Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute and the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District have collaborated on a study detailing long term trends of the water quality in 21 Hamilton County lakes.
“The State of Hamilton County Lakes: A 25 Year Perspective 1993 – 2017” was developed to deliver a countywide assessment of the current and historical water quality status and in hopes of guiding future watershed management decisions. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Research Consortium has announced that “Celebrating Women in Leadership: Workplace Resources, Tools, and Strategies,” a workshop designed to explore the challenges and opportunities for women in leadership roles, has been set for Friday, February 22, 2019, from 10 am to 3 pm, in the Joan Weill Adirondack Library, on the Paul Smith’s College Campus.
This workshop will provide an opportunity to learn about available resources and workplace strategies, and to engage in facilitated discussions to identify action items to help young women in the workplace. Lunch will be provided. » Continue Reading.
Wildland firefighting, a field that aligns closely with existing Paul Smith’s College academic programs, will now be a minor available to students.
Included in the minor is an Incident Qualification Card, known as a “red card” and a key certification for those pursuing work in the field. Educational background also plays a substantial role – the college’s four-year programs in Forestry, Natural Resources and Conservation Management, Parks and Recreation Management, and Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences are among those preferred by local, state, and federal agencies. » Continue Reading.
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that New York State is expanding its partnership with Paul Smith College’s Adirondack Watershed Institute Stewardship Program to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) throughout the Adirondack’s waterways through the strategic placement of boat stewards and decontamination stations.
With more than 2,300 lakes and ponds, 1,500 miles of rivers, and 30,000 miles of brooks and streams, the Adirondack region is particularly vulnerable to the introduction of AIS. Once established, AIS such as zebra mussels and Eurasian water milfoil can spread rapidly through connecting waterways or by “hitchhiking” on the propellers, trailers, rudders, and motors of recreational boaters’ and anglers’ vessels. » Continue Reading.
The Paul Smith’s College VIC recently unveiled a new exhibit space for the display of works of art by regional and national artists. The new Heron Marsh Gallery will feature four different nature-themed shows each year.
Currently, the Heron Marsh Gallery is featuring “Topo-Shift 3: Woods Way” by Winn Rea, an artist who has exhibited internationally from The Netherlands to South Korea and nationally from A.I.R. Gallery in New York City to The Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The registration deadline for the Adirondack Canoe Symposium, taking place from July 14-17 at Paul Smith’s College, is Friday, June 30. The symposium offers instruction for people wishing to improve paddling and precision boat control skills.
The Symposium is taking place concurrently with the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association Assembly, an opportunity to learn about the historical aspects of canoeing, meet canoe builders, and see hand-crafted wooden canoes. There will also be an interpretive freestyle exhibition and a candlelight paddle. » Continue Reading.
Paul Smith’s College have sent a statement to the press saying they will not appeal a ruling by the New York State Supreme Court denying their request to rename the college to include the name of a wealthy donor.
“Despite our continued confidence in the merits of that proposal, we believe that an appeal would ultimately be counterproductive for students, alumni, faculty and staff,” Philip E. Saunders, chairman of the Paul Smith’s College Board of Trustees said in a statement sent to the press Thursday. » Continue Reading.
A state judge has ruled against Paul Smith’s College’s request to change its name to Joan Weill-Paul Smith’s College, a controversy that has roiled the college and its alumni for months.
State Supreme Court Justice John Ellis issued the ruling Tuesday.
Cathy Dove, president of the college, had pushed for the name change in order secure a $20 million gift from Weill, a wealthy philanthropist who once served as chairwoman of the college’s board of trustees. » Continue Reading.
I never tire of plein air painting! A couple of weeks ago we completed the very successful 7th Adirondack Plein Air Festival in the Saranac Lake area. Fifty-five artists from all over the east coast and Canada came to paint our Adirondack views.
Several thousand dollars in prizes were awarded and 86 people brought new paintings home with them. Now we are having an informal, local “Paint-Out” at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC). » Continue Reading.
Some Almanack readers may remember a couple of wildlife adventures I’ve written about (“The Cruel Art of Nature” and “Survival of the Fittest on the Pinnacle Trail”). I can’t say that I am obsessed with the cruelty of raw nature, but I am attracted to it – the primeval laws of survival. Some wild creatures have to eat other wild creatures in order to live. We humans used to be like that. This is the subject matter of two of my paintings being shown in an upcoming exhibit.
But not all my paintings are about life and death in nature – some are just encounters that occurred because, as an artist, I’m pretty observant. Especially in the natural world, I notice things that a lot of other people might just walk right by. » Continue Reading.
The Board of Trustees of Paul Smith’s College have announced that it is seeking approval from the New York State Board of Regents and the New York State court to rename the college by adding the name of a wealthy donor who has promised $20 million dollars. If approved the new name would be Joan Weill-Paul Smith’s College.
“Should the naming honor be approved, the Weills have pledged a $20 million gift to transform the financial future of the private, four-year college and allow it to introduce its blend of traditional and experiential learning to a far broader array of prospective students and faculty worldwide,” a statement sent to the press said. » Continue Reading.
Nearly a century ago, a North Country man played a role in one the most remarkable murder cases in New York State history. Attorney James J. Barry was a Keeseville native, born there in late 1876 and a graduated of Keeseville’s McAuley Academy in 1898. In 1901 he moved to Schenectady where he worked for General Electric. He later attended Albany Law School, graduating in 1908 and setting up shop in Schenectady, his adopted home.
The Adirondacks were his real home however, and he maintained strong ties here. To share with others the joys of spending time in the mountains, he helped form the Northmen’s Club, of which he was president in 1907. Many times in the ensuing decades, he took club members, friends, and public officials on visits up north. Jim Barry was never away for very long. » Continue Reading.
There is a remarkable experiment on display in the gallery space of the Paul Smith’s College Visitors Interpretive Center (VIC). Twelve area photographers were invited to come out to the VIC between April 17 and 21 to capture images of the property. Then they had a couple of days to review their efforts, print, mat and frame them for this exhibit, which was hung on April 25.
The experiment was actually my idea. I absolutely love the challenges of plein air painting – hauling my paints and easel out to a view I like and spending a day creating a painting. I find it’s a wonderful way to totally immerse myself in that specific environment and put the rest of my life out of my mind for those enjoyable hours, not to mention the fresh air and (hopefully) sunshine. It’s like the difference between an impromptu talk and a rehearsed speech; you have to produce – right there – on the spot. » Continue Reading.
The State University of New York Press is coming out with an edition of Teddy Roosevelt’s diaries from 1877 to 1886, when the future president was in his late teens and twenties. Given TR’s ties to the Adirondacks, I expected to find some entries from our neck of the woods and was not disappointed.
In 1877, Roosevelt and a friend, H.D. Minot, wrote a short article with a list of birds they had observed near Paul Smiths, The article – “The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N. Y.” – was TR’s first published work. Click here to read the article.
The article is based on three birding trips in the Adirondacks, in 1874, 1875, and 1877. Minot, a Harvard classmate, accompanied Roosevelt only on the last trip. TR’s diaries contain several short entries from that excursion.
The SUNY book, edited by Edward P. Kohn, a historian, is titled A Most Glorious Ride: The Diaries of Theodore Roosevelt 1877-1886. It is due out April 1.
Strikingly beautiful photographs, expressive but realistic paintings of dinosaurs in lush green landscapes, a “Touch Table”, live music Sunday afternoons from 1 – 3, and 25 miles of groomed ski trails….. this is the Paul Smith’s College VIC.
It’s really pretty cool to be able to come to a place that offers so much. The current New Moon Art Exhibit consists of photographs by Jim Bullard, of Potsdam, and paintings by Meg Bernstein of Saranac Lake, where she is a member of the Adirondack Artists Guild Gallery. Both artists have a lifetime of experience behind them, but continue to explore, invent, and create new things. » Continue Reading.
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