Nature & the Environment
To register please call 914-606-6830 and press option 1
Hands-on Fieldwork Days
Provides 16 hours of community service at Hilltop Hanover Farm, required for your certificate. Work side-by-side with farmers in the field, volunteering your time, and get a practical hands-on learning experience. Work in the fields and/or greenhouses, planting, weeding, harvesting, and preparing vegetables for sale at the farm stand. These are coordinated volunteer days with a special focus each week related to real-world time and farm sensitive needs. For certificate information, call 914-606-6830, press 1.
CE-GRDN 2079, 8 Sun., July 8-Aug. 26, 10:00 am-12:00 noon, Hilltop Hanover Farm, $100. #5989
Vegetable Gardening Made Easy
Get introduced to a system that will simplify the art of vegetable gardening through practical demonstrations, visuals, and lecture. We’ll cover advance planning and starting seeds indoors, soil preparation, crop selection, pest exclusion, and tips to make things easier based on the instructor’s many years of experience as a professional gardener. The classes will be held at Sleepy Cat Farm Greenhouse in Greenwich, CT. 668 Lake avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830.
203-832-6530. For more information visit: www.sleepycatfarm.com
CE-GRDN 2086VA, 3 Sat., June 9-23, 10:00 am-12:00 noon, $65 (+ $7.50 materials fee, payable to instructor). A Gorkin. #5362
Environmental Education and Conservation
A Partnership between the College and Westmoreland Sanctuary
Westmoreland Sanctuary is a nature center and wildlife preserve located in Mt. Kisco, serving the Westchester community and beyond. Founded almost 60 years ago, its ever expanding tracts of land now consist of 640 acres of year-round beauty and 7.5 miles of the finest hiking trails in Westchester. It’s a place where wild bird and animal life flourish; a place where native flowers, shrubs, plants and trees are cherished, protected and preserved. It’s also a place to simply come, enjoy and reconnect with nature, and maybe even yourself.
The health of our environment and natural world depends on a committed generation of today to pass the torch of appreciation, understanding, and respect of the natural world to future generations. Central to Westmoreland Sanctuary’s mission is offering environmental education and conservation programs to all. To learn more, please visit: www.WestmorelandSanctuary.org.
Please dress for the weather as classes take place rain or shine.
All classes below are held onsite at Westmoreland Sanctuary,
260 Chestnut Ridge Road, Mount Kisco
Bird Banding
A unique learning activity! Participate as staff use mist nets and other techniques to safely capture wild birds, then assist as they identify each bird, record its age and sex, and carefully place a numbered band on the bird before it is released. Come see what scientists do to study birds.
CE-SCI 2035, 1 Sat., June 9, 10:00 am-12:00 noon, $25. S Ricker. #6007
Bird Nest Monitoring Hike (NestWatch)
Explore the magical world of nesting wild birds up close while collecting valuable data. We will visit Westmoreland’s vast birdhouse management program and inspect each house for nests, eggs, and baby birds. All data collected will be submitted to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s NestWatch program. NestWatch is a nationwide monitoring program designed to track status and trends in the reproductive biology of birds, including when nesting occurs, number of eggs laid, how many eggs hatch, and how many hatchlings survive. Please wear long pants, a hat for sun, and sturdy shoes. Binoculars may be helpful.
CE-SCI 2049, 1 Sun., July 8, 11:00 am-1:00 pm, $25. S Ricker. #6281
Wilderness Survival: Fire
Fire has been an important tool for humanity from the very beginning; it’s used in our daily lives to cook our food, heat our homes, and make our cars run. How much do you know about this ancient resource, and could you get a fire started if your life depended on it? This course will cover the basic needs of fire, how to start a safe fire, different uses of fire, and the best ways to construct fires for those uses.
CE-SCI 2037, 1 Sat., June 2, 12:00 noon-2:00 pm, $25. S Sciame. #6008
Wilderness Survival: Navigation
Ever wonder what would happen if you found yourself in an unfamiliar area with no cell signal or GPS? How would you find your way back to an area you know? Learn what is needed to navigate through the woods. We’ll explore in detail using a map and compass, skills that can still be very useful in the days of GPS systems and cell phones.
CE-SCI 2047, 1 Sat., June 23, 1:00-4:00 pm, $35. S Sciame. #6009
Foraging Hike
Explore the summer forests at Westmoreland and discover what resources it provides. This foraging hike will show the number of plants and other natural resources that can be used for food, water, or other necessary tools in the wild. This moderate hike will include varied terrains and inclines.
CE-TRVL 2043, 1 Sat., July 14, 2:00-4:00 pm, $25. S Sciame. #6010
Dragonflies, Butterflies and Bees
Some of our fastest declining species are our insects. The annual butterfly and dragonfly, and native bee survey gives Westmoreland staff data to monitor population fluctuations of individual species to be used in the long-term management plan for the Sanctuary. Learn how the staff catches, catalogs, and releases some of our native pollinators and see what scientists do to study insects.
CE-SCI 2045, 1 Sun., Aug. 5, 1:00-3:00 pm, $25. S Ricker. #6011
All classes above are held onsite at Westmoreland Sanctuary,
260 Chestnut Ridge Road, Mount Kisco