The College held an Earth Day celebration this past Saturday, April 20, at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve. In attendance were more than 25 environmental organizations that tabled at the Cooperative Barns to share their work promoting environmental protection and sustainability across Dutchess County. Stewardship, Program and Communications Coordinator at the Preserve Clay Antonatos ’22 shared, “We had over 200 people in attendance at the event and are thrilled so many folks were able to join us to celebrate all that is happening on the Preserve and across Dutchess County during Earth Month and throughout the year!”
Dutchess Land Conservancy was one organization in attendance at Saturday’s event. Sharon Zampko, a representative of Dutchess Land Conservancy, shared some words about the organization’s mission.
“[We] protect land—farmland, wetlands, open land—from being developed or overpopulated. We obtained easements—some donated, some purchased—that we continue to monitor,” said Zampko. The organization aims to ensure there are no infractions on the land over which they hold easements. Zampko added, “We do a lot of educational programs…to really teach the community about farmland and protecting land.”
Another organization in attendance was the Revive College Hill Park Coalition. Organization representative Nancy Foster shared a bit about their environmental protection and historic preservation efforts.
“College Hill Park is a historic park in the City of Poughkeepsie. And it’s been [through] many different renditions through the years. But now it is a public park…and we’re trying to revive it so more people will come. It’s in a neighborhood where we want to have people enjoy the green space,” Foster said.
A key issue for the park’s preservation is the treatment of several historic cisterns. Foster added, “Five years ago, all the water…that was stored in the cisterns was put into water tanks. And instead of filling in the cisterns with sand, Mass Design, an architectural firm committed to environmental justice and social justice, is hoping to restore them for performances and for readings.”
In a collaboration with the Vassar Women’s Center, the Preserve will also host the Spring Ephemeral Walk on Wednesday, April 24, at 3 p.m. Preserve Director Keri VanCamp will lead a walk along Collins Trail to highlight the ephemeral spring wildflowers currently blooming at the Preserve.
In a written correspondence to The Miscellany News, Antonatos discussed some of the impacts of climate change and other environmental threats to the Preserve. “The Preserve is already experiencing climate change, from the impact of invasive species [including] woody vines and shrubs, as well as insects like the Spotted Lanternfly and Emerald Ash Borer) to increased flooding and tree mortality during storm events, which are projected to occur more often and more severely in our region due to climate change,” they wrote.
Antonatos added, “Preserve staff and interns actively monitor the land to recognize these changes and manage the land responsively and responsibly. We focus primarily on supporting native biodiversity through invasive species management, native plant propagation and habitat restoration.”
Antonatos cited the Riparian Buffer Restoration Project as one of the many ways that the Preserve staff are mitigating the risks of climate change and supporting biodiversity. “We planted over 200 native trees and shrubs along a riparian, or streamside, buffer at the front of the Preserve to restore habitat and mitigate flooding, and pollution of a tributary of the Casperkill, which ultimately flows into the Hudson,” they wrote.
Preserve staff selected trees according to their relative climate resiliency, such as their ability to withstand warmer temperatures. The Preserve received support for this project through an Ecological Restoration Grant from Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley.
Vassar Greens, a campus organization dedicated to environmental justice and protection, also attended the event, hosting its annual Free Market. Secretary Skyler Huebner ’24 said, “Anybody can donate clothes and anybody can take clothes. It’s mostly Vassar students, but now we’ve been seeing a range of people visiting it.”
Glenna Gomez ’24, past president and current senior executive board member, shared some thoughts on the event’s importance. “A lot of Vassar events are targeted towards Vassar students, so it’s really great to be out here with the community and a bunch of different organizations that I didn’t even know about…We’re really excited to be partnering with the Preserve to be doing this event and hopefully there will be more in the future.”
Nowhere in these events did Vassar disclose the cold-blooded baiting and shooting of deer every year in the Vassar Preserve, with about 300 killed so far. As always they want to keep it as hidden as possible.
Invasive species like the deer who’ve been here a tad longer than those who call it their mission to “preserve and protect”? I think the invasive species we need protection from this and every Earth Day is the one which slaughters and calls it by other names. Like cull or protect or preserve. Well, I guess you got the blood cleared away for your gathering.