What We Do

RESEARCH

The Research Program at the Preserve is designed to utilize and expand upon Dr. Kudish’s four decades of studies. Current studies include but are not limited to:

1. Why some Catskills summits have fir caps while adjacent peaks are all-hardwoods.
2. The effects of American Indians in the East Branch Delaware Valley may have been far greater than originally thought, especially in the burning of forests.
3. Why the geological basins in which bogs formed are all the same age, yet the age of the peat at the bottom of them varies so widely.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

The Forest History Program works from the ground up to include bedrock geology, glacial geology, soils (the meeting place of the geological and biological worlds), producers: plants, consumers: animals, decomposers, and climatology.  

The Human History Program illustrates the impact of human disturbances to the natural cycle of northeast deciduous forests.  Focuses include:  American Indian and European Settlements, Agricultural Clearing, Field Abandonment, and Forest Succession.

The Botany Program is designed to increase the number of individuals familiar with natural and introduced vegetation of the Catskill Mountains.  From botany 101 to studies of individual species the program includes: historic uses of edible and medicinal plants, allelopathy, and foraging for food.

The Clean Drinking Water Program is designed to bring further awareness to the critical importance of the global water supply. The preserve is located at he headwaters of the Delaware River and is on the northwestern border of the New York City Watershed, the largest unfiltered drinking water supply in the United States.  As the source of cool, clear springs and streams, it is vitally important that the water quality from stream to tap remains healthy and sufficient.  9 Million people in the New York Metropolitan area are dependent upon sound stewardship and active participation in the protection of the most vital resource to all living things.  The Clean Drinking Water Program includes all aspects of global water awareness.

RECREATION

 

The trail system on the Preserve showcases a prime example of the mosaic of Catskill Mountain lands.  Handmade stone walls that once lined likely Hardenburgh patent pastures now lay below stands of mature Beech trees, open fields give way to native blueberries, and suddenly you find a boulder – a gift from a glacier.

The Preserve offers a relaxing getaway, an intense week of field study, or a scout sleep away with portable, temporary shelters and basic primitive facilities.  Additionally the Preserve will showcase historically appropriate structures that may include lean-to’s, wigwams, longhouses and log cabins.

Annual gatherings are designed to build community one stick at a time and reconnect visitors with the natural cycle of the world around us.

OUTDOOR ART

 

The Outdoor Art Program offers an alternative both to traditional art venues, and to formal methods of creating and presenting works to the public. The program invites multi-media artists to reflect on ecological issues, to consider the natural context of the land, and to experiment with non-traditional materials. The Outdoor Art Program provides professional opportunities for visual and performing artists, interpretive programs for the public, and arts-in-education programs for students.