Tag Archives: Cayuga Lake

Spring is Really Here! By Kristen Moore

7 Apr

Raindrops falling down, greening our grass. Birds busy at feeders. Phone ringing with home school groups looking to arrange trips. Kids and moms seeking to learn and serve, signing right up to help add native plants. Comments waiting approval, like: Hi! I planted some strawberries about eight years ago but they did not like the conditions and vanished from the small planted bed. Little did I know, they were making their way stealthily underground and via runners to a flower bed about twenty feet away – and emerged there this spring!! With lovely fruit!!!

A salve to a soul nearly battered by email and messaging. As the waves were to my psyche as they crashed at my favorite place. Too busy to visit, too busy to feel the calm of this land and the invitation to explore and linger.

We look to June 17 and 18th for the Ithaca Reggae Fest! Beyond often tedious planning, we radiate happiness that such a team has gathered to create a conscious celebration of Cayuga Lake. Information about various happenings will begin to be shared as festival time nears. How might you celebrate Cayuga Lake? Will it be through dance, observation, food, environmental education, art or yoga? We’re so glad to hear from people who already have their tickets and are stoked to attend! How might this goodness ripple out? It is a grand question to ponder. In the meantime, we try to see who flies or crawls beside us. Let our breath fill our bellies and our dreams our minds.

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Busy Summer for Moore Dirty Boots!

8 Jun

During quarantine, I created the acronym L.O.V.E. for Lake Ontario’s Valued Ecosystems and launched Moore Dirty Boots, LLC. Our media and adventure education is now complemented with our Sustainability Innovation Department! I’m developing an illustrated sustainability guide and working with a fantastic team of marketing professionals, artists and graphic designers. Projects are in the works within each category and there will be feature articles and media.

Saturday, June 12 I will be cleaning a stream with Girl Scouts to support the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network with an “Embrace the Lake” event. We will continue south to Treman Marina on Cayuga Lake’s southern end to board The Teal, Discover Cayuga Lake’s research cruise vessel and Floating Classroom. After our seminar we will head back north for a stop at Cayuga Creamery to celebrate our day caring for and learning about Cayuga Lake.

Working with students to improve the watershed and share information presented in W.O.W.!, Women On Water is a great honor! W.O.W.! is a series I created for Audubon NY that may gain new life, even being presented in a Sunset Cruise later this summer upon the Discover Cayuga Lake boat.

This Thursday, I am registered for a writing workshop with Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass! As this book affected me profoundly, I’m thrilled to be attending! I’m so glad to be able to include her perspectives and insight-within my limited understanding, in my work. Reading about the author discovering and assessing wild strawberries as they ripened, was a retelling of my own memories. It was also a red maple which I swung from and read within. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s call to experience and nurture our surroundings, led me to incorporate celebration as a major component of outreach. In addition to energy, transport, food and waste; outreach is a fifth pathway for sustainability. Service, education and celebration can transform relationships among people and the relationships with our physical surroundings. I’m so eager to hear from this inspiring author and scientist!

August 14, I’m hosting Love Your Greats Day with a series of events on Lake Ontario, including a Butterfly Walk at 11 am at Alasa Farms/Cracker box Palace. Lunkenheimer’s Craft Brewing Co. is located right on the way to Chimney Bluffs where we will reconvene after lunch. East of NYS Park Chimney Bluffs, we will clean the beach at the NYS DEC Wildlife Management Area. The beach side forest is lined in fine pebbles and sand, as well as trash. We will improve and enjoy this space together. Susan Gateley will celebrate the release of “Natural History of Lake Ontario” on Arcadia Press, with a sunset bluffs/beach walk. Please mark your calendars and join in this special day however you can!

It seems butterfly season has begun, with milkweed popping up and casual walk & talks with little ones. My ten year old friend scored high marks when he told me viceroys pretend to be monarchs to be safe from predators.

I’ll be reading about butterflies at Sodus and Port Byron libraries, hopefully with caterpillars, chrysalis or butterflies in nursery!

September 12, Karen Haas of Bayview Wellness Center and I will co-lead a yoga hike at Sterling Nature Center. Our yoga hikes here were AWESOME, so I’m so glad we are co-hosting this yoga hike again. Donations to the Sterling Nature Center are encouraged!

These are the major highlights on the schedule thus far. Who knows what might be next? I look forward to seeing work along the pathways for sustainability. We all can do better, together!

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We Love It! That’s Why We Work For It

10 Jun

When the temperature warms, the sun appears and the birds abound; upstate or central New York becomes an amazing playground! After a long, cold winter and wet spring we are ready for gardening, lawn work, barbecues with friends, kayaking, hiking, wine tasting, stargazing and bonfires.  One can easily become exhausted or injured embracing the numerous activities we’ve been longing for half of the year.

Balance can be hard to achieve or even contemplate for many.  Creating a lifestyle which fosters wellness on the deepest levels is important work I find many of us ignore.

Ample research proves the benefits of time spent in vibrant outdoor spaces and enjoying camaraderie.  Pleasant weather Friday made a visit to Lucifer Falls near Ithaca an awesome visit.  We experienced the wonder of the falls and the history of the old mill at Enfield Falls. A visit to Upper Treman became a walk through time when we entered the old mill.  I’ve been to this park many times but I have never seen the building open or been able to walk through and view the intelligent engineering behind the once thriving business.

 

 

 

 

 

News tends to dismay with such severity our own health and relationships can suffer.  Grace is needed to thrive and live harmoniously.  How can we achieve graceful living when confronted with so much mental and environmental pollution? I’m finding many tools and strategies that can aid us in wellness with awareness.

As an adventure educator and media artist, I aim to “Connect People to the Lands Where We Work and Play.” The S.E.E. formula of Service, Education and Enjoyment informs many of my events.  We will be teaming up with Sea Culture Brand to host a beach cleanup in Fair Haven. Sea Culture Brand is a clothing company from the Syracuse area, created by Daniel Tagliamonte. The clothes are inspired by life on and near the water and they utilize recycled materials. Rethinking methods of production and disposal, while being proactive caring for our surroundings seems wise to me. Watch this short YouTube video to see Daniel showing off his 2018 Fall Collection. Follow Sea Culture Brand on social media to see their latest designs and learn how they operate.  (A Henley debuting in July could be a great sustainable gift!)

Previous cleanup efforts at the rest area on NYS Route 89 just north of Taughannock Falls State Park in Trumansburg led to official adoption by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network.  Cayuga Lake Steward, Hilary Lambert sited an improvement to the cleanliness of this space and plans for this year’s cleanup efforts. It does take a network to protect a watershed! I’m glad to receive texts and messages asking me for my advice with cleanups, water quality and Monarch butterfly care.  We will be hosting an “Embrace the Lake” event at Stewart Park on the southern end of Cayuga Lake in the near future.  Please return to this blog or contact me to find out when these and other cleanups will occur.  We will be sure to have fun, get exercise and hopefully improve our surroundings-while we learn in a joyful way. It’s finally nice out here, so let’s make the most of it together!

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Ithaca Reggae Fest 2018-Cayuga Lake, NY

25 Jun
Sandra Steingraber spoke to the most personal and ecological forms of water with poetry.

A blue morning began June 23, 2018. Saturday was Ithaca Reggae Fest’s big day at Stewart Park. Worries of rain nagged at exceptionally high hopes for this event held beside Cayuga Lake’s southern shore in Ithaca, New York.  The discreet weather nearly whispered “Simmer down.”

The celebration of water and life through Reggae music provided attendees with access to Native American teachings, local water advocacy groups, yogis and more!

Chief Sam of the Cayuga Nation began Reggae Fest 2018 for me.  He warmly shared stories and reflections steps from Cayuga Lake’s blue water.  His son and grandson stood beside him with pride; it was a joy to see.  He spoke of the many medicines of this earth and jokingly acknowledged the medicine of goose poop in great abundance.  Sachem Sam spoke of Indian time, being  the time in which things happen.  I found this to be a description of my own view.

While gathering resources for my table in the education village, I took a few moments to read the Finger Lakes Land Trust’s Land Steward magazine.  I’m so glad! The good news is plentiful because of the amazing work and dedication of those who support the FLLT.  Rehabilitating land to reduce and absorb runoff is a proactive strategy to care for our watershed.  Developing and implementing a long term rehabilitation strategy can create benefits experienced in similar case studies.  Learn more about the Finger Lakes Land Trust’s work here.

The rains held off as Astrid Jirka of Vahana Yoga led participants in 108 sun salutations.  Massage therapists donated chair massage in the Wellness Village while bands including Thousands of One, Mosaic Foundation and Crucial Reggae Social Club welcomed in the afternoon.

Sandra Steingraber’s speech was personal and poetic.  She reminded the listener of the dynamic presence of water throughout our planet and our own bodies.  She did this by humanizing her experience.  More than an environmentalist, she is a human and a mother.  She is a creature aware of our composition and need to foster sanctity of water.  Sharing this awareness is effective, partly because it offers an invitation to entertain such a view oneself.

Ithaca Reggae Fest 2018 was plastic free.  Organizations like Plastic Tides, Mission eXXpedtion and Plastic Free July are doing great work to fight plastic pollution.  Please learn more about plastic pollution and consider taking the pledge at Plastic Free July.

Paddle-N-More had water crafts available for rent at the festival.  This year’s location was less noticeable than in the past.  Seeing others discover watersports promotes increased participation.  Recreation opportunities and meditative attributes draw me to water but for some it is science.  Cayuga Lake Watershed Network was joined by Discover Cayuga Lake, Citizen Science, NYS Parks and Recreation to name a few. Please continue to learn about the work being done by advocates for water.  What can you do? Water is essential to life. “Get up, Stand Up. Stand up for our right.” (Robert Nesta Marley.)

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Adventures Aren’t Always Glamorous!

22 Mar

This adventure is going to start out ugly.  Miles north of Taughannock Falls State Park on Rte. 89 in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, a littered roadside pull off area greets visitors.  A welcome sight after many miles on this straight road through farm country, one finds all kinds of trash feet from one’s vehicle.

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Trash resting in a stream beside a roadside pull off greets visitors.

Discarded Styrofoam containers, bags of trash and rusted cans decorate this area at the top of a steep slope descending to Cayuga Lake.

This scene is disgusting and certainly does not send visitors a message that we care about the land we inhabit and share.  Adventures in the Finger Lakes and the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network are co-sponsoring a clean up event on April 2, 2016 from 12-2pm at this roadside pull off.  GreenStar Co-op has donated healthy snacks to our volunteers. Gloves and trash bags will be provided.    Volunteers should dress appropriately for variable spring weather conditions and be certain to have safe, appropriate footwear.  Please be sure to bring clean drinking water and maybe a friend or relative.

This area has a great deal to offer visitors! Bellewether Ciders is minutes north of the pull off area on Rte. 89 and Taughannock Falls State Park is two or three miles south.  Volunteers are encouraged to bring a picnic and explore the local area, possibly with a new friend or two.

This post ends with more garbage yet we look forward to sharing reports and pictures of our cleanup on April 2.  Contact me if you would like to participate and for further details.

Broken glass is dangerous.

A broken beer bottle blends into the ground cover.

A satellite dish lies in the grass at a popular pull off area, miles north of Taughannock Falls State Park

A discarded satellite dish lies in the grass at this popular pull off on Rte. 89, on the west side of Cayuga Lake.

 

 

 

 

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Here and Now

23 Nov

Current events worldwide seem surreal when one looks around our area and observes rural agricultural lands, immense clean lakes, forests, fields and parks etc.

Our cultural and natural resources are incredibly numerous, yet there are threats of all types.  The 2015 Annual Research Conference of the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges focused upon regional environmental threats. On November 12, scientists and researchers gathered from across NY to share current findings and project successes and difficulties.

The collective of dedicated researchers and policy makers present offers our region current research concerning the health of our lakes with respect to mercury contaminants, nutrient pollution and invasive species. SUNY Brockport, Cornell University and Hobart and William Smith Colleges all shared current findings. Yet, up and coming researchers were also recognized throughout the conference.  Bob Johnson of the STOP Hydrilla Task Force noted that hydrilla was first detected within Cayuga Lake by a high school student conducting research on the Floating Classroom! (For those unfamiliar with the Floating Classroom please check out the link or get on the boat for a unique hands-on research experience.  I’m excited for my first trip aboard this Cayuga Lake research vessel.)

A student poster session offered an opportunity to view recent research and speak with the researchers.  Ranging from domestic landscaping plant surveys to data collected by FLI’s Watercraft Steward Program, it was rewarding to see so much work being done to ascertain the health of our environment and the potential impacts of our behaviors. The atmosphere of collaboration and active study offers much promise for the area.

Reports of mercury contamination and round gobies were offset by a positive report concerning hydrilla in Cayuga Lake.  Identification of hydrilla in Tinker Pond in Henrietta prompted a little head-scratching.  This small body of water is quite land locked.

This has been a month of travel and will be for many over the upcoming holiday week.  Enjoy family, friends, safe travels and the outdoors. Below are a few recent photographs of the beauty all around us.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

Rainbow over eastern ridge of Cayuga Lake.

A faint rainbow arks into the clouds from a rosy horizon on the eastern ridge of Cayuga Lake. Photo captured at the Finger Lakes Cider House by Kristen Moore.

 

 

Dog walking through shallow waters along shore of Lake Ontario.

Beloved brown dog walking through shallow waters along shore of Lake Ontario.

Pink skies and waters create stunning scenery over Lake Ontario in Huron, NY.

Pink skies and waters create stunning scenery over Lake Ontario in Huron, NY.

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