Landis Arboretum: Solid Family Value for the Summer and Beyond

The Landis Arboretum: Multifaceted, Natural Jewel

SCHOHARIE REGION (05/28/2009)(readMedia)-- Long a destination of choice among Capital District gardeners, environmentalists, nature lovers, hikers, perambulists, and birders, the Landis Arboretum may be one of the best-kept secrets among Capital Region residents.

The Landis Arboretum includes a nationally recognized collection of oaks and is registered with the North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC). The Arboretum also is included in the New York State Route 20 Bluebird Trail, bringing even more birdwatchers to the site. The Arboretum's vast dark sky and wide horizons attract area astronomers to its meeting house and parking field for sky-watching events. Sweeping vistas, ponds, wetlands, 8 miles of hiking/walking trails await at the 548 former estate of founder/author/musician/poet Fred Lape.

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 Route 20 in historic Esperance, NY. There, with decades 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.

As the Capital Region's Arboretum, Landis serves all residents in the extended Capital Region, which includes Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Ulster Counties. Many regular visitors to Landis hail from the Hudson Valley, Western Massachusetts, the Berkshires, Westchester, and western New York State.

The Landis Arboretum is located 1.5 miles off Scenic designated Route 20 in Esperance, NY, a beautiful and easy drive from within the Capital Region. For more information, call 518-875-6935; http://landisarboretum.org. Directions: http://landisarboretum.org/map.html. In addition to its appeal to horticulturalists and environmentalists, the Arboretum often "rings a bell" of recognition because of its extraordinary plant sales - Spring and Fall -- that have become signature events. No admission, free parking. Donations are welcomed to defray cost of upkeep. .

FAMILY FUN TIMES AHEAD

June 13, Saturday, 2 - 3:30 PM

WOODLAND TREE WALK

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Enjoy a walk along the woodland trails of the Arboretum and learn how to identify our common trees. George Steele, Science Educator. $5 per person.

June 13, Saturday, 10 AM - 1 PM

EYE ON: NATURE THROUGH THE CAMERA'S LENS

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

See course description, May 9.

June 13, Saturday, 10 PM

PUBLIC STAR PARTY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Alan French and Albany Area Astronomers. Free admission and parking - but donations to aid the Arboretum are always welcomed.

THE ALBANY AREA AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS (AAAA) meet regularly by the Landis Arboretum under the leadership of Alan French. The public is invited and attendance and parking are free. Experience this event for yourself!

  • June 13 (Sat) at 10:00 PM
  • July 17 & 18 (Fri/Sat) at 10:00 PM
  • August 18 (Tues) at 7:30 PM
  • August 21 & 22 (Fri/Sat) at 9:30 PM : Club meeting (Meeting House) and star party
  • September 11 & 12 (Fri/Sat) at 8:30 PM
  • October 16 & 17 (Fri/Sat) at 8:00 PM
  • November 13 & 14 (Fri/Sat) at 8:00 PM

Alan French and his wife, Susan, have been sharing the night sky with people at star parties in the Capital District for close to 40 years. French is a telescope maker, but also enjoys naked-eye astronomy. He is Vice President of Dudley Observatory's Board of Trustees and the Albany Area Amateur Astronomers.

The AAAA owns an 18 inch telescope, and members bring a variety of other telescopes to these gatherings, and are happy to share the views of deep sky wonders or offer help to those new to the hobby. Programs such as The Walk Among the Stars include constellation tours, the myths, and stories associated with the constellations, and hints on enjoying the night sky.

Visitors to the Arboretum event should bring something to sit on, and dress according to the season. A sweater is always a good idea for late evenings at Landis. Programs are cancelled if the sky is cloudy. Participants are encouraged to register by calling 518-374-8460 so that they can be notified if cloudy skies force a cancellation. Those who do not pre-register can call to check about two hours before the start time.

June 20, Saturday, 9 AM - noon (Rain date: June 21, Sunday, 9 AM - noon)

ALL ABOUT ROSES

Location: Rosman Gardens, 1136 Enid Road, Summit, NY 12175

This comprehensive three-hour course is packed with information, techniques, and tips that are designed to help insure successful rose culture in our cold North Country gardens. The setting for this educational experience is sure to please the senses as well. Participants will be surrounded by the sights and scents of over 200 roses within the two-acre perennial gardens. Rose varieties observed and discussed will range from the latest modern cold-hardy hybrids and English roses to the ancient and historic old garden roses and notable species varieties. A guided and narrated tour of the perennial gardens is included with the program. Complimentary beverage and light snack will be provided. The gardens have been featured in Woman's Day and American Rose magazines.

Instructor: Joanne Rosman. . For additional course information and easy directions, phone 518-287-1701 or e-mail rosmans@midtel.net. Register by calling the Arboretum (518-875-6935) by June14. $40.00 for members, and $45.00 for non-members .

June 20, Saturday, 4:30 - 8:30 PM

GARDEN PARTY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

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 June10. To purchase tickets, call 518-875-6935. To donate to the silent auction, please call Donna Vincent at 518-469-1491. Always a night to celebrate and remember - especially with a table of friends!

June 20, Saturday, 9 AM - noon

PRUNING: THE BASICS . . . AND BEYOND

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Join Landis' Director of Horticulture and Operations Fred Breglia as he delves into the when, why, and how to prune trees and shrubs. Work and learn with an ISA certified arborist. If possible, participants should bring their own pruning tools and gloves since there will be a hands-on component to the program. Some of the Arboretum's pruning equipment will be available for use during the program. The Acorn Gift Shop at Landis has quality pruning tools for sale. Register by June 25. Members $35, non-members $50. All levels welcomed.

June 27, Saturday, 2 - 3:30 PM

HERPETOLOGY HIKE

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Enjoy a 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. $5/ person; $15/family..

June 28, Sunday, 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM

NATIVE PLANTS AND BIODIVERSITY: A FIELD TRIP WITH ED AND ANNE

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Bring a bag lunch and walk the Native Plant Trail with Ed Miller, curator, and Anne Donnelly, retired biology professor and Arboretum President. We'll talk about native plants and how to key them out - and about biodiversity, evolution, and how native plants sustain wildlife in our gardens. Bring your field guides and we'll help you use them, or use ours. Members $10, non-members $15.

July 11, Saturday, 10 AM - 1 PM

EYE ON: NATURE THROUGH THE CAMERA'S LENS

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

July 11, 18, 25, and August 1, 2009. Four Saturday sessions: 9 AM - 11:30 AM

BOTANICAL DRAWING

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

You may be a gardener who "can't draw a straight line"-- or an artist who can draw all sorts of lines, a student of any age -- or just someone who would love to get a lot closer to the natural world. Learning to really look at plants and to understand what you are seeing is what this workshop is all about!

The four-Saturday workshop explores the art and science of drawing and painting plants. Plant structure, growth patterns, ecology, and botanical terminology alternate with rendering techniques to produce scientifically accurate plant portraits. We'll concentrate on the vascular plants and show methods of drawing them with pencil, pen and ink and the classical watercolor technique. We'll look at plants at a distance, and up close with microscopes and hand lenses, learn about measurement techniques, and discuss special problems in rendering, drawing from field notes, greenhouse plants, and herbarium specimens.

This workshop is open to all levels of artistic experience. CDs containing all of the text materials and PowerPoint presentations will be distributed at the first session. Conducted by Tressa Vellozzi, Keyserkill Studios, Inc. For more information and artist portfolio, go to www.keyserkill.com, click on "Art Workshops", or e-mail botany@keyserkill.com. Location: Library. Members $45, non-members $60.

July 12, Sunday, 2 - 3:30 PM

NATURE ART AT THE MEETING HOUSE

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Stop by the Arboretum's Meeting House and create art inspired by nature. We'll make animal track t-shirts (each participant should bring a plain colored t-shirt), sun print book marks, leaf prints and natural dyes. George Steele, Science Educator. $5/ person; $15/family..

July 18, Saturday, 11 AM - 3 PM

GARDEN TOUR

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Join us for an exploration of some very special gardens in the Burnt Hills/Scotia areas of New York State's extended Capital Region. Alone or by the carful, this Arboretum classic is a must event for gardeners and a civilized day on the road. Watch for details in early June on the Arboretum's website www.landisarboretum.org). Always affordable. Always fun. Informative, and colorful to boot! This is a day you won't want to miss.

July 17/18, Friday/Saturday, 10 PM

PUBLIC STAR PARTY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Alan French and Albany Area Astronomers. Free admission and parking - but donations to aid the Arboretum are always welcomed. See June 13 for details.

July 25, Saturday, 2 - 3:30 PM

POND ECOLOGY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

The pond ecosystem is full of life. Join us as we explore who is who, what they do, how they grow and where they go in the pond environment. George Steele, Science Educator. $5/ person; $15/family..

August 1, Saturday, 1:00 - 3:00 PM (Rain date: Sunday, August 2)

DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Dragonflies love those hot summer days! You will learn what to look for, how to tell dragonflies from damselflies, how to recognize habitat preferences, and how to capture and identify using a field guide. We will walk around the various Arboretum ponds in different habitats and will capture, identify, and release these winged jewels. Leader: Anne Donnelly, official surveyor for the NYS Natural Heritage Program and Arboretum President. $5/ person; $15/family..

August 8, Saturday, 2 - 3:30 PM

SEARCH FOR THE ARTHROPOD SQUAD

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Who are the arthropods? Insects, spiders, centipedes and millipedes -- and the Arboretum is full of them. We'll search high and low to find these creepy crawlies and learn about who is who, what they do, how they grow and where they go. George Steele, Science Educator. $5/ person; $15/family..

August 15, Saturday, 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM

PROJECT WET

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is a collection of water-related activities that are hands-on, easy to use, and fun! Project WET explores the physical and chemical properties of water, water's impact on all life, our cultural and historic relationship to water, and issues relating to water use, conservation, pollution, and management. All participants receive a 500-page curriculum guide containing 91 activities. This workshop is appropriate for formal and informal educators of students grades K-12. $20/participant. To register, call the Wildlife Learning Company, 607-293-6043.

August 18, Tuesday

CLUB MEETING (Meeting House) at 7:30 PM; PUBLIC STAR PARTY at 9:30 PM

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Alan French and Albany Area Astronomers. Free admission and parking - but donations to aid the Arboretum are always welcomed. See June 13 for details.

August 21/22, Friday/Saturday, 9:30 PM

PUBLIC STAR PARTY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Alan French and Albany Area Astronomers. Free admission and parking - but donations to aid the Arboretum are always welcomed. See June 13 for details.

August 29, Saturday, 9 - 10:30 PM

SOUNDS OF SUMMER NIGHT WALK

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Katydids, crickets, frogs, owls, and maybe even coyotes, join in the summer night time chorus. We'll make use of our sense of hearing and fine tune our night vision to find these night time inhabitants of the Arboretum's forests and fields. George Steele, Science Educator. $5/ person; $15/family..

September 12, Saturday, 2 - 3 PM

WHITETAILED DEER: A NATURAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Learn about the largest herbivore of our fields and forest. We will look at its biology and ecology and how it has been used by people from earliest time to the present. A short nature walk looking for evidence of deer will be part of the program. George Steele, Science Educator. $5/ person; $15/family..

September 11/12, Friday/Saturday, 8:30 PM

PUBLIC STAR PARTY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Alan French and Albany Area Astronomers. Free admission and parking - but donations to aid the Arboretum are always welcomed. See June 13 for details.

September 14-18, Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM

PLANT SALE SET-UP

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Volunteers are needed during the week prior to sale. Please call the arboretum at 518/875-6935 and for specifics. Lunch provided! Workers and bakers are also needed for plant sale weekend.

September 19, Saturday

5 K RUN

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Capital Region runners of all ages and levels of proficiency will have the opportunity to run and compete while enjoying spectacular views of the Schoharie region countryside at this Arboretum classic. The cross country course traverses many notable sites at Landis - including the Pioneer and Woodland trails, the 400-year-old iconographic Great Oak, symbol of the Arboretum, the Fred Lape Memorial stone, and the beautiful Van Loveland Gardens. Awards: Male/Female-Top in each age group: Under 15, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+.

KINTZ PLASTICS of Howe Cave will be the primary sponsor of the 5K event. Members of the Albany Running Exchange will provide the expertise and oversight to insure success for the race.

Race Day Registration: 8:30-9:30 AM. Free tee-shirts to the first 50 people registered. Race start: 10 AM on the Meeting House lawn. Tot Trot: 11 AM.

Refreshments and tee-shirts will be available at the Meeting House after the race. All proceeds to benefit Landis, the Capital Region's Arboretum.

The race will be held concurrent with the Landis signature Fall Plant and Book Sale. For more information-including registration fees and forms visit www.landisarboretum.org

September 19 and 20, Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM - 4 PM

ANNUAL FALL PLANT/BOOK SALE

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Out of the ordinary trees, shrubs and perennials. Bake sale on both days. Volunteers always needed and welcomed. Free admission and free parking.

September 20, Sunday, 2 - 3:30 PM

BIRD FEEDER WORKSHOP

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Get ready for your wild winter bird guests with a workshop on bird feeding. We'll make a variety of bird feeders, learn about feeder set-up and how to identify our visitors. Bring three identical, plastic, sports drink or juice containers to make a nifty bird feeder. George Steele, Science Educator. $5/ person; $15/family..

October 3, Saturday, 3 - 9 PM

LAPE DAY CELEBRATION and VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION PARTY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Fred Lape, a musician, poet, English professor, and writer, established the Arboretum in 1951. This year we will celebrate his 109th birthday!

The annual Lape Day ritual serves as an open-call to artists, poets, writers, crafters, and musicians of all kinds. Performance time will be allotted within the day's informal and flexible agenda.

At twilight we will honor the scores of volunteers who are the heart of the Arboretum. The Arboretum's vast dark, starlit sky will provide a natural closure to the events of the day. Be there as the fading embers of the ritual moonlit campfire and the whispered final strains of music cap a perfect day.

Participants are asked to bring lawn chairs and blankets, comfortable shoes, and bug spray. Refreshments will be sold. No rain date is scheduled. Admission and parking are free. Suggested donations of $5 person, $15 family are strongly encouraged to support Landis. Sign up early for a day you won't soon forget. 518-875-6925.

October 16/17, Friday/ Saturday, 8 PM

PUBLIC STAR PARTY

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Alan French and Albany Area Astronomers. Free admission and parking - but donations to aid the Arboretum are always welcomed. See June 13 for details.

October 17, Saturday, 2 - 3:30 PM

FALL FOLIAGE NATURE WALK

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Enjoy a walk along the Arboretum's trails exploring the fall ecosystem and enjoying the changing foliage and learn about how plants and animals are preparing for winter. George Steele, Science Educator. $5/ person; $15/family..

October 30, Friday, 7 - 8:30 PM

FULL MOON HALLOWEEN OWL PROWL

Landis Arboretum, Esperance, NY; www.landisarboretum.org

Join us as we prowl the Arboretum's woods listening for owls. We'll start in the Meeting House with a talk on owls and their behavior. Then it's into the woods to listen and, if we're lucky, look at owls. George Steele, Science Educator. $5/ person; $15/family..

For more information about the Landis Arboretum and Adventures in Schoharie County:

http://www.catskillmtn.org/publications/articles/2008-05-spectacular-beauty-sustainable-fun.html

Thom O'Connor

L A N D I S, The Capital Region's Arboretum

PO Box 186, 174 Lape Rd., Esperance, NY 12066

director@landisarboretum.org; 518.875.6935

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