August Newsletter 2024

**Lincoln Pond, Huyck Preserve, pic by M Waldman**

WHO ARE THE GREENAGERS AND WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO DO WITH THE TACONIC CREST TRAIL?

You may have heard the word Greenagers in association with land trust stewardship work, with their summer camp, or with their partnerships with community, education, and farming entities.

Greenagers is a nonprofit that offers paid positions, internships and apprenticeships to teens and young adults, and contracts for work in environmental conservation, sustainable farming, natural resource management, and vocational skills building. Operating in the Berkshires, Northwest Connecticut, and nearby New York State, their trail crews maintain existing trails and build new trails for local, regional, and national conservation organizations. Their Farm and Food Justice Team stewards April Hill Farm and works with local farmers, learning animal husbandry and organic agriculture. They also install front-yard gardens for area families, glean produce for local food service agencies, and promote food justice through community work and advocacy.

Featuring an historic house dating to 1744 and barns dating to the mid-19th century, April Hill Education and Conservation Center in Alford serves as the headquarters for Greenagers as well as a resource for community gatherings and education. April Hill Farm is the primary stewardship enterprise on the nearly 100 acres comprising the property. Conserved in perpetuity, April Hill has nature trails, vegetable gardens, orchards, pastures and hayfields, and abuts the Appalachian Trail–linking it to the Berkshire-Taconic range and beyond.

Greenagers participants learn the value of teamwork, collaboration, initiative and solid work ethics. They learn about community partnerships through collaborations with area nonprofits, businesses and organizations that both hire Greenagers and partner with Greenagers’ broader mission of youth and community engagement.

Greenagers was formed in 2007 as a program of The Center for Peace through Culture. On January 1, 2013, Greenagers incorporated as its own organization, Greenagers, Inc. and is now a 501 (c)(3) organization. It is funded through contracts with conservation clients, private and government grants, and contributions from individuals and businesses.

The Taconic Hiking Club applauds the vision the organization has to encourage a culture of community where young people work together to restore forests and fields, grow food, and build spaces that support natural systems and sustainability. Getting young people outside, working with their hands, talking to each other and their elders, listening, leading, and learning is a worthy mission.

A Greenagers Trail Crew made up of youth from the City of Pittsfield are currently hard at work rerouting a very steep and erosion prone section of the Taconic Crest Trail between the southern terminus at Rte. 20 and Twin Pond in Pittsfield State Forest. Recently, a local men’s hiking group donated funds to the Greenagers to work on the project. We will post an update when they complete the project. We are delighted to be the beneficiary of their hard work on the TCT.

ANNUAL LUNCHEON – Sunday, November 3:

Save the date! The Annual Luncheon will be Sunday, November 3, 2024, starting at noon, at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant on 99 North Greenbush Rd (Rte. 4) in Troy. See old friends and make new friends!

Details about the buffet luncheon menu, speaker, and registration information will be posted in the September Newsletter as well as the THC website Outings page.

BECOME A HIKE LEADER!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to lead a group on a hike or cycle? Being an outings leader is very rewarding! As a leader you get to take people on hikes and to places and vistas they could not have visited alone. These people are always grateful for the effort the leader puts into the outing.

You can lead easy 3-mile hikes or more strenuous 6 to 8-mile hikes. We have hikers of all abilities. You can also choose to only lead one hike per season or lead one every month or whatever fits your schedule.

You may ask, but do I qualify? For starters, many of the ideas about trip planning and what to do during the trip are things you may already do when planning and going on a family vacation or hike. You may have learned some leadership skills in prior employment as a supervisor or manager, or by observing other outing leaders. You are already hiking, you know what to wear, what to pack, you can read a map, you have your favorite trails and you know how to get there. Plus, you enjoy meeting others while hiking.

The THC will provide additional training and one or two of our experienced leaders will co-lead with you on the first couple hikes you lead. Interested? Contact us at taconichikingclb@gmail.com (no “u” in club).

OUTINGS: Refer to the THC website outings page for details about the outings and how to register. We schedule on a monthly and short-term basis, so check the website periodically.

Tuesday, August 6: Mt Greylock B+
Wednesday, August 14: Moreau Lake State Park B
Wednesday, Aug 14: Mid-Week Paddle – Coxsackie Four Mile Preserve B
Thursday, August 15: Hand Hollow C
Thursday, August 22: Snow Hole, Petersburg Pass B-
Monday, August 26 Valentino Family Community Forest, Stuffle St, Grafton NY

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” John Burroughs