SUNDAY, APRIL 22

Nature Walk and Birding at Bog Meadow Brook Trail.

9-11:30am (meet at Meadowbrook Road trailhead)

Naturalist Sue Pierce will lead a nature walk and birding adventure.

This walk will be a lot of fun so come prepared with proper spring/mud season footwear, bug repellant, binoculars, and your camera! We are asking participants to please leave their four-legged family members at home so that the wildlife and birds are not scared off.

Sue is a local nature enthusiast who lives in Hudson Falls, New York.  She counts Henry David Thoreau as her hero, and recommends his Journals to anyone for inspiration and insight into how anyone, anywhere can develop a rewarding relationship with the natural world. Sue has been on the board of the Southern Adirondack Audubon Society, and is a member of the Friends of Moreau Lake State Park. She enjoys nature photography and you can follow her blog.

SUNDAY, APRIL 22

Trail cleanup at Orra Phelps Nature Preserve.

10am-Noon.

Join us at Orra Phelps Nature Preserve to help with clean up. Saratoga PLAN will provide trash bags. Bring appropriate footwear for spring/mud season, gloves, bug repellant, and long-handled “grabbers”.

The stewards of Saratoga PLAN work tirelessly to keep our trails open, clean and safe for the public to use all year long. Unfortunately, some trails still receive more than their fair share of junk and garbage left behind by those less conscientious about the environment and we could use your help cleaning up.

SUNDAY, APRIL 22

Hemlock scouting at LeVine Preserve.

10am-Noon.

PLAN Stewardship Coordinator Greg Redling will lead a hemlock scouting excursion at LeVine Preserve. Hemlocks are a valuable resource in New York State for many reasons, and conserving hemlock trees is vastly important for ecosystem health and for the many benefits they provide to humans and wildlife.

Hemlocks fulfill a variety of essential ecosystem roles, making them a necessary component of a healthy landscape.  They provide food and shelter for wildlife across the landscape, and they protect and filter water sources that are valuable to animals and humans alike.

Deer, moose, porcupine, grouse, squirrel, and mice all eat hemlock, especially during the winter when other food sources may be scarce.  Hemlock groves also provide excellent sources of cover because of they have a dense canopy and open understory.