What we’ve accomplished throughout the years
Donations from Friends
- Food collections for local food banks and Parks food collections MLK Day
- After the Fire through Gansevoort Fire Dept.
- Honorary and memorial contributions for deceased Friends, spouses, newborns and retirement
- Books for Little Free Libraries
- Other local nonprofit organizations – North Country Wild Care
Funding and Hands-On Work
Purchased AND:
- Built owl enclosure with added features specific to each owl
- Built snake enclosure
- Built 5 raised beds
- Re-built and painted the wooden benches around the beach house and concession stand
- Built the bird wing span item on the side of the NC
- Re-built the bridge between MLSP and back pond
- Installed 4 Little Free Libraries
- Installed 2 boot cleaning stations, including signage
- Established, revived and planted 4 gardens at MLSP,
- Established 3 gardens at Grant Cottage and started a wildflower field at Grant Cottage
- Repair Ice Fishing equipment
- New filters, lights and other equipment for the turtles
- Glass display cases in the Nature Center
- Taxidermy animal mounts
- Laptop for personal observatory dome
- BBQ grill for events
- Installed dog waste stations
- Built all new shelving in the Friends room
- Purchased new refrigerator
- NatureFest funding average $4k for each event, 20 years running
- TV in the Warming Hut
- Built and installed Osprey Nest
- Built the bird blind at Mud Pond
- Installed several benches for ILMPD
- Purchase, install split rail fence at boat launch
- Donate, renovate planter bed in front of concession, 3 sisters garden
- Supply multiple hot water beverage urns and insulated beverage cambos
- Build and install arch lighting for bridge during holiday luminary walks
- Serve thousands of hot dogs and accompaniments
- Regular landscape maintenance throughout the park by green team
- Design, build, maintain website
- Maintain Facebook
- Maintain database (Little Green Light) and Mailchimp
- Luminary Walk arches, warming hut treats
- Memorial Plaque and bench program, 14 to date
Community engagements/Outreach
- Volunteers worked a booth at SGF Community Day
- Tabled at Skidmore Environmental conference
- Tabled at Eastern Mountain Sports
- Tabled at Wilton Preserve events
- Work booth space at Adirondack Expo weekend in March
- Canoe Planter Project – cleaned, transported 8 canoes to local youth sites; paid for and provided all supplies for painting engaged the community, schools and clubs to paint canoes for the Canoe trail
- Table the community booth at Saratoga Race Course
- Established a benches and plaque program
- Help organize and assist scout projects lean-to, foot bridge,
Grants
- Bridge – PTNY
- Split rail fence – PTNY
- Kayak racks – PTNY
- Kids crafts – Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match
- ADA approved playground equipment – PTNY
- ADA approved beach mats and adaptable wheelchair – PTNY
- Winter hats and gloves for Schenectady Fishing Club – Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match
- 4 Little Free Libraries
- Raptor enclosure in nature center – Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match
- Board of Directors capacity building, strategic planning, marketing
NYS Park and PTNY Engagement
- Attend Park Advocacy Day in Albany, multiple years
- ILMPD
- PTNY Leadership
- PTNY Regional Friends Meetings
Collaboration and Support provided to Park Staff
- Ice Fishing
- Conservation Field Day
- NatureFest
- ILMPD
- PRISM invasive training and invasive removal in several areas of the park
- Woolly Adelgid inspections in the park
- Trail Stewards
- Trail work
- Full Moon hikes
- First Day hikes
- Astronomy hikes and presentations
- Post park events on Friends website, Instagram and Facebook
- Post Park calendar on Website
- Docent at the Warming Hut on weekend and winter park events
- Collect books and restock the warming hut library and the Little Free Libraries
- Outreach for volunteers to help in the park from Skidmore, SGFHS, local scout troops, church groups, local civic groups
- Outreach and tabling at local events, Saratoga PLAN, Wilton Wildlife and Preserve, Grant Cottage,