May-ending at Landis Arboretum Unveils New Frontiers in Edutainment

SCHOHARIE COUNTY, NY (05/14/2008)(readMedia)-- Building on the momentum of its 36th Annual Spring Plant Sale Fundraiser, the Landis Arboretum launches four affordable, family-friendly events to complete the transition into the summer season.

May 24, Saturday, 6–9 am EARLY MORNING BIRD WALK A walk for the beginning to serious birder. Explore the Arboretum grounds to find resident and migrating birds. Leader: George Steele, Science Educator. Suggested donation, $5.

May 24, Saturday 9:30–11 am INTRODUCTION TO GEOCACHING Gather at the Arboretum’s Meeting House for an introduction to this increasingly popular sport. A representative of world-famous L.L. Bean will be on hand to add to the experience of participants. Learn how to use GPS coordinates to locate the “caches.” This will be a multi-cache event highlighting some of the Arboretum’s gems. Bring your GPS if you have one, but come even if you are lacking equipment! Leader: Gina Nielsen. Suggested donation, $5.

May 24 (class repeated July 12), Saturdays, 1–4 pm REDISCOVER SACRED SPACE/Living waters—living landscapes Water is essential to life. Every body is a water body. Thus, every creature has an inner sense to find water. The Earth is nested in a matrix of magnetic flux, weaving together the land’s special spaces and energy places. Finding these unique resources in the land allows us to be more conscious and connected and make wiser use of our homes, farms, and the community of life. Find sacred space in your land—and in your heart. Workshop leader: David Yarrow. $35 members, $45 non-members. To register, call the Arboretum.

May 31, Saturday, 9:30 am–3:30 pm Project WET Project WET is a collection of innovative, water-related activities that are hands-on, easy, and fun! Project WET is about people’s relationships to water. This thorough water education program also addresses water’s chemical and physical properties, quantity and quality issues, aquatic wildlife, ecosystems, and management strategies. Created in 1995, the curriculum contains 91 activities in more than 500 pages. Materials are funded by NYS DEC Division of Water Resources. Appropriate for formal and non-formal educators of grades K–12. $20 per participant. To register, call the Wildlife Learning Company, 607-293-6043

Wildlife Perspective 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.

“We envision a dynamic collaborative partnership with the Landis Arboretum,” says Susan M. O’Handley, Vice President of Wildlife Learning Company, Inc. “I see this collaboration with Landis Arboretum as a positive step to establishing a strong market for environmental education services in the Central New York region.”

Ms. O’Handley her husband Jeffrey O'Handley (who serves as president of WLC) are career environmental educators with more than 30 years combined experience in live animal and environmental education programming and administration. Mr. O’Handley has worked extensively in environmental education programming and administration as well as exhibit design and implementation. Both O’Handleys are seasoned professionals adept at bringing the richness of nature to students, educators, and members of the general public. Both also have been responsible for the care, maintenance, and handling of live animals similar to those Wildlife Learning Company maintains for use in programs.

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.

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