Discover Your World!
become a Rensselaer Naturalist this spring and summer
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a new joint program of Rensselaer Land Trust and Rensselaer Plateau Alliance
What was that bird, anyway?
Or that pretty wildflower?
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Learn with us
Whether you're a beginner or already have experience with a given topic, you'll learn something new from a Rensselaer Naturalist outing! At each outing in this new and exciting series, adults and teens can learn about a specific aspect of the natural world. Our hope is that you'll come away from these programs able to put names on some plants and animals you're likely to see in the County.
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Earn a Rensselaer Naturalist Patch
Each outing will have a learning goal, such as "what makes a bog a bog?" or "learn 10 wildflowers." Complete learning goals for at lease 8 of the programs and you will receive your customized Rensselaer Naturalist patch!
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Rensselaer Naturalist Resources Library
An extensive list of library resources has been compiled by Series leaders from the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance and the Rensselaer Land Trust. You can view them HERE. A number of these resources and other related materials can be found in the RPA's special collection at the Sand Lake Town Library. You can browse the materials and check them out from there. You can also refer to the Upper Hudson Library system for inter-library loan.
Upcoming Programs, open to all!
You can attend as many or as few of these programs as you wish (with a minimum only if you are earning your patch). Most of the programs listed below are part of the Rensselaer Naturalist series. Those marked with * are other outings that will also offer an opportunity to earn credit for the patch.
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Rensselaer Naturalist Schedule (with links for online registration)
Most of the following outings are designed specifically for the Rensselaer Naturalist series. Those marked with * are other outings that will also offer an opportunity to earn credit toward the patch.
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*Sat, May 11, 9 am - noon - Invasive Plants Program and Workday with Capital Mohawk PRISM at Staalesen Vanderheyden Preserve, Troy. With Joe Durkin. No charge. Register in advance and get all the details here.
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Sat, May 18, 10 am - 1 pm - Spring Wildflowers at RPI Tech Park, North Greenbush. With Tom Phillips. Register in advance and get all the details here.
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Sat, June 1, 1 pm - 4 pm - Wetland Plants/Ecology at Quacken Kill Marsh in Grafton. With David Hunt. Register in advance and get all the details here.
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Sat, June 8, 9 am - 1 pm - Old Growth Forests at Wyomanock Center for Sustainability. With David Hunt. Register in advance and get all the details here.
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Sat, June 22, 9:30 am – 11:30 am - Trees at Kinderhook Creek Preserve. With Dave Hart and David Gaskell. Register in advance and get all the details here.
Sat, July 13, 9 am - noon - Geology at Kinderhook Creek Preserve. With Bill Kelley and David Gaskell. Register in advance and get all the details here.
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Sun, July 14, 10 am - 1 pm - Ferns and Mosses at Poestenkill Community Forest. With Tom Phillips. Register in advance and get all the details here.
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Sat, July 20, 1 pm - 4 pm - Peatlands/Bogs (site to be announced). With David Hunt. Register in advance and get all the details here.
Sat, *July 27, 9 am - 3 pm - Invasive Species/Peatland Restoration workday at Wyomanock Center for Sustainability. With David Hunt. No charge. Register in advance and get all the details here.
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Sat, *August 10, 7 pm - 8:30 pm – Annual Hudson River Fish Count at Schodack Island State Park. With Fran Martino. No charge. Register in advance and get all the details here.
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Sat, August 17, 10 am - Field and Meadow Plants at Lock 4 Canal Park, Schaghticoke. With Rich Ring. Register in advance and get the details here.
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Sat, *August 24, 10 am - noon - Mushroom Walk with John Wheeler. Register in advance and get the details here.
Sat, September 28, 10 am - noon - Mushroom Walk with John Wheeler. Register in advance and get the details here.
Sat, *October 19, 10 am - noon - Mushroom Walk for Beginners. Register in advance here. / 1 pm - 3 pm - Learn to Key Mushrooms, Intermediate. With Sue Van Hook. Register in advance here.
Other RLT-RPA Outings/Programs
Sat, June 29, 10 am - Alphabet of the Trees, for children ages 6 and up, at Staalesen Vanderheyden Preserve, Troy. With Annie Jacobs. Register in advance and get all the details here.
Sat, July 27, 10 am - Botanical Sun-prints. Learn more and register in advance here. With Kate Lovering.
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Sat, August 3, 9 am - noon - Hike to Lt. Col. Gundrum land with pond and mountain views, Berlin. With AJ Schneeberg. Register in advance and get all the details here.