News
May 26, 2016A StoryWalk at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve
A StoryWalkÒ featuring the children’s book Possum and the Peeper by Anne Hunter is currently on display at the Albany Pine Bush. “A StoryWalk® is a children’s book that is deconstructed and the pages are laminated. Each page is then posted along a trail on a stake so that people read the story as they are walking along the trail,” explained Sara Poggi-Decker, Education Program Manager.
Walk, jump or skip from page to page as you read along the trail. The StoryWalk® is currently set up along part of the blue trail located behind the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center. “A StoryWalk® is a great way to explore the trails” said Poggi-Decker. “It is also an exciting and different way to read a book,” she continued. The StoryWalk® Project was originally created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library.
For more information about the Storywalk®, trails and other programs visit the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center at 195 New Karner Road in Albany, www.AlbanyPineBush.org/events or call 518.456.0655.
The 3,200 – acre Albany Pine Bush Preserve (APBP), located in New York’s Capital District, protects one of the best remaining inland pitch-pine scrub oak barrens in the world. This extraordinary fire-dependent habitat provides homes for many plants and animals and contains 63 New York State-designated wildlife Species of Greatest Conservation Need, including the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly. The Preserve is a National Natural Landmark, a New York State Unique Area, Bird Conservation Area and a National Audubon Society Important Bird Area. Characterized by rolling sand dunes and miles of trails, the Preserve offers visitors many recreational opportunities including hiking, bird watching, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, mountain biking, hunting, fishing and canoeing. The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission is a public-private partnership created by the NYS Legislature in 1988 to protect and manage the APBP and provide the public with educational and recreational opportunities.
As the gateway to the Pine Bush, the Discovery Center is a state-of-the-art “green” certified interpretive center where visitors come to understand why the Pine Bush is rare and special. A visit to this unique destination is an exciting exploration where learning comes naturally through interactive exhibits, an outdoor Discovery Trail, and numerous programs on the ecology, natural history, cultural history and management of the Pine Bush. Admission to the Discovery Center is free (there is a small fee for programs). The Center is open daily weekdays 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., weekends and most holidays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.AlbanyPineBush.org or call 518.456.0655.
