identified mushrooms at Israel Wittman Sanctuary before discussing the Leave No Trace concepts.

Woodstock Land Conservancy is thrilled to have been selected as the top Environmental Organization of the Year by Chronogram readers!

Our staff is proud to honor a volunteer each month for dedicated service to our stewardship initiatives, educational programs, advocacy campaigns and/or special events.