SUNY Potsdam volunteers at the rock-climbing site, from left: Nelson Torres, Rebecca Augustine, Adam Wheeler, Tom Macula, Miranda Bell, Molly McClenon-Grant and Noah Primus (Photo: John Barron).
Students and faculty from SUNY Potsdam’s Wilderness Education Program recently gave back to help protect the outdoor spaces they know and love, during a weekend of volunteer trail work.
The annual trail maintenance weekend is a collaboration between the Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, SUNY Potsdam Venture Outdoors, the Wilderness Education Program, the SUNY Canton Outdoor Adventures Club and students from Hermon-DeKalb Central School. SUNY Potsdam Wilderness Education Program Coordinator Mark Simon organized the trail weekend.
SUNY Potsdam students joined the other volunteers to work on maintaining and extending the trail networks at the Stone Valley Trail in Colton and on Azure Mountain in Waverly. Additionally, a crew assisted with erosion control measures on a former woods road leading to a popular climbing feature in the Snow Bowl State Forest in South Colton.
This isn’t the first time that the SUNY Potsdam Wilderness Education students have proven themselves dedicated to the care and safety of the surrounding environment. Each spring, several students tackle the Mountain-A-Thon at Azure Mountain, carrying 50 pounds of rocks up the 1,000-foot, mile-long trail four times in one day—a total of 200 pounds of rock each—in an effort to combat erosion at the summit of the mountain.
The SUNY Potsdam Wilderness Education Program offers specialized preparation for motivated individuals to become tomorrow’s leaders. The minor offers a Leadership Track, which prepares field instructors to lead extended backpacking trips and culminates in a student-planned 20-day expedition, as well as an Adventure Education Track, which prepares ropes course, rock climbing and ice climbing facilitation instructors. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/SOEPS/wildernessed.
Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges—and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu.