Become a Wildland Protector with Otsego Land Trust.

The Otsego Land Trust protects land forever, and now you can too! All ages are welcome.

See otsegolandtrust.org/wildland for more information and tips, and how to receive your Wildland Protector Badge.

Wildland Protector Badge Activities include:

• Go on a hike, observe 5 things
• Make a bug hotel and put it outside
• Adopt a local park or stream (or anywhere outside) and clean it up
• Plant something
• Spot 5 birds and draw 1 of them
• Draw a picture of something in your community that needs help
• Learn about a native plant or animal
• Your own creative idea!

Complete five activities to receive a patch.

The I BIRD NY Challenge, run by the Department of Environmental Conservation, will begin March 1, 2025. Use your observation skills and join the annual Challenge by identifying any 10 bird species of your choosing in New York State. After successfully completing this fun challenge, you will be awarded a commemorative patch, given a completion certificate, and entered into a drawing for great birding prizes!

The DEC website includes information on the I Bird NY Challenge as well as fact sheets, a beginner’s guide to birding, and birding events.

For local birding events, check the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society website as well as the Otsego Outdoors calendar of events.

Looking to ice skate or play some ice hockey?

Here are some rinks in Otsego County. As of December 19, 2023, the weather has not been cold enough for the ice to freeze solid enough for skating. We’ll provide updates as the weather gets colder.

Keeping ice smooth and skate-able is a big job. Many of these rinks are possible because of work of volunteers. If you like skating, consider asking how you can help out.

• Glimmerglass State Park offers skating under the under the West Picnic Shelter. Bring your own skates. Open dawn to dusk, the park is located on the north end of Otsego Lake at 1527 County Highway 31, Cooperstown, NY. For updates, call the Park office at 607/547-8662 or check the Park’s Facebook page.
• Fortin Park offers skating and ice hockey underneath a pavilion. Bring your own skates. The park is located near I-88 exit 16 at 101 Youngs Road in Oneonta. A Facebook page posts updates.
• Badger Park in Cooperstown has a community rink with skates and equipment available to borrow at no cost, thanks to the Cooperstown Friends of the Parks. Hockey hours are 7 pm to 9 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Badger Park is located on Beaver Street in Cooperstown, right behind the CVS and Price Chopper on Chestnut Street. Check the Facebook page for Cooperstown Friends of the Parks for updates.
• Springfield Community Center Skating Rink  Located by the Springfield Center Library, at 129 County Route 29A, Springfield Center. They plan to open the rink this winter, but the rink requires sustained temperatures in the 20’s or below for a few days to freeze. As soon as they see a promising forecast, we will put out a call for volunteers to help set it up. (Otsego Outdoors will pass on the call for volunteers as needed.) Once open, the rink will be open to the public daily, weather conditions permitting, and skates to borrow will be available in the shed.
  Follow Friends of Springfield on Facebook for updates. Here’s a great article on how the community came together to build the rink in 2021.

Enjoy the ice! Have another favorite place to skate in Otsego County? Please let us know.

According to geocaching.com, geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location. More about geocaching in general.

To join the region-wide treasure hunt with New York State Parks and Historic Sites, pick up a Central Region Geocache Challenge Passport at a participating park or historic site or download a copy. Here in Otsego County, there are NYS Parks Geocache Challenges at Glimmerglass State Park, Gilbert Lake State Park, Robert V. Riddell State Park, Betty and Wilbur Davis State Park, and Hyde Hall.

In addition to those included in the Central Region Geocache Challenge, you can find other geocaches near you at Geocaching.com

Find out more about geocaching and letterboxing and finding Hidden Treasures in New York State Parks.