National Association for Interpretation - Northeast Regional Workshop 2024
2024 Northeast Region Workshop: Pathways Forward
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
1 Forestry Drive
Syracuse, NY 13210
April 6, 2024, 7:30am–5:15pm
Group Registration
Need to register a group? Have each member of your group create a profile on NAI’s website, then email Madison Hyatt at membership@interpnet.com the list of your group members. We will then populate a roster that you can use for registration in a single payment.
Have questions or need assistance? Please contact us at NAIRegion1@gmail.com. Put “Workshop Help” in the subject line of the email.
Workshop Registration Includes:
The workshop includes a coffee and tea reception, keynote address, concurrent sessions, buffet lunch, career/networking fair, and optional off-sites on Sunday, April 7, 2024.
*Lunch will include gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options.
Keynote Presenter: Neil Patterson Jr., Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment
Add-on Events
Wine Tasting Event
April 6, 2024
Erie Canal Museum
318 Erie Blvd E.
Syracuse, NY 13202
Cost: $5
* Guided tours of the museum will be provided
* Non-alcoholic beverage options will be provided
Off-site Field Trips
NY State Parks Offerings
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Cost: No charge, but registration is required.
Syracuse is a city near great green spaces! Consider staying an extra day or two to enjoy some of the nearby New York State Parks. Each of the parks we’ll be visiting have a character all their own. These parks each also feature partnerships with local students through the Friends of Outdoor Recreation, Conservation and Environmental Stewardship in real world conservation work in the parks. Our off-site field trips will feature a guided hike co-led by members of our Environmental Stewardship Team and FORCES stewards.
All field trips will be limited to the first 25 registrants.
Green Lakes State Park- Bird Hike
7900 Green Lakes Rd
Fayetteville, NY 13066
7:30am–9:00am
Join Billy Sullivan of our Environmental Stewardship Team on a bird walk exploring our Bird Conservation Area (BCA). The BCA program was established in 1997 to safeguard and enhance bird populations and their habitats on state lands and waters. Hear from the team and FORCES stewards about how they integrate bird conservation interests into planning, management, and research projects in the BCA. This hike will take you through a section of old growth forest into the grasslands. The trails are fairly wide and well maintained with slight hills. Park in a gravel parking area in one of the campsites in the Rolling Hills campground (closed this time of year. Consider stopping by the West Beach bathhouse to use the restrooms before the hike as there will not be any open in the campground).
Green Lakes State Park-Secrets of the Lake Walk
9:30am–11:00am
Join Environmental Educator Katie Mulverhill and FORCES stewards as they reveal the lake’s secrets, including why it’s green! Meet at the Environmental Education Center, explore the exhibits, and meet some of the FORCES stewards who work in the center. The guided hike is just over two miles over easy, wide trails with crushed stone surfaces. The trail has one hill section with a grade slightly steeper than allowed on an ACA trail. We’ll tell the story of the lake in the first half of the walk, then the remaining part of the walk will just be to enjoy the park! Park in the West Beach parking lot.
Chittenango Falls State Park- Not-so-smooth Snailing Hike
2300 Rathburn Rd
Cazenovia, NY 13035
12:30pm–2:00pm
Join Stewardship Specialist Delaney Kalsman and FORCES Stewards to learn about snails that are only found at the base Chittenango Falls! The park is also home to the endangered American harts- tongue fern, so if you don’t get to see it at Clark Reservation State Park look for it here. The hike to the base of the falls is steep, but pretty well maintained. The hike will be between .5-1 miles. The falls can also be viewed from an area near the parking lot. Meet in the falls viewing area.
Clark Reservation State Park- Fantastic Ferns Hike
6105 East Seneca Turnpike
Jamesville, NY 13078
3:00pm–4:30pm
Join Environmental Stewardship Biologist Mike Serviss and FORCES stewards to learn about the work they do to conserve the endangered American hart’s-tongue fern. You may even see one in its natural habitat on this 1-1.5 mile hike over moderate to challenging rocky and hilly terrain. Meet at the Nature Center run by the Friends of Clark Reservation State Park (normally closed this time of year, so all the exhibits will not be out.) The restrooms may not be available in this park, depending on how cold the spring is. There are outhouses.
Lodging
Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center
801 University Avenue, Syracuse, NY, 13210
Standard Double Rooms are available for Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6 are available at a discounted rate of $139/night plus tax. Vehicle parking is $16/day.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP AND TO REGISTER, PLEASE VISIT
Kate Banyas
SCA NH Conservation Corps
kbanyas@thesca.org