Trails Day is a good day to think about getting new hikers into the woods. The TC’s Tiorati Outreach program will be doing just that again this summer. To get ready, a natural science education workshop for leaders is scheduled for June 2. Learn from two pros how to answer natural science questions from kids. For details, see "Families into Woods," page 5.

Help Us Get Families Into the Woods

To introduce urban families to the woods, the NY-NJ Trail Conference, in partnership with the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, began an outreach program in 1999 at the Tiorati picnic area in Harriman State Park. The area is a popular destination for families from around the metropolitan area, be it Queens or Jersey City, who come to picnic, fish, and relax in an outdoor setting. It seems a perfect spot to offer an introduction to hiking.

And so, on Saturday mornings during July and August, a TC hike leader and assistant prospect the Tiorati picnic grounds for attendees for a 1.5-mile nature walk along the Appalachian Trail. The young children are always anxious to go; it is the adults who must be convinced. At the end of the walk the children have asked 99 tough questions and the adults cannot believe they did it, i.e. walked 1.5 miles.

To continue this program in 2001, the Trail Conference seeks volunteers. The Appalachian Trail Conference supports the program with grant money; we need you to volunteer to lead a walk. To prepare walk leaders for the natural science questions, a workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on National Trails Day, June 2, at the Tiorati Circle picnic area.

Art Lebofsky, Ed. D., an educational consultant, and Laura Pakaln, a first-grade teacher, will walk the route with us, providing an opportunity for questions/notes. After lunch there will be a group meeting to discuss the program in detail. Car transportation for bus riders will be available from Sloatsburg.

If you have questions or wish to sign up for the workshop, e-mail Wanda Davenport at wandatrails@aol.com or call 201-670-8383 before 9 p.m. If in the long run we cannot grow the pool of people who care about the woods and nature, to include more of those from diverse backgrounds, then we all lose.