OCCA and the Susquehanna Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club will co-host three Earth Festival hikes to familiarize persons with trails in the local community. These hikes are easy-to-moderate in difficulty and are suitable for multiple ages. It is our goal to accommodate those who are in school or working by providing late day and weekend hikes for this event. Please note: We will meet in the Milford Central School parking lot 30 minutes prior to the posted time of each walk to provide driving directions to the trailhead for each event. Please bring a cloth mask/facial covering for use, regardless of vaccination status. To sign up for hikes, please contact Liza Mundy by text at (607) 287-4395 or email lizaegloff (at) gmail (dot) com. Space is limited to 20, so sign up early!

Trails can be wet this time of year! Please wear proper footgear and dress for the conditions! In the event of inclement weather, hike will be cancelled.

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The Otsego County Conservation Association and the Susquehanna Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club will co-host three Earth Festival hikes to familiarize persons with trails in the local community. These hikes are easy-to-moderate in difficulty and are suitable for multiple ages. It is our goal to accommodate those who are in school or working by providing late day and weekend hikes for this event. Please note: We will meet in the Milford Central School parking lot 30 minutes prior to the posted time of each walk to provide driving directions to the trailhead for each event. Please bring a cloth mask/facial covering for use, regardless of vaccination status. To sign up for hikes, please contact Liza Mundy by text at (607) 287-4395 or email lizaegloff (at) gmail (dot) com. Space is limited to 20, so sign up early!

Trails can be wet this time of year! Please wear proper footgear and dress for the conditions! In the event of inclement weather, hike will be cancelled.

The post Earth Festival Hike: Star Field sunset hike and BYO picnic dinner appeared first on Otsego Outdoors.

The Otsego County Conservation Association and the Susquehanna Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club will co-host three Earth Festival hikes to familiarize people with trails in the local community. These hikes are easy-to-moderate in difficulty and are suitable for multiple ages. It is our goal to accommodate those who are in school or working by providing late day and weekend hikes for this event.

Please note: We will meet in the Milford Central School parking lot 30 minutes prior to the posted time of each walk to provide driving directions to the trailhead for each event. Please bring a cloth mask/facial covering for use, regardless of vaccination status. To sign up for hikes, please contact Liza Mundy by text at (607) 287-4395 or email lizaegloff (at) gmail (dot) com. Space is limited to 20, so sign up early!

Trails can be wet this time of year! Please wear proper footgear and dress for the conditions! In the event of inclement weather, hike will be cancelled.

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***DUE TO EXPECTED CLOUDY WEATHER, THIS PROGRAM WILL NOW TAKE PLACE ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21***

Join OCCA Vice President, Jim Hill for an evening of naked eye astronomy as we tour the spectacular night sky of February. The winter sky provides a wonderful array of zero and first magnitude stars (the lower the magnitude, the brighter the star!). We will explore constellations including Orion, Gemini and Taurus; the magnificent asterism known as the winter circle; and the open star cluster, the Pleiades.  If we’re lucky, we might get a glimpse of the most distant object you can see with the naked eye, Andromeda.

Meet at 7pm at Mohican Farm. Most of this program will take place outside, so dress for the weather and bring a chair so that you don’t have to sit on frozen or snowy ground. Binoculars are optional. Hot chocolate and a snack will be served.

In the event of cloudy/bad weather, program will take place on Friday, February 21. Program is free, but preregistration is appreciated. To sign up, visit https://occainfo.org/signup/.

The post Naked Eye Astronomy, Winter Edition: Are You Sirius?**Date changed** appeared first on Otsego Outdoors.

Take a brisk trail walk with OCCA and the staff of the Clark Sports Center at the Clark Sports Center! We’ll wind our way through hemlocks and hardwoods, along the river, and onto a floodplain. The exact route depends on trail and weather conditions. Please note that snowshoes may be helpful, but you must provide your own. Meet at noon in the main lobby at Clark Sports Center, 124 County Road 52, Cooperstown. Program is free, but registration is appreciated. Visit OCCA’s website to sign up.

This program is offered as part of the Cooperstown Winter Carnival. Visit the Cooperstown Winter Carnival web page for a full schedule of events.

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Free, but pre-registration is appreciated.

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Enjoy the Leatherstocking Golf Course without the frustration of trying to hit out of the rough! Golf Course Superintendent Mike O’Neill will lead a tour of the grounds showcasing its beauty and will share projects and management practices designed to keep the links “green” as well as green. In addition to the lush scenery and spectacular views of Otsego Lake, we’ll see sediment retention ponds, lake bank stabilization efforts, and more. Meet at 8 am at the golf course maintenance shop. Program is free, though

DIRECTIONS: Turn off NY Route 80 at the sign for the Cooperstown Country Club (across from the Farmers’ Museum). Proceed carefully, you are on the golf course! Bear left at the tennis courts and follow the drive to the parking area by the workshop. GPS coordinates 42.711815, -74.924378.

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Can you find the North Star? How about Arcturus? Can you find constellations, like Cygnus the swan, Ursa Major, Draco, Pegasus or Andromeda? What about Jupiter and Saturn? All these celestial objects will be in the evening sky this autumn, and you can learn how to find them! Join OCCA Vice President Jim Hill for a beginner’s guide to the autumn sky. Bring blankets or a chair and dress warmly, as we will spend time outside, and the best viewing is often while lying on your back or sitting in a lawn chair. No telescopes; binoculars are optional but not necessary, this is naked eye astronomy, after all!

Meet at the Mohican Farm workshop, 7207 State Highway 80, Cooperstown. Program is free, but pre-registration is appreciated. Visit https://occainfo.org/signup/ to register.

Jim Hill taught high school science at Richfield Springs for 30 years. His courses included AP Biology, Human Genetics, and Astronomy.

NOTE: In the event of poor weather or cloudy skies, the program will take place on September 28, same time.

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Water chestnut (Trapa natans) persists in the Stump Lot portion of Goodyear Lake. Meet OCCA staff at the Fishing Access Site in Portlandville, take to the water, and help keep this highly-invasive aquatic plant under control. Bring water, sunscreen, a hat and dress to get wet and maybe dirty. You may bring your own canoe or kayak, or reserve a space in an OCCA canoe. Spend an enjoyable couple of hours on the water, and help the environment, too!

The Portlandville Fishing Access Site is located on State Route 28 in Portlandville, approximately 800 feet south of County Route 35A, GPS coordinates 42.528468, -74.971153.

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