The College’s first ever Adirondack Week will take participants from a mountaintop near Lake George to a variety of events on campus. The week’s events will allow participants to learn about the environmental, political, historical and economic issues inside the blue line of the 6.1 million-acre park.
The week, as part of Union’s expanding Adirondack Program, kicks off with a hike up Prospect Mountain in Lake George Sunday. On Monday, a fair will be held in front of Reamer Campus Center. Students will enjoy a rock climbing wall, entertainment, live music and more.
Later that evening, Phil Terrie, professor of American cultural studies at Bowling Green State University, will discuss the environmental, political, social and economic opportunities and threats currently facing the Adirondacks.
On Tuesday, Joseph Martens, commissioner of the state Department of Conservation, will deliver the keynote address at 11 a.m. in the Nott Memorial. Events throughout the week also include a guided walk through Reist Sanctuary at the College’s Kelly Adirondack Center and a panel discussion on the future of the Adirondack Park.
“Adirondack Week serves a means to better engage the campus community with the importance of the Adirondacks,” said Chief of Staff Eddie Summers, director of the Adirondack Initiative. “It also provides faculty and students will tremendous opportunities to think about ways in which we can take an interdisciplinary approach to solving some of the issues presented this week.”
Union established the program, playing on its academic strengths to allow students and faculty to develop a multi-faceted understanding of the mountain range and the region’s issues, challenges and opportunities.
Union purchased the former home of noted Adirondack conservationist Paul Schaefer in the spring of 2011. The two-acre property, recently dedicated as the Kelly Adirondack Center, includes the home and a modern addition that houses the Adirondack Research Library. The library contains more than 15,000 volumes, as well as extensive collections of maps, photographs, documents and personal papers of some of the region’s foremost conservationists.