Sign up using the link above, or email volunteer@occainfo.org

Japanese knotweed is one of the most difficult invasive plants to get rid of. Join OCCA and Mohican Farm as we continue our efforts to eliminate a patch of knotweed. We’ll chop, dig and pull, and then enjoy some light refreshments in the garden at Mohican Farm. Some tools are available. Feel free to bring gardening gloves and pruners of your own. Meet at Mohican Farm, 7207 NY 80, Cooperstown.

Please sign up using the link below, or email volunteer@occainfo.org

Love spending time in the woods? Want to give back to the places you love to hike and explore? Otsego County Conservation Association is seeking volunteers who want to help keep our local forests accessible. Join us for our Trails Team training and learn how to help care for the serene trails at Basswood State Forest and Arnold Lake State Forest. Once trained, you'll be able to "adopt" a section of trail at either State Forest to help maintain.

This hands-on training will teach you the approved techniques and safety practices for maintaining trails on state land, as well as what tools and methods are allowed. Once trained, you’ll be able to head out in small groups to keep the trails clear and enjoyable. Each small team "adopts" a stretch of trail and commits to helping maintain it throughout the year.

📍 Training Location: Basswood Pond State Forest, Town of Burlington, NY 

The meeting location will be the parking lot on Jacobs Road, https://maps.app.goo.gl/csSgSBtWEcuK1cjT9

What to Expect:

• Learn trail-clearing protocols and safety techniques

• Meet other outdoor lovers and potential trail partners

• Ability to volunteer independently year-round

• You'll leave with the option to adopt a section of a trail at either Arnold Lake State Forest or Basswood State Forest.

• Enjoy a rewarding way to give back to your community and nature
  

What to Bring:

• Sturdy boots and clothes suitable for brushy terrain

• Work gloves (if you have them)

• Water / snacks and your enthusiasm!

or email us at volunteer@occainfo.org to register or ask questions.

Join us to help protect the trails you love and become a steward of our local forests!

Join expert forager Shane Gardner for a guided spring mushroom walk through the Morris woods! This seasonal event offers a hands-on introduction to identifying wild mushrooms in their natural habitat, with a special focus on edible and medicinal species that emerge in spring.

Participants will learn:

• How to safely identify common spring mushrooms.

• Best practices for ethical and sustainable foraging

• Habitat clues and seasonal patterns

• Field tips from Shane's extensive foraging experience

This walk is suitable for all experience levels. Please wear sturdy shoes, dress for the weather, and bring a basket or mesh bag if you'd like to collect specimens.

Space is limited. Please use the form below to sign up.

With a mix of fields, woods, gardens and lakeshore, Mohican Farm is an excellent place for birding. Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society Co-President, Becky Gretton leads this early morning walk at Mohican Farm in search of the early birds. This walk is suitable for beginners and experts alike. Bring binoculars, bird guide and be prepared for any weather (and plan for walking in wet grass). Program is free, but pre-registration is required using the form below Attendance is limited to 20.

Join us for an evening of outdoor crafting, conversations, meadow meandering and relaxation!

Thursday, May 15th any time between 6:00pm - 8:00 pm

Bring a craft that you can do outside such as yarn crafts, jewerly making, drawing and such (the facility has asked us to please leave paints at home)

Tea, cookies and coffee (decaf too) will be provided. The event is in the New Lisbon area and the address will be provided when you register.

Part of the conversation we hope to have include: what our next few activites will be, what our community needs right now, how do we support one another, and I’m sure we will talk about our pets, favorite foods and create a collection of favorite ways to relax in nature that we can share with the community at large!

Please Register Here for Location Details

Join OCCA for a beautiful spring hike through the Emmons Pond Bog trails! We will search for the first blooms of the season, discover a waterfall, and observe other signs of spring. Along the way, we'll learn about flower and tree identification. Please note that the trails are usually muddy in spring, so be sure to wear appropriate footwear. Use the form below to sign up.

The presentation will discuss the complex biology of New York's burying beetle community, and efforts to reintroduce a critically endangered species, the American Burying Beetle.

Join Dr. Carmen Greenwood an Associate Professor at SUNY Cobleskill whose research focuses on Insect Ecology and Conservation Biology. Arthropods play critical roles in ecosystem function and constitute about 80% of animal diversity on the planet today.

This program will take place in the meeting room (across from the rock wall) at the Clark Sports Center on Wednesday, May 7 at 7:00 pm.

Join Otsego County Conservation Association on May 3rd, 2025 between 10am-2pm to help clean up a 2 mile stretch of State Highway 80. Refreshments will be provided as well as everything you need to participate, including visibility vests, bags, and gloves. Together, let’s keep the northwestern side of Otsego Lake beautiful!

Or email our volunteer coordinator, Kendall Jacob, at volunteer@occainfo.org

Join Master Gardener Celia Oxley as she explores the value of native plants in our landscape.

Preserving our planet through the power of native plants is crucial for fostering biodiversity and supporting local ecosystems. By attracting butterflies, birds, and bees, we can enhance the beauty of our landscapes while promoting the health of the environment.

Use the form below to RSVP so we have an idea of how many people to expect. Walk ins welcome.

A Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) is a process culminating in a document providing descriptions and mapping of the location, distribution, type, and condition of particular natural resources. The resources are documented, recorded, and shared with the public for broader awareness of the current natural landscape of an area. In many cases, a municipality such as a village or town can utilize the NRI as part of their applications for state or federal grant funding. Otsego County’s Planning Department will introduce its new countywide natural resource inventory, sharing information about the initial impetus for creating the NRI, discussing the partner agencies/organizations that collaborated on this effort and the process, as well as the intended uses/benefits of an up-to-date NRI. Otsego County’s GIS Coordinator will walk through a mock scenario of a property inquiry using the online NRI to inform attendees how they can access it and utilize it themselves.

Join Otsego County’s Trevor Fuller, Kevin Musser and Levi Anderson for this informative presentation. Use the form below to RSVP so we have an idea of how many participants to expect.

Permaculture is a design technique that includes the interaction and interdependence of plants, animals, humans, soil, water, infrastructure, and community in the shared goal of sustainability. Learn how to add one or more permaculture design elements to your garden to enhance food production.

Join Kat Chiba from Straw Bale House Herbs for this informative talk. Preregistration is not required but we would love to know how many people are coming.

Join Kelly Anne Davis of Fiddle and Frond Family Care for a drop-in craft session to create found object art.

This event is open from 12 PM to 2 PM.

Come and make something fun, and get ideas for projects you can do at home!

The Herbal Apothecary - The herbs and spices in your kitchen cabinet can add flavor, scent, and color to foods and beverages. In addition, herbs can gently nourish and sustain us as well as ease headaches, stomach ailments, and skin issues. Join herbalist Gert Coleman to learn how to use your herbs and spices in a number of healing ways.

Herbal educator, writer, gardener, editor, and herb enthusiast, Gert Coleman loves, grows, eats, and reads avidly about herbs. Retired professor of English, she lives on 100+ acres in Central New York, growing herbs, flowers, trees, and at-risk native plants with her husband and dog.

This talk/presentation will provide insights into the growing public health threats of ticks and tick-borne diseases in New York State. The talk will also focus on:

(1) how the Upstate Tick Testing Laboratory is at the forefront of monitoring and tracking tick populations through cutting-edge surveillance tools and research;
(2) the innovative tickMAP mapping tool, which tracks tick distribution and the spread of tick-borne pathogens across New York and beyond; and
(3) how citizen science surveillance is shaping our response to the rise of tick-borne diseases and improving public health strategies across New York State.

Join Dr. Saravanan Thangamani from SUNY Upstate Medical University for our Keynote presentation. This talk will be followed by a panel discussion from local tick experts.

We are excited to invite you to our annual event at the Milford School! This year, we will also host a drive-through drop-off at Wilber Park (located on Dave West Drive in Milford) on the same day.

We have confirmed over forty vendors and exhibitors, including NY Goat Yoga and Origins. Throughout the day, we will offer a fun mix of workshops and hands-on activities.

Join us at the Repair Café from 11 AM to 2 PM, where our expert coaches will assist you in repairing your treasured items.

We can't wait to see you there!

Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society (DOAS) announces a series of workshops to support Bird-Friendly Homes throughout their Chapter Region. The workshops will focus on helping homeowners make Acopian BirdSavers window treatments for up to three windows in their homes (for free while funding lasts) in order to reduce bird-window collisions at homes throughout our communities.

Homeowners in our communities are invited to attend one of the area workshops where they can learn more and make/take home Acopian BirdSaver window treatments for up to three windows at their residences to help prevent collisions. Pre-registration is required so that ample materials can be available.

REGISTER TODAY at https://mobilize.us/s/bh0wyu

**Get the Kids Outside - Mohican Farm**

Join OCCA Assistant Director Shelby MacLeish for a few hours of fun during Spring Break! As the sun shines, plants begin to grow, and animals return from their winter slumbers, it's the perfect time to celebrate the changing seasons and look for signs of spring. We will take a walk down to the lake to explore the grounds before participating in a fun activity. Use the form below to sign up.

This program has been postponed as the presenter is sick. We hope to get it back on the calendar as soon as possible. Stay tuned!

Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) is a common invasive riparian plant seen in the Catskills. It can shade out other streamside plants and establish monocultures, lower water quality, and even damage infrastructure. Management of this plant can be tricky, but it is doable! Join CRISP Terrestrial Invasive Species Manager Dan Snider-Nerp to learn about current best management practices for Japanese knotweed and its closest relatives, as well as experimental management methods, and the future of sustainable management for this species in the Catskills.

Last time we had Gilbert Lake on the schedule, we had to cancel due to excessive snow on the trail. Let’s give it another try! Join OCCA's Assistant Director, Shelby MacLeish, for a leisurely walk around Gilbert Lake. We will observe the transition from winter to spring and look for signs of the new season. Please dress appropriately for the weather. Use the form below to sign up!

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED

What does it mean to love a forest? In this talk, Ethan Tapper, a forester, author and content creator from Vermont, will draw from his work as a forester and his bestselling book -- How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World -- to discuss what it means to care for forests and other ecosystems at this moment in time. How do we respond to the harmful legacies of the past? How do we use our species' incredible power to heal rather than to harm? How do we reach towards a better future? In a time in which many believe that “protecting” ecosystems means protecting them from ourselves, Ethan argues that humans must take action to help ecosystems heal and to move into a more abundant future. Ethan’s message is at once compassionate and pragmatic, clear-eyed and hopeful, sobering and inspiring – a powerful new idea for how we can build a world that works for all of its ecosystems and all of its people.

Ethan Tapper is a forester, birder, naturalist and digital creator, and the author of How to Love a Forest. He has been recognized as a thought-leader and a disruptor in the forestry and conservation community of the northeastern United States and beyond, winning multiple regional and national awards for his work. Ethan runs a consulting forestry business–Bear Island Forestry–is a regular contributor to Northern Woodlands magazine and a variety of other publications, and is a digital creator with tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook. In his personal life, Ethan works, writes, hunts and birds at Bear Island–his 175-acre working forest, homestead, orchard and sugarbush–works toward a graduate degree at the University of Vermont, and plays in his 10-piece punk band, The Bubs.

The Be Informed Lecture Series is brought to you in partnership between Mohican Farm and OCCA. This program will take place at the Fenimore Art Museum’s auditorium on Thursday, March 13 at 7 pm. Please use the form below to sign up.

Join OCCA for a wintery walk along the Silas Lane Loop section of the Greenway Trail in Oneonta. We will ramble along the Susquehanna and look for signs of early spring (we hope). While walking we will listen for birds, learn how to identify trees in the winter and look for tracks in the snow. Dress warmly and make sure you are wearing appropriate footwear.

From I-88, take Exit 13. Turn towards the mountains rather than the city, then take a right onto Silas Lane, you will pass the wastewater treatment plant. We will meet at end of Silas Lane, by the School Bus Garage by the soccer fields.

Use the form below to sign up.

Help us find out if the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid is in Texas Schoolhouse State Forest! 

Learn how to identify hemlock woolly adelgid, a destructive insect pest, then participate in a survey along a one-mile section of trail in Texas School House State Forest in New Lisbon. Dress for the weather, wear sturdy shoes with good traction, and bring water. Please park at the trailhead on Jones Road.

This program has been postponed until March 1.