June is Bustin’ Out All Over the Landis Arboretum;

Family-focused, Informative, Affordable – and Fun!

SCHOHARIE COUNTY, NY (05/28/2008)(readMedia)-- Summer is a comin’ in -- with a trove of adventure designed to educate and entertain children and adults of any age. Experience Landis, the Capital Region’s Arboretum, for yourself – alone or with a group of your special friends.

June 6, Friday, 8–9:30 pm

MOTH WATCH

The evening will be full of moths and other insects as we attract them in with mercury vapor light. Marvel at the sheer numbers, amazing camouflage, and interesting life history of an insect that raises more ire than admiration. With luck we will see luna, cecropia, and hawk moths, some true gems of the insect world. Instructor: George Steele, Science Educator. Suggested donation: $5.

June 7, Saturday, 9:30 am - 4:00 pm

THE LEOPOLD EDUCATION PROJECT

The Leopold Education Project is an innovative interdisciplinary educational program based on the classic writings of the renowned conservationist, Aldo Leopold. The LEP curriculum was developed to teach the public about humanity’s ties to the natural world and to provide leadership in the effort to conserve and protect the earth’s natural resources. The goal is to instill a love, a respect, and an admiration for the land, leading to an ecologically literate citizenry with and intense consciousness of the earth and its inhabitants. Materials fee provides: LEP Teacher’s Guide: Lessons in a Land Ethic (21 activities in more than 80 pages); A Sand County Almanac; LEP Task Cards; LEP Journal; Environmental Heroes and Heroines; and Blue Ribbon Quotes (set of 14 laminated posters). Appropriate for formal and non-formal educators of grades K-12. $20 per participant. To register call Wildlife Learning Company, 607-293-6043.

Wildlife Learning Company, Inc. is a full-service environmental education company offering services and products to schools, libraries, environmental organizations and members of the general public. WLC promotes conservation through education and strives to connect people to nature by providing programs and products that foster an appreciation of the natural environment, impart an understanding of how natural systems function, and create a desire for people to explore the natural world further and take personal responsibility for its protection and care. Wildlife Learning Company provided programs to more than 6,000 participants last year.

June 14, Saturday, 9 AM - Noon

WILDFLOWER WALK WITH ED MILLER

This late spring wildflower walk, will start at the bog garden and then walk the Willow Pond trail (AKA The Miller Native Plant Collection Trail.) With its good drainage, it should be the driest and most walk-able of trails and with it being open to sunlight, it should have the most wildflowers in bloom. By June 14, we should also have some of our woody shrubs (maybe azaleas) and trees in bloom. We plan to end the walk by taking the spur trail bridge and continuing up the foot trail to the Willow Pond. It is steep but we have planted some ferns and herbaceous plants like violets, wild ginger, trillium etc on the richer soil of that hill. (Alternate return route available if hills are a challenge --Ed Miller: Curator Native Plant Collection).

Although formally trained as an engineer, Ed Miller has nurtured a lifelong interest in nature. Following retirement more than 20 years ago, he studied plants seriously with Ruth Schottman, Jerry Jenkins, Nan and Sue Williams, and others. Today, Mr. Miller serves as curator to the Native Plant Collection, which he started at the Landis Arboretum nearly a decade ago. He has twice served as the Chairman of the northeastern section of the Botanical Society of America.

June 14, Saturday.

SUMMER SOLSTICE SOIREE GARDEN PARTY FUNDRAISER

Twilight dinner. Live entertainment. Silent Auction. Cash bar, All under the Great Tent among the rolling hills of the sweeping Schoharie Valley countryside. $40/pp prepaid; $45 /pp after June 2. To purchase tickets, call 518- 875-6935. To donate to the Silent Auction, please call Donna Vincent at 518- 895-8263. Always a night to celebrate and remember – especially with a table of friends.

June 15, Sunday, 2–3:30 pm

FATHER’S DAY HERPETOLOGY HIKE

Celebrate Father's Day with an enjoyable walk about the Arboretum’s fields, forests and ponds in search of amphibians and reptiles. We hope to see several salamanders, frogs, snakes, and turtles as we learn about their habits and habitats. Leader: George Steele, Science Educator. Suggested donation, $5

June 27, Friday, 10 pm and June 28, Saturday, 10 pm

PUBLIC STAR PARTY

Alan French and Albany Area Astronomers

June 28 (class repeated August 23), Saturdays, 1–4 pm

THE 6TH SENSE: Awaken Your Intuitive Mind

The 6th Sense allows us to perceive energies not accessible to our five physical senses. We all have this ability, but few places teach its development, and modern culture discourages it. Yet this sense has many practical uses in farming, healing, communication, relationships, earth awareness, and spiritual development. We will explore a dozen ways to use this intuitive mode of perception. Workshop leader: David Yarrow. $35 members, $45 non-members. To register, call the Arboretum.

Year-round Multi-faceted Jewel

The Landis Arboretum is a multifaceted natural jewel. It now encompasses 548 acres of trees, shrubs, old growth forest and, of course, breath-taking vistas and memorable gardens. Long a destination of choice among Capital District gardeners, environmentalists, nature lovers, hikers, bikers, and birders, the Landis Arboretum may be one of the best-kept secrets of the northern Catskills.

The Arboretum is central to the New York State Wine and Spa Trails and in close proximity to historic Sharon Springs. And, it is a natural stop for those traveling to the high-volume tourist attractions between the Albany, Cooperstown, and Finger Lakes Regions.

The Landis Arboretum is located 1.5 miles off scenic-designated Route 20 in Esperance, NY, a beautiful and easy drive from throughout the Capital Region. The grounds of Landis are open daily, year-round, from dawn until dusk. www.landisarboretum.org, info@landisarboretum.org, 518-875-6935.

For more information about the Landis Arboretum and Adventures in Schoharie County: The George Landis Arboretum: The Landis Arboretum may well be the northern Catskill Region’s best-kept secret. With centuries of history and the riveting beauty inherent in the Arboretum’s world-class, global collections, generations of extraordinary plantings continue to impart their secrets to its visitors. http://www.catskillregionguide.com/articles/article.php?id=995

Contacts: Susan O’Handley, Vice President, Wildlife Learning Company, Inc., 107 East Hill Road, Hartwick, NY 13348, (607) 293-6043 • Fax: (607) 293-6675; message@wildlearn.com, www.wildlearn.com.

Anne Donnelly, Chair, Education Committee, Landis Arboretum, PO Box 186, Lape Road, Esperance, NY 12066, (518) 875-6935/(518) 875-6394, info@landisarboretum.org, www.landisarboretum.org