Winnakee to sponsor local students for state environmental camp

Kicking off its 25th anniversary celebration, the Winnakee Land Trust has announced the debut of the Winnakee Environmental Education Scholarship Program, funded with a grant from a Winnakee board member.

Winnakee will sponsor four students, one each from Rhinebeck High School, Red Hook High School, FDR High School, and Stissing Mountain High School. Each student will be awarded full tuition for the week-long NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation 2014 Summer Camps.

The NYSDEC Summer Camps, based at New York State forests, combine recreational activities, such as hiking, swimming, archery, and canoeing, with a hands-on environmental science curriculum. The camps are located in upstate forests—Camp Rushford in Allegany County and Pack Forest in Warren County. Additional information and descriptions of the camps and activities can be found at the NYSDEC website: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/29.html.

“The enthusiastic response we’ve had to this offer is tremendous. Every school welcomed the program, and we hope it’s the beginning of strong, long-term educational partnerships,” Executive Director Lucy Hayden said in a news release. “It’s very important to Winnakee that we cultivate leadership on environmental issues in the next generation, and the DEC program has all the elements we want—active fun outdoors combined with well-grounded science.”