In this Issue: Happy Earth Day; Volunteers Needed for Vernal Fling; Moon Rock Flowers; Mountain Laurel; and Vote for Us to Win Readers' Choice Award

Celebrate the Earth Today & Every Day

Woodstock's Earth Week Going Strong

"If every day were Earth Day, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in."

- Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist

Happy Earth Day! We love this planet for all it gives and all it makes possible. From the distant view of our blue marble as seen by the crew of Artemis II to the smallest sweat bee moving through Zena Cornfield, this day is a chance to offer gratitude to our planetary home.

At the heart of what makes Earth so special is water. Not only is most of the Earth's surface covered in it, but every forest, field and community is also part of a watershed, an area where freshwater moves through land to provide nourishment to all living creatures within it. Water is life, but it is also a place for joy, a place for play. With this in mind, on this Earth Day in an era of shifting climate, we wanted to share with you the playful awe that Woodstock youth bring to the work of environmental conservation.

Over the past few months, WLC's Program Manager Miranda Javid and a group of local experts visited six elementary classrooms at Woodstock Elementary, Woodstock Day School and Middle Way School, sharing hands-on ecology lessons rooted in these connections. From there, WLC supported art teachers as they brought these ideas into the classroom through projects tailored to each age group. Middle Way students created large-scale macroinvertebrate sculptures. Woodstock Day School focused on turtles, frogs and snakes. Woodstock Elementary explored habitat through detailed dioramas.

The result is a joyful and thoughtful collection of work that reflects how young people are seeing and understanding the natural world and their place within it.

You can view the exhibition at the Woodstock Library through May 7. There are also many more events hosted by the town as Woodstock continues to celebrate Earth Week. Check out programs and events for the remainder of the week, including the fashion show Friday evening and the clean-up event co-sponsored by Woodstock Youth Program and Woodstock Rotary that will start at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

We were excited to see more than 150 attendees at the opening of Watershed Wonders. What a delightful way to kick off Earth Week and share in the students' creativity. The day also featured Ravensbeard Wildlife Center’s birds of prey, Gardening Story Time (with planting) and a presentation on the mythology of Turtle Island from Algonquin elder Evan Pritchard.

It is always a privilege to celebrate the Earth alongside young people and to see it through their eyes. Happy Earth Day!

Volunteers Needed for Vernal Fling Shifts

Would You Like to Be a Part of the Team?

We're checking our to-do list as we get closer to May 16 and our 14th annual Vernal Fling. Part of what makes this fundraiser and awards celebration so successful each year is our volunteers. If you'd like to help us with any of the following, we would greatly appreciate it.

• Set-Up Crew: We have tents to erect, tables to move and merchandise to unpack as we ready the outside area of White Feather Farm for our guests. If you'd like to help with setting up Vernal Fling and are available from 1 to 2:30, we could use two or three volunteers.
• Serving Ice Cream: We need scoopers who know their way around ice cream. The first shift is covered, but we would appreciate one more volunteer for the 4:30 - 5:30 shift.
• Beverage Stations: We want to make sure guests stay hydrated, so we need one volunteer from 3:30 - 4:30 and another from 4:30 to 5:30 to keep the pitchers full.
• Tech Help: Are you comfortable helping guests with technology questions? We could use your expertise from 3 - 4:30.
• Tear-Down Crew: What comes up must come down, and we'd really appreciate several pairs of hands to help us from 5:45 - 6:45.

If you'd like to volunteer for Vernal Fling or have questions about any of the shifts, please click here.

Meet Willa Koerner and Moon Rock Flowers

Adding Color to our Vernal Fling Celebration

We're partnering with Willa Koerner and Moon Rock Flowers to beautify our Vernal Fling celebration with seasonal arrangements featuring an array of native, foraged, seed-grown and medicinal blooms — all grown locally, using 100% organic, no-till practices. Multiple arrangements will be raffled off at the end of the event and will each feature fun elements that can be enjoyed beyond their life as a bouquet (as a planter, as propagated cuttings or brewed as herbal tea).

Moon Rock Flowers is an offshoot of The Strange Foundation, a DIY residency space in West Shokan that supports creative practitioners focused on environmental sustainability, climate justice and healing for the natural world. Of note, our recent project "Sounds of the Winter Solstice" by Zaneta was partially created while they were in residence at The Strange!

Willa is clear she's not a full-time florist. She calls Moon Rock Flowers an "ecologically entangled mini flower farm." Willa does offer a seasonal "bouquet club" where you can pick up gorgeous blooms from a few convenient Woodstock-adjacent locations. She also creates incredible arrangements for weddings and special events like our own Vernal Fling.

Tickets are now on sale for Vernal Fling, happening May 16 from 3 - 6 p.m. at White Feather Farm. Come to see these multi-functional, ecologically minded bouquets; stay for the tasty bites and great company of the Woodstock community. Celebrate with us as we honor the Longyear family with the William R. Ginsberg Stewardship Award and Zoe Keller with the Emerging Leader Award.

Adult tickets are 15% off through May 10, so get your tickets today.

Nature in Its Adaptive Abundance

Mountain Laurel Grows Tall to Avoid Deer

Did you see our social media post last week about mountain laurel? (If you didn't, make sure you follow WLC on Facebook and Instagram.)

Mountain laurel typically grows as a low, dense shrub, often forming thickets along forest edges or in rocky soils. The plant in this photo, however, has taken a different path, growing unusually tall for its species.

According to WLC Stewardship Manager Melissa Peterson, this height, and the lack of lower branches, is likely a response to deer pressure. On higher Catskill peaks, where deer are less abundant, mountain laurel tends to remain shorter and more compact. But here, near the base of Mount Tremper on one of our Conservation Easements -- privately protected lands that we steward in perpetuity to safeguard habitat, water quality and biodiversity, the laurel has grown taller to rise above deer browse and survive.



A plant is always in dialogue with its environment, adapting to the specific conditions where its roots are laid. Just one more reason to be in awe of nature on Earth Day — and every day.

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