Serving the Ulster County Community

Brook Farm Project
Brook Farm’s volunteer programs are beginning to take shape and include one-time and ongoing volunteer programs as well as long-term volunteer programs for interns and WWOOFers. You can volunteer at Brook Farm once, on a regular basis, or for over a month! For those of you who aren’t familiar with WWOOF programs, it stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. We’re a host farm with WWOOF-USA which means that throughout the 2013 growing season (from April 1 to November 1), we accept college students and adults as long-term volunteers on the farm (for a month or longer) to work alongside our crew and experience farm life. WWOOFers have the opportunity to live in the farm house (if it’s not full) or camp out in their own tents outside. More info.

Cornell Cooperative Extension
10 Westbrook Lane, Kingston, NY
Phone: 845-340-3990 Fax: 845-340-3993
Committees Now Forming for Healthy Kingston for Kids Project, Volunteers Sought
Cornell Cooperative Extension Ulster County (CCEUC) and several partners are leading an initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic in Kingston, NY through environmental and policy change. Four committees are charged with seeing out the work plan of the grant, and partners are looking for Kingston residents and interested parties to become volunteer members of the committees. You can become involved in the committees in the following ways! More info.

Master Gardener Hotline – 845-340-3478 (DIRT) – March through October M-W-F 9:00am-12:00pm
Master Gardeners, volunteers trained by Extension experts in the art and science of gardening, will also be available in the office for soil testing, plant and insect identification.
Download Volunteer Application/Brochure
CCE Ulster’s 4-H Youth Development Program Volunteer Opportunities
http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/ulster/
Blog
– Gleaning Program, produce donations
– Deer Management, venison donations
– Nutrition Education in Soup Kitchens and Food Pantries

Kingston Land Trust and City Gardens
kingstonlandtrust.org | photos + news
Kingston City Garden Committee meets on the second Thursday of each month at Kingston City Hall, Conference Room 2. 6:15pm. New volunteers welcome.
The City Gardens project is led by Rebecca Martin and is born out of her Victory Gardens Project with KingstonCitizens.org. In its current form, the project involves students, volunteers, master gardeners and educators. Gardens have been created at Queens Galley, Darmstadt Shelter, Bailey Middle School and more. Contact Rebecca Martin at 750-7295 or info@kingstoncitizens.org.
The Kingston Land Trust forms a natural playscape committee to create a structure at the GW Elementary School.
Interested volunteers committee members being sought.
Kingston – The George Washington Elementary School is collaborating with the Kingston Land Trust in creating a natural playscape outside of the Children’s House classrooms. A natural playscape is an outdoor play environment featuring natural elements like logs, boulders, trees, plants, and water that encourage active play, and at the same time challenge children to investigate the physical world around them.
To help guide the planning and design construction of this project, a Natural Playscape Committee is being formed. Interested volunteers can contact Ann Loeding at the Kingston Land Trust aboatgrrl@yahoo.com or visit www.kingstonlandtrust.org for more information.

Phillies Bridge Farm Project
Phillies Bridge Farm Project is looking for junior counselors/camp assistants to help out at our farm based day camp. This opportunity will allow you to gain experience working with children in the outdoors. Must be 14+ and LOVE working with kids! No prior experience is needed. You can volunteer for as little as 4 days or as long as 7 weeks this summer. The camp runs Monday-Thursday from 9am-2pm. More info or call 256-9308.

Plant a Row for the Hungry
A people-helping-people program assisting the hungry in Ulster County
A program of the Cornell Cooperative Extension
With the start of the growing and planting season we’re looking for gardeners like you to help feed the hungry in Ulster County by planting an extra row in your garden this summer and signing up to take the excess produce to our office. If you don’t have room to plant an extra row – sign up to donate the excess produce nearly all gardens produce.
We are asking vegetable gardeners to grow a little extra this season, or bring their excess produce to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, 10 Westbrook Lane, Kingston, NY.
More info or call 845-340-3478 (DIRT).
Printable Brochure

Sustainable Hudson Valley
PO Box 4112 Kingston, NY
Phone: 845-384-1061
http://www.sustainhv.org/
Volunteers needed to help SHV with communications and outreach, research support, office help or fundraising, contact Melissa or Michael directly at 845-384-1061. More info.

Student Conservation Association/Hudson Valley Corps
299 Mountain Rest Road New Paltz, NY 12561
Phone: 845-255-4758 Fax: 845-255-6987
http://www.thesca.org/
Celebrating 50 Years of Students Conserving America
Learn more

Rondout Valley Growers Association, Inc.
http://www.rondoutvalleygrowers.org/
P.O. Box 867 Stone Ridge, NY 12484
Phone: 845-657-5701
info@rondoutvalleygrowers.org
The Rondout Valley Growers Association is a non-profit community organization comprised of local farmers, residents, and businesses that are committed to strengthening the region’s family farms and preserving open space for future generations.
More info, events & volunteer opportunities

New Paltz GreenWorks
To lower and off-set carbon emissions in our community by educating the public about actions they can take, that make it easier for people to make a difference.
Things you can do today
http://npgreenworks.org/

The Rondout-Esopus Land Conservancy now holds 31 conservation easements governing more than 2,500 acres in Ulster County. The easements are held in Accord, High Falls, Marbletown, Olivebridge, Rosendale, Saugerties, Stone Ridge and West Shokan. The all volunteer organization is a member of the Land Trust Alliance of New York and National Land Trust Alliance and was founded in 1987. There is no requirement that conservancy members must convey property or even own property – just that they support the conservancy’s mission. Contact Laura Traverse at 657-8303.

Volunteers are always welcome and appreciated. If you would like to assist in our mission by volunteering, please contact our president, Walter Levy at info@relandconservancy.org or 845-626-3140.
http://www.relandconservancy.org/

Esopus Creek Conservancy
Esopus Bend Nature Preserve, among New York State’s newest land trust, is a unique 161-acre preserve located partially within both the village and town of Saugerties along a dramatic bend in the Esopus Creek less than a mile from the Hudson River. We are an all-volunteer organization, and volunteers are essential to achieve our goals. Volunteers have worked to restore the meadow area where visitors can now observe a wide variety of wildflowers, birds and butterflies. Environmental education walks are scheduled throughout the year. Partnering with the Catskill Center and the Saugerties school district, we opened up Esopus Bend as an outdoor classroom for local schools. Whether you would like to be called for a special task, serve on a committee, work outdoors on the preserve, or help in some other way, we would like to hear about you and your interests.
www.esopuscreekconservancy.org/

New Paltz Recycling Center
seeks artists, gardeners & more. More info or call 255-8456.

Duzine and Lenape Schools plan organic vegetable gardens this spring
Since district funds are very tight this year, we are doing this as a grassroots project and looking to our resourceful community to support the gardens and our schools. We need help from skilled carpenters in building raised beds, fences, and gates. We need material donations such as lumber for raised beds, fence posts, fencing, and gates, soil, compost, and mulch, tools, tool sheds, hoses, etc. Gardens will offer our children an enhanced learning experience across the curriculum through hands-on activities with soil, plants, animals, and the cycles of nature that produce our food. Gardens spark curiosity, creativity, and scientific investigations, bring children outside to enjoy fresh air and physical exercise, and promote healthier eating habits.
For more information, contact the PTA Garden Committee Co-chairs:
Martha Cheo 256-9316 mcheo@hvc.rr.com
Jim O’Dowd 255-4170 jimmyodowd@yahoo.com