PCLT Award Winners

2007 Blue Heron Award

Cherie Ingraham and Rick Feuerman

There are many Putnam residents who are worthy candidates for the Putnam County Land Trust’s Annual Blue Heron award which aims to recognize and acknowledge those individuals who have made and/or continue to make contributions to environmental values here in Putnam County. This year we are pleased to announce that the award will be given to Cherie Ingraham and Rick Feuerman for their work in establishing and nurturing the Chuckie Goodnight Foundation for the Environment.

The Foundation is dedicated to environmental education focusing on youngsters. Using their background in the design field, Cherie has created the Chuckie Goodnight character as a spokesman for the environment. His job is to educate children about the importance of being kind and respectful and taking good care of our earth. She has written a book about the character Chuckie and his friends and has published a calendar and a journal as well. To fund the Foundation, childrens’ sleepwear has been designed and marketed.

To quote from the Chuckie Goodnight Foundation website, “Children are our focus. They are our future generations. We must teach them social ethics and earth stewardship.” Well said.
There are two ways that PCLT is supported. One is through the donation of money; the second is through the donation of time and talents. The Leadership in Giving Award, initiated in 2006 recognizes individuals who have led in giving to PCLT. Victor Grossman, a resident of Southeast and an attorney with a law office in Carmel has been designated the recipient of this year’s Leadership in Giving Award. Dating back to the early nineties Victor has donated hundreds of hours of his time as counsel to the Putnam County Land Trust. His constant help and his advice have truly been an essential part of helping PCLT grow and thrive.

2007 Leadership in Giving Award:
Victor Grossman

There are two ways that PCLT is supported. One is through the donation of money; the second is through the donation of time and talents. The Leadership in Giving Award, initiated in 2006 recognizes individuals who have led in giving to PCLT. Victor Grossman, a resident of Southeast and an attorney with a law office in Carmel has been designated the recipient of this year’s Leadership in Giving Award. Dating back to the early nineties Victor has donated hundreds of hours of his time as counsel to the Putnam County Land Trust. His constant help and his advice have truly been an essential part of helping PCLT grow and thrive.

2006 Blue Heron Award

Dr. Jim Utter

PCLT Honors Dr. Jim Utter
by Beverley Elgar

It is not everyday I have the opportunity to spend time on a cold Friday afternoon in a busy Brewster café, sipping hot coffee and talking with a leader of the local environmental community discussing critical issues. I recently did with Dr. James (Jim) Utter, a tireless advocate for local conservation with an outstanding career in environmental education spanning over three decades. In celebration of his achievements, Dr. Utter, founder and Chairman of Friends of the Great Swamp (FrOGS), will be honored with PCLT’s Blue Heron Award at our Annual Benefit Dinner/Auction on April 8th.

For Dr. Utter, who grew up in Oneonta, a small town in New York, his fascination with the wilderness and the animals that inhabit it began in second grade when his enthusiastic teacher encouraged the class to join the junior Audubon Club, which was sponsored by the National Audubon Society. Looking back, he is very thankful to the materials that Audubon supplied and said that his teacher definitely “struck a chord”. His love of birds began when his sixth grade teacher invited him to help her husband raise pigeons at their home. The interest and support for local environmental concerns within the community in which he grew up encouraged Dr. Utter to become attentive to conservation issues in his adopted community. After completing his undergraduate studies, Dr. Utter left Oneonta to pursue his Ph.D in Zoology at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He then joined the staff at SUNY Purchase and has held a position as Associate Professor ofEnvironmental Sciences there for over twenty-five years.

After moving to Putnam County, he soon became fascinated with the Great Swamp. Thunder Ridge owner, Bob Conklin introduced him to this vast 6,000-acre wetland and took him canoeing there. Since then he “has been stomping around in the mud for decades” as he committed himself to the preservation of the Great Swamp. This dedication involves extensive and critical research into the Swamp’s biodiversity, especially the migratory birds that populate this watershed. Through education and outreach, FrOGS holds a variety of programs including International Migratory Bird Day, Pine Island River Walk, Cross Country Skiing in the Great Swamp and many other activities. In March, Great Swamp enthusiasts will get a chance to meet Dr. Utter when he discusses the rare and endangered Bog Turtle in Turtle Talk.

Dr. Utter said that the most important aspect of his work is meeting people who are involved and supportive. He loves to teach children and get them interested in the values of the Great Swamp. He stressed the significance of looking after this local treasure, “We’ve got to reach out to the kids because they are our future. It’s important that we protect enough for them to work with and make them aware and sensitive to the natural environment. The community makes more impact working on a local level. We need to have a variety of people to work toward these common goals. If we at FrOGS and PCLT can advocate protection of our environment, it’s critical that we do it on a local scale. Think globally, act locally.”

We hope to see you at the Land Trust’s 2006 Annual Dinner on April 8th as we celebrate Dr. Utter’s outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the environmental community.

2005 Blue Heron Award

Dr. Samuel B "Rollo" Jr.

Every once in a while, I find it necessary to pause and reflect on the land trust. Why a Land Trust? Why work to preserve open space and protect our sensitive habitats? What are we trying to accomplish? Why work so hard for something as seemingly unproductive as open space. What is the value of nature? What does open space mean to us and to our quality of life? Why?

At the Land Trust Alliance Rally last fall, I made a point of attending seminars that addressed some of these issues. The seminars proposed the concept that land trusts need to be in the business of connecting people to nature. Storytelling is an important component. Many people have a story to tell about how their own experiences formed a personal connection to nature. For me, it is a remembrance of summer camp in the Poconos (sadly, the camp is now defunct and industrial development is proposed for the site). I can still recall the scent of the woods! The important thing is that that is where my connection to nature was formed and nurtured. If we are to be successful in our work as a land trust and if our work is to continue we must be one of the ways for people to form and to experience that connection to nature.

This year, the land trust has chosen to recognize Dr. Samuel B Ross, Jr., founder of Green Chimneys. His work exemplifies making these connections. I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Ross and asked him how and why he became involved with the work he is doing at Green Chimneys. His answer was that he grew up as an only child living in New York City. He found companionship and connection through his domestic animal pets. The Green Chimneys concept is built on that experience. Green Chimneys operates a school for children with emotional and learning disabilities, residential treatment for children, a farm and wildlife conservation center and a number of community programs. At Green Chimneys, each child has the responsibility for caring for an animal as part of his/her program. This interaction is an integral part of the healing process. But Green Chimneys reach goes far beyond its residential program with its wildlife conservation center and community programs. Through these programs, Green Chimneys has connected Putnam county children to nature for more than 25 years. These include the pre-school program, Nature’s Nursery, the Hillside Outdoor Education Center and Summer Camp and Great Swamp Canoe trip programs. Every day, one can find dozens of preschoolers at Nature’s Nursery and sixty or more older children at the Hillside program.

This is not by chance. Green Chimneys’ strives to “Restore Possibilities for Children through Nurture and Nature.” The philosophy of Green Chimneys, as found on its web site, includes the following paragraph:

“ Green Chimneys strives to accomplish more than a chance contact between people, plants, animals, nature and the environment. The goal is the actualization of an environmentally sound philosophy which bonds the children to each other, supportive adults, soil, plants, animals, nature and the environment. The agency seeks full participation in the effort for a sustainable society and operates its organic garden program to demonstrate what this means, with a strong commitment to understand what role each of us must play in maintaining the planet earth. Many people have spent their lifetimes searching for means for humans to better understand and accept the responsibility of environmental stewardship. Green Chimneys sees itself as part of that effort.”

We hope you will be able to join us as we celebrate Dr. Ross, his achievements and his contributions to our community

2004 Blue Heron Award

Dr. Thomas Morgan

Dr. Thomas Morgan of Kent, a long time advocate for the environment, passed away this spring at his daughter’s home in Utica, NY, after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. Tom was 78 years old and his body was donated to the Albany Medical School so that his love of the natural sciences could continue even in his death.

Receiving the award for Tom is his wife, Jane.

In Memorium: Dr. Thomas Morgan

Dr. Thomas Morgan of Kent, a long time advocate for the environment and a retired Ph.D. physicist at IBM, passed away this spring at his daughter’s home in Utica, NY, after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. Tom was 78 years old and his body was donated to the Albany Medical School so that his love of the natural sciences could continue even in his death.

Tom served on the Town of Kent Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC) since its inception and was instrumental in the formation of the committee for the Mount Nimham Fire Tower restoration project. He was an avid birder, able to distinguish species by their calls, was deeply involved with the Putnam County Land Trust and led many community hikes over the years and participated in the Natural Resources Inventory through the Putnam County Environmental Management Council under the direction of Dr. George Baum and Dr. William Buck of the NY Botanical Gardens.

Putnam County has lost a remarkable resource and the Land Trust has lost a wonderful friend.