Celebrate May the 4th at I Love My Park Day!
Registration is open for the 8th annual I Love My Park Day on Saturday May 4, 2019! Grab your family and friends and join thousands of volunteers by giving back to the public lands you love. Projects include cleaning up parks and beaches, planting trees, restoring trails and wildlife habitats, removing invasive species, and working on various site improvements. DEC is hosting events at a variety of locations - from trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills to popular campgrounds and environmental education centers. Check out the list of over 30 project locations, find an event near you, and sign up to volunteer.
First-Time Camper Program Announced for 2019
Have you ever wanted to try camping before but just not sure how to start? New York will once again provide First-Time Camper weekends this summer. Established in 2017 with eight participating parks, this program will include 11 campgrounds over nine weekends from June until after Labor Day with locations across the state. New campers will receive a family tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, camp chairs, lantern, and even firewood. A camping ambassador will meet families upon arrival and help them get set up with a camping 101 lesson. Throughout the weekend, there will be even more opportunities to learn from experts how to fish, hike, paddle, bird watch and more.
To apply, sign up through the online lottery system between May 10 to May 12.
Learn more about the 2019 program. Watch a video, and get inspired to go camping.
New Playgrounds at DEC Campgrounds
 Your favorite DEC campgrounds & day use areas have been upgraded with more opportunities for fun! Over the past five years, several campgrounds have seen improvements to playground facilities. These include:
• Bear Spring Mountain
• Fish Creek Pond
• Kenneth L. Wilson
• Little Pond
• Meacham Lake (pictured to the right)
Book your next campground reservation now and enjoy your summer outdoors!
Road Trip to Adventure: Kingston to the Mamakating Rail Trail
The Mamakating Rail Trail is part of a scenic network of trails that runs along the historic O&W Railroad bed, and is only an hour away from Kingston, NY. It connects to the D&H Canal Tow Path, the Long Path, and the Shawangunk Ridge Trail. With all these options to explore, you could spend hours recreating. Trail conditions vary between segments and not all are suitable for all activities.
After you have traveled the Rail Trail, don’t forget to stop at the Mamakating Environmental Education and Interpretative Center -- which is open to the public for gatherings -- or the Sullivan County D&H Canal Interpretive Center, where you can learn about life on the canal, the lock system, and enjoy many historical features of the site. All the trails are near the Village of Wurtsboro where you can stop for lunch or dinner.
Partner Profile: Grassland Bird Trust
Grassland Bird Trust (GBT) (formerly Friends of the IBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land trust working to conserve critical  habitat for New York's endangered, threatened and at-risk grassland birds. GBT is planning an eco-friendly Grassland Bird Center on Washington County Grasslands Wildlife Management Area lands that will allow for more educational and conservation programs, while expanding recreational opportunities for the public. DEC and GBT recently announced the acquisition of a 64-acre parcel of land at the heart of the grasslands that supports eight of the 11 New York's grassland bird "species of greatest conservation need" as listed in the 2015 NYS Wildlife Action Plan.
GBT hosts an annual Winter Raptor Fest to be held this year on Saturday, May 18th and Sunday, May 19th at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Greenwich, NY where you can experience the Winter Raptor Fest WILD Encounter. Explore a trail through the WILD Encounter to see live owls, hawks and falcons in the habitats they depend on for their survival. Meet a few mammals who share their habitat along the way! A new arctic habitat features snowy owls, short-eared owls and other wintering raptors on their arctic breeding grounds!
Thank you, Grassland Bird Trust, for all the work that you do to protect these critical species!
Photo: The newly acquired 64-acre parcel of land
Upcoming Free Events:
May 4: I Love My Park Day
Save the date! June 8 - Outdoors Day
Wildlife Watching:
April 27: 2:30 PM – Reinstein Woods: Birding 101 – Class #4
May 2, 16, 23: 7:30 AM – Five Rivers – Citizen Science: Early Birders
May 6: 7:00 PM – Five Rivers – HMBC SpeakerSeries: Weather and Birding
May 11: World Migratory Bird Day! See below for a variety of events that are taking place around the state
May 11: 6:00 AM – Five Rivers – I Bird NY: Birds and Breakfast
May 11: 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Adirondack Interpretive Center: Early Migrant Bird Walk II
May 11: 2:00 PM – Five Rivers – Beginning Birding
May 11: 2:30 PM – Reinstein Woods: Warblers for Beginners
May 18 & 19: Winter Raptor Fest at the Washington County Grasslands
Guided walks:
April 27: 10:00 AM – Reinstein Woods: Outdoor Skills
April 27: 10:00 AM – Five Rivers – Guided Walk: Signs of Spring
April 27: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM - Protectors of Pine Oak Woods - Brookfield Park
May 5: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Protectors of Pine Oak Woods - The Intertidal Zone at the Page Avenue Beach Nature Walk
May 15: 10:00 AM – Reinstein Woods: Senior Stroll
May 15: 6:30 PM – Reinstein Woods: Birdwatching Walk
May 17: 7:30 PM – Reinstein Woods: Full Moon Walk
May 18: 11:00 AM – Reinstein Woods: Woods Walk
May 18: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Protectors of Pine Oak Woods - Ambling through Arden
Free fishing clinics:
April 28: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM – Overlook Park, Poughkeepsie
April 28: 1:00 PM -4:00 PM – Free Earth Day Fishing Clinic at Prospect Park Audubon Center (Prospect Park Lake)
May 15: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM – Fishing the River at Norrie Point Environmental Education Center
May 5: Spring into Spring Fishing Clinic at Pound Ridge Town Park, Pound Ridge
May 18: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM – Brooklyn Bridge Park Free Fishing Clinic at Pier 5
May 18: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM – Free Family Fishing Day at Chadwick Lake Park, Newburgh
Check out the 2019 Erie Canal festivals, events, and concert series across the state sponsored in part by the Erie Canalway National Heritage Cooridor and New York State Canal Corporation.
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