Historic Environments

People think of John Burroughs as a writer whose acclaim is lost in time. Unlike his contemporary John Muir, Burroughs observed the subtleties of the East, imbued more with finery than with drama, and spoke to a cosmopolitan audience. Muir, remembered today as a patriarch of environmentalism, captivated a nation with politically charged rhetoric and […]

Read Full Post »

This past Friday our course visited Maple Grove and Locust Grove, two historic sites of the Hudson Valley. Although they are both places of significance, their management and upkeep differ greatly. Maple Grove is funded by the NY Environmental Protection Fund, paid for by the public’s tax dollars. Previously home to a wealthy banker, the […]

Read Full Post »

Matthew Vassar, the founder of Vassar College, was born in 1792 in England. He moved to New York when he was four and eventually began working with his dad’s brewing company when he was a young man. As his business grew, he became involved with various charitable projects and town leadership positions. He founded Vassar […]

Read Full Post »

The town of Poughkeepsie consists of a number of intriguing historical locations that pay tribute to the founder of Vassar College, Matthew Vassar. While the most obvious of these is his namesake college, two more of these places are the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery and Springside. Together, they provide compelling insights into the life and death […]

Read Full Post »

The Hudson Valley once teemed with the waterfront homes of the rich and powerful, including such famous estates as Vanderbilt mansion and Springwood, the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Among those houses that remain Dutchess County include Maple Grove and Locust Grove. Both once estates of wealthy owners just off Albany Post Road (now Route […]

Read Full Post »

Pawling Lake Goes Nuclear The Nuclear Lake earned its moniker after a secret facility owned by United Nuclear Corp that was placed by a lake in Pawling, New York experienced a chemical explosion that blew out two windows and released an unknown amount of weapons grade plutonium into the adjacent body of water and woods. […]

Read Full Post »

The Appalachian Trail and other American long-distance trails such as the Pacific Crest Trail are primarily known for the thousands of people who take months away from their lives every year in attempting their notorious and daunting thousands of mile long end-to-end “thru-hikes”. Though it is relatively commonplace in the communities neighboring the trails, media […]

Read Full Post »

Taking advantage of a cool, drizzly day, our group hiked (strolled?) some of the trails surrounding Nuclear Lake in Pawling, NY. With the trail head at our backs, we were almost immediately greeted by some friendly hiking companions: Eastern Newts (the little orange fellow in the middle of the image being one of them). While […]

Read Full Post »

  In the absence of a name, Nuclear Lake is just another body of water along the Appalachian Trail, its gentle waves and secluded, forested shore inviting hikers of all distances to pause for a moment of repose. Northbound hikers embark onto this section of the trail from Route 55, which was designed to streamline […]

Read Full Post »

Here are the students’ top recommendations out of the sites we visited in the Spring of 2017. ENST 291 Brochure

Read Full Post »