CATSKILL NEWS

Windham Arts Alliance to Sponsor Photography Workshop with Fran Driscoll

Coming up on July 8 (rain date July 9), Windham Arts Alliance will sponsor an all-day photography workshop with Francis Driscoll. Fran is excited to share his knowledge of taking and processing photographs with the community. Participants will meet Fran in the parking lot behind Briars & Brambles on July 8 at 8:00 am. They will have the opportunity to take their cameras and join Fran on a photography excursion. This is a rare opportunity to pick Fran’s brain and learn how he takes his beautiful photographs. He will demonstrate how he chooses his subjects and what to focus on to get artistic photos. You will begin to understand what is involved to see the world through your camera lens and to produce exciting photographs. Later, he will follow up at the Main Street Community Center with an introduction to basic editing techniques.

You can register for this all-day workshop at mainstreetcommunitycenter.org/registration. Seats are limited. There is a registration fee of $10 to hold your place.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program of the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature and administered in Greene County by the CREATE Council on the Arts. WAA also wants to thank the Main Street Community Center for their support.

Catskill Center Stewards at the Kaaterskill Falls Viewing Platform

Catskill Center’s Catskill Stewards Program

For the 2023 summer season in the Catskill Park, the Catskill Center is putting its paid, seasonal Catskill Stewards in high-use areas, along with a ridge runner on local trails.

The ridge runner will start the season stewarding on and near the Devil’s Path trail in Greene County, one of the Catskill’s more challenging hikes, and cover other trails as needed Another steward will work part-time at Platte Cove, with others divided between Peekamoose Blue Hole, Kaaterskill Clove, and the Fire Towers on Hunter Mountain and Overlook Mountain.

“In light of the increasing number of visitors, the Catskill Center is proud to be able to place stewards in areas across the Catskill Park. With seven-day a week coverage at both the Peekamoose Blue Hole and Kaaterskill Falls, the roving Ridge Runner position who will greet visitors on the trails of the Park, and coverage at the Fire Towers during the week, our stewards will be greeting thousands, if not tens of thousands of visitors a week,” says Jeff Senterman, Executive Director of the Catskill Center. “The Catskill Center’s stewards are key to welcoming visitors to the Catskill Park, introducing them to the resources of the Catskills Visitor Center, and offering them advice on how to recreate responsibly in the Park to ensure protection of our natural resources.”

The stewards are a vital link between these locations and visitors. The Catskill Stewards Program operates in partnership with the NYSDEC at the Peekamoose Blue Hole and Kaaterskill Falls. In Platte Clove, the program runs on the Catskill Center’s Platte Clove Preserve. Since its inception in 2018, the Catskill Stewards Program has educated and welcomed more than 270,000 visitors to the Catskill Forest Preserve.

Stewards explain and demonstrate why responsible recreation is important—from the importance of not littering to staying on the trails. While each location has its specific needs, the common thread is natural resource protection, public awareness, and education. Without the stewards, the Catskills’ forever wild spaces are constantly in danger of being trampled or otherwise damaged because of the increasing number of visitors. Stewards help interpret the Catskill Park, provide information on alternative areas to visit, and offer directions to local businesses, which, in turn, helps the local economy.

Stewards are seasonal employees of the Catskill Center, who are trained specifically to work with the public at high use areas across the Park utilizing principles from Leave No Trace, Recreate Responsibly, and other outdoor programs.

To learn more about the Catskill Center’s Catskill Stewards Program, go to catskillcenter.org/catskillstewardsprogram. And to check in on the stewards’ work, follow us on our social media platforms.

The Catskill Stewards Program is made possible by the generous support of the NYSDEC, REI Co-op, the Rondout Neversink Stream Program, Bruderhof Community at Platte Cove, Catskill Mountain Club, Hunter Foundation, and the generous supporters of the Catskill Center.