Stream Study Field Investigation

Stream Study Field Investigation on May 20 at 1:00PM at River Street Park, Valatie. Join Hudson River Valley Watershed advocate, Fran Martino, for a walk along the trails, and an exploration of the Kinderhook Creek. Participants will assess the relative health of the stream by experiencing the collection and identification of aquatic organisms, and observation of stream characteristics such as flow rate, clarity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen level. Find out how healthy the Kinderhook Creek is, and how it may impact the greater watershed. The CDC’s guidelines for social distancing and face masks will be required. Participants should come prepared for an outdoor experience: wear proper footwear (hiking boots; rubber boots; hip boots or sneakers that can get wet); dress in layers; bring drinking water, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent. Trails are maintained and well-marked with minimum elevation, some loose gravel and may be muddy.

River Street Park: To access the park, turn from Rte. 9 onto River Street at the Valatie Medical Arts building. There’s a parking area and kiosk at the end of River Street, where it becomes Pump House Road.

Fran Martino is the sole proprietor of River Haggie Outdoors, a Woman-owned Business Enterprise certified with New York State Department of Economic Development. She is self-employed as an environmental outreach and education specialist. She coordinated the Greater Stockport Creek Watershed Alliance (GSCWA) whose mission is to explore, understand, and protect the watershed ecosystem through community involvement and stewardship. GSCWA serve as a model to help incubate the Catskill Creek Watershed group with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia/Greene Counties who collaborates with Fran as a watershed consultant. In partnership with Rensselaer Land Trust, Fran was their project manager for a water quality monitoring program that studied 18 streams in Rensselaer County watersheds. In April 2015, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized Fran’s work as an environmental educator by awarding her the Environmental Champion Award. This award is the highest recognition presented to the public by EPA in recognition of those who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to protecting and enhancing environmental quality and public health. Fran is a native of Albany, New York, and her observations and musings about the Hudson River while in her “little red kayak” are often cited in the Hudson River Almanac. She states her career philosophy nowadays is, “Do what you like, and like what you do.”

Group size is limited to 15. Please email [email protected] or call the North Chatham Library at 518-766-3211 to register names of participants.

All adult learning programs of the North Chatham Free Library are supported in part by the Fund for Columbia County, a fund of the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, the Bank of Greene County and the Community Bank.

Rain date: May 27