The Adirondack Mountains are Mother Nature’s gift to New York, a vast park of beautiful mountains and crystal clear waters teaming with wildlife spanning over six million acres, making it the largest park in the continental United States. But with such a large park, comes a very large responsibility to protect it, and educate the public about conservation efforts to keep the park beautiful for generations to come.
The organization on the front line of these efforts is the Adirondack Mountain Club, more specifically, the Summit Stewardship Program. The mission of the Summit Stewardship Program is overall to help protect the outdoor experience right here in our backyard, for most of us at least. This protection includes education of the public on Adirondack alpine ecosystems, trail maintenance, and research into conservation research efforts for future ecosystem sustainability. The reason this organization is so compelling to me is because I was practicially raised in the Adirondacks, every summer growing up was spent on Lake George, enjoying my gorgeous surroundings that have been so well protected and maintained by organizations such as the steward program. More specifically, the summer going into my senior year of high school, I spent five weeks straight in the ADK wilderness becoming a 46er with a group of friends. For those of you who dont know, becoming an Adirondack 46er entails hiking the 46 tallest mountains in New York State, the tallest being Mt. Marcy. While hiking, I got to see first hand the thankless work being done by the Summit Stewards, and they inspired me to start doing volunteer trail maintenance in the summers. I figured if someone else sacrificed their time and energy before me to help me accomplish one of my dreams of becoming a 46er, the least I could do is help open up that opportunity for someone else after me to do the same.
When climbing a peak, the closer you get to the summit, the much more fragile the native vegetation and wildlife becomes due to the volatile nature of the climates at the top. What the summit stewards do is every day, they hike to the top of the mountain before anyone else, and they educate each hiker who summits the mountain on the native species living at the top, telling you facts and you can become a more thoughtful hiker. Some of these native plant species such as Bootts Rattlesnake Root is globally rare has less than 20 known locations worldwide. On top of that the stewards also mark off plant rehabilitation zones where rare, native species are blocked from the path of hikers in order to rehabilitate after the trampling it often sees from hikers. The reason this program is so important is in order to our slice of wilderness for the future, we must act with our conservation efforts today. Thank you.
Matt Ropitzky
Matt, I completely agree- we need to take care of nature's gifts. As I understand it, philanthropy is heavily based on human response, respect, and relationships. If Bill Gates donates millions of dollars to COVID-19 aid, the hospitals and doctors who receive this aid must put it to good use. In other words, Bill Gates cannot be the only one to give. The community of doctors must give back as well, by trying their best. Similarly, the Summit Stewardship Program cannot be the only ones to give. As they work to preserve the Adirondack Mountains, the public who hikes in that area must also do their part by respecting and taking care of their environment. As a result, I think it is important to think of philanthropic organizations and their gifts as very fragile. We must handle them very carefully and treat them with the value they deserve. Otherwise, their efforts would have been wasted. People like you who promote environmental protection are actively supporting the organizations who donate their money and resources.
ReplyDeleteThis relationship is not easy to maintain. In NYC, I am always bothered when people throw garbage into the train tracks. A subway employee will come by and pick up trash, and then pedestrians will throw more. I think the problem here is attitude and respect. We must act as a unit, and join our efforts to keep a space clean. Whether it be nature, or the subway, we must be on the same page. My question is, how do we get people on the same page? How can we stop those who undermine philanthropy's efforts?
Hey Lucia, thank you so much for commenting. I really appreciate you adding a new perspective to this issue being from the city, I think you provide a very valuable change in environment that I cant, being from Saratoga, NY (way way upstate). I'm also very glad that you see exactly where I am coming from in that it is a must that philanthropy be a group effort, that no single organization should have to bear all the weight posed by an issue. As for your questions, which were fantastic might I add, I find it very difficult to stimulate a holistic group mindset on this issue. Getting everyone on the same page inevitably comes down to each individual and their own experiences, take my story for example. I have spent loads of time in the Adirondacks, therefore, I am much more passionate than the average person when it comes to preserving it. This idea of preservation of the ADKs isn't something than con be forced onto someone, the appreciation for its beauty comes solely from experience, which cant be transferred through a simple presentation or news article. This is why I, and many others, find it so difficult to get everyone on the same page, because we were all raised differently, and have all grown to be passionate about very different things. As for how we can stop those who undermine these efforts? There is no quick remedy to make everyone more moral and ethical, thats simply not how the world works. In order to slowly change the minds of those who undermine philanthropic efforts, we must slowly introduce them to new experiences that have a direct link to what we want to change about them. I had a friend in High School that had a nack for littering, and it pissed me off beyond comprehension, he would drop his water bottles on the golf course, throw McDonald's bags out the window of his car, just things that drove me crazy. In order to try to change this about him, I took him on a hiking trip in the Adirondacks where he learned himself, just how important it was to preserve the land around him. It is through these kinds of experiences we can hope to change the mindset of people who undermine philanthropy. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI really appreciated your Charity Pitch! I had never had heard of the 46rs before and their dedication to the Adirondacks. I know personally that being inside all day has made me appreciate nature that much more. I think that other people can share in that sentiment. Individual organizations and their donations are more important as the government lessens regulations regarding conservation and the environment. The summit helps to tackle a larger problems of biodiversity, and conservation through education and research. "To become a more thoughtful hiker" or environmentally conscious person is part of the solution. The money donated to this organization would make a difference and do good locally. What specifically do you think it would be used for? Are there any ways that they are trying to expand their program?
ReplyDeleteHey Bridget, sorry its been a while but I am glad you enjoyed my charity pitch so much, its not often that I get to present on something I care about this much. As for your first question on what they would specifically use it for, that is completely up to them, and also I would like to answer your second question which may be a bit more helpful for answering the first. As for the expansion of the Summit Stewardship Program, right now, because everybody is trying to get out of their houses in the safest way possible, hiking provides a great opportunity for them to do so. With the great influx of hikers much earlier in the hiking season than what they're used to, they have had to ramp up the usage of the program much earlier than what they're used to, the Adirondack High Peaks are seeing numbers of hikers that they wouldn't normally see until mid July. So in effect, they're doing their best to play catch up right now, as this influx of hikers provides a substantial threat to the native species of the peaks. Early spring is often when the species are the most vulnerable because they are just beginning to grow, and protecting some of these extremely rare types of plants remain the utmost concern. Thanks for commenting! I hope this helped.
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