Land Trust to host summer events for kids

Summer in Ithaca is short and sweet and the Finger Lakes Land Trust hopes you will get outside to enjoy these gorgeous days.  Step away from your screen, pull on your hiking shoes, gather your children and go explore one of our 10 public conservation areas in Tompkins County.
 
To make getting outside even easier, the Land Trust is hosting three special trips for families this summer and, like all of our events, there is no charge to come learn. Please join us for one or all.
Story Walk, Friday, June 17, at 10:30 a.m. at the Ellis Hollow Nature Preserve.
 
Valerie Akers, founder of Corner of the Sky preschool, will guide families through the woods and over two creeks, stopping along the path to read a book. Now in its fourth year, Story Walk encourages childhood literacy and an early love of nature.
 
Bonus: families who attend the kickoff walk will receive a free copy of the book to bring home (while supplies last). If you miss the kickoff walk, don’t worry, the story walk will open through early fall for self-guided adventures.
 
Bugs & Butterflies, Saturday, June 18, at 10 a.m. at the Roy H. Park Nature Preserve (south entrance).
Join Cornell entomology graduate student Heather Connelly on a hunt for the bugs and butterflies living all around us.  Heather will lead families on an easy walk through a field, forest and into Six Mile Creek capturing, investigating, (and releasing) insects along the way.
 
Creek Walk, Saturday, August 20, at 10 a.m. at the Ellis Hollow Nature Preserve.
 
Sarah Fiorello, Interpretation Coordinator for Cornell Plantations, will join us for an exploration of what lives under the rocks and in the streambed of the Ellis Hollow Nature Preserve. We’ll learn a little about stream health and see what else we can find on the preserve. Be sure to wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet.
 
For directions and more information on our events, visit the Land Trust’s website at www.fllt.org/events.
 
The Finger Lakes Land Trust has protected more than 18,000 acres of our region’s undeveloped lakeshore, rugged gorges, majestic forest, and scenic farmland.  The Land Trust today owns and manages a network of nature preserves that are open to the public and holds conservation easements on more than 120 properties that remain in private ownership.
 
The Land Trust focuses on protecting critical habitat and land that is important for water quality, connecting conserved lands, and keeping prime farmland in agriculture. The organization also provides programs to educate local governments, landowners, and local residents about conservation tools and the region’s unique natural resources.  The Land Trust’s service area includes 12 counties that encompass the Finger Lakes and a significant portion of the Southern Tier.
 
More information on the Land Trust may be found at www.fllt.org.