Posts Tagged ‘quarry trail’

AWSMP Hosts Successful Fall Foliage Walk

Posted on: October 6th, 2020 by Brent Gotsch
AWSMP Edu­ca­tor Matt Savat­gy teach­es about water­sheds dur­ing a hike on the Ashokan Quar­ry Trail

Last week on the morn­ing of Octo­ber 3rd, the Ashokan Water­shed Stream Man­age­ment Pro­gram (AWSMP) host­ed a fall foliage walk on the recent­ly opened Ashokan Quar­ry Trail in Olive­bridge, NY. AWSMP has a goal of host­ing safe, social­ly dis­tanced, in-per­son events if con­di­tions allow. While it may have been a lit­tle ear­ly to expe­ri­ence the fall col­ors at their peak, there was per­fect autumn weath­er and all ten par­tic­i­pants had an excel­lent time.

The Ashokan Quar­ry Trail opened ear­li­er this year and is an easy 2‑mile loop that can be com­plet­ed and enjoyed by hik­ers of all abil­i­ty lev­els. Key points of inter­est includ­ed the on-site quar­ry where stone used in the con­struc­tion of the Ashokan Reser­voir was har­vest­ed, an aban­doned rail­road grade and load­ing sta­tion, and a scenic vista where sev­er­al local moun­tain peaks could be viewed.  Along the route, AWSMP edu­ca­tors taught par­tic­i­pants about water­shed sci­ence, for­est ecol­o­gy, the his­to­ry of the site and its impor­tance in the con­struc­tion of the Ashokan Reser­voir.

AWSMP nor­mal­ly attends many com­mu­ni­ty events and func­tions through­out the year in the Ashokan Water­shed. How­ev­er, due to the ongo­ing COVID-19 pan­dem­ic, many of those events have been can­celled or post­poned. In an effort to keep in touch with our stream­side landown­ers and every­one who enjoys and ben­e­fits from the Ashokan Water­shed, AWSMP has shift­ed the major­i­ty of its edu­ca­tion and out­reach pro­gram­ming to an online for­mat. AWSMP edu­ca­tors have post­ed a num­ber edu­ca­tion­al videos to our YouTube page so be sure to check those out.

When New York entered Phase 4 of reopen­ing ear­li­er this year, AWSMP insti­tut­ed sev­er­al out­door, social­ly dis­tanced events. If con­di­tions and pub­lic health direc­tives allow, AWSMP hopes to have more of these types of events this win­ter as well as next spring and sum­mer.

Please vis­it the AWSMP web­site for the most up-to-date list­ings of events (online and in-per­son) and stay in touch through our Face­book, Twit­ter, and Insta­gram accounts.

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Ashokan Quarry Trail Fall Foliage Watershed Walk, October 3rd

Posted on: September 10th, 2020 by Brent Gotsch
View from the Quarry Trail
A view from the Ashokan Quar­ry Trail

Join the Ashokan Water­shed Stream Man­age­ment Pro­gram (AWSMP) for a water­shed walk along the Ashokan Quar­ry Trail in Olive­bridge, NY. This excit­ing pro­gram is open to any­one, but is designed for youth and fam­i­lies. Par­tic­i­pants under the age of 8 must be accom­pa­nied by a par­ent or guardian. Cor­nell Coop­er­a­tive Exten­sion of Ulster Coun­ty edu­ca­tors will lead a hike along the trail to learn about the Ashokan Water­shed and the his­to­ry of the Yale Quar­ry area. We will also spend time learn­ing about the plants and ani­mals along the trail. A focus point will be a panoram­ic view of the east­ern sec­tion of the Ashokan Water­shed in its fall splen­dor approx­i­mate­ly 1 mile up the trail.

Due to NYS phys­i­cal dis­tanc­ing guide­lines, the walk will be lim­it­ed to 12 indi­vid­u­als. All par­tic­i­pants must agree to fol­low pub­lic health poli­cies out­lined for the event.

This event, which is free of charge, is open to res­i­dents of the Ashokan Water­shed. Gen­er­al­ly, the Ashokan Water­shed over­laps the Towns of Shan­dak­en, Olive, Wood­stock, and Hur­ley in Ulster Coun­ty and Lex­ing­ton and Hunter in Greene Coun­ty. Reg­is­tra­tion is required.

We will meet at the Ashokan Quar­ry Trail park­ing lot a lit­tle before 9:00 a.m. for check-in and will return by 12:00 p.m. The group will spend approx­i­mate­ly 3 hours on the trail and will walk about 2 miles round-trip at a leisure­ly pace. Par­tic­i­pants will need to wear hik­ing boots or closed-toe shoes, bring sun screen and insect repel­lent if using. The wear­ing of face masks is manda­to­ry when stopped for edu­ca­tion or con­ver­sa­tion or when pass­ing oth­ers on the trail. It is also rec­om­mend­ed that each per­son bring plen­ty of water and a snack. For more infor­ma­tion about the hike, call the AWSMP office at (845) 688‑3047 or email Matt Savat­gy at mjs593@cornell.edu.

Once you reg­is­ter, please review our safe­ty pledge and sign the insur­ance and pho­to release waiv­er and return them to Lin­da at lg457@cornell.edu

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