Skidmore to offer tour of its North Woods and service day

Skidmore College's North Woods, a large tract of forested land directly north of the main campus, will be the focus of two community activities in the weeks ahead. The college will offer a guided tour of its North Woods on Saturday, Oct. 8, and a community service day to help with trail maintenance, clean up, and erosion control on Saturday, Oct. 22.

The Oct. 8 tour will focus on the cultural history of the North Woods. The program will begin with an information session in Room 280 of Bolton Hall on the Skidmore campus at 1 p.m., and then the walk will set out from the Palamountain Hall lobby at 1:30 p.m. Led by Robert Jones, associate professor and chair of economics at Skidmore, the walk will follow some of the area's historic carriage trails. In the event of rain, Professor Jones will offer a narrated video tour in Bolton 280. The tour is open to the public free of charge, and no registration is required.

Jones will explain in his presentation that the current Skidmore campus is located on land that prior to 1960 was known as Woodlawn. Its grounds contained largely forested land with several estate homes, a large lawn, and more than 20 miles of carriage trails dating back more than a century. 

The North Woods community service day on Oct. 22 will offer an opportunity for local residents, along with Skidmore students, faculty, staff, to work together on the trails to help with litter removal, erosion control, and other maintenance.

Volunteerswill meet at 10 a.m. at the Falstaff's building on the Skidmore campus. The first phase of the work will run until noon, at which time lunch will be provided. Projects will then continue into the afternoon. Participants should dress appropriately, with long pants, boots, and work gloves. Those interested in volunteering should register by Wednesday, Oct. 19, by contacting Riley Neugebauer, sustainability coordinator at Skidmore, 518-580-5865,  rneugeba@skidmore.edu.

Skidmore's North Woods property is home to numerous native species, including migrating songbirds and 33 types of ferns. With southern oak, hickory, and northern hardwoods as well as ponds and marshes, the woods support a biologically diverse animal and plant population that is important to faculty and student research. Much of the area is available for public use, but please remember to keep your dogs on leash.