Earlier this month at Indian  Mountain School in Lakeville students conducted a trash audit to see what was thrown away over the course of a few days. Of course, the sorting of garbage and refuse revealed a lot of plastic waste, including one-time food items in permanent plastic wrapping. The next day, students and parents from IMS  along with community members watched a documentary film — “Junk” —  at the Moviehouse in Millerton. The 2009 film is about a voyage from California to Hawaii on a raft made of 15,000 water bottles secured by discarded fishing nets and plastic waste. The film spurred concern by both students and parents about the five gyres in the world’s oceans — large systems of circulating ocean currents. Those slowly moving whirlpools also draw in the pollution released in coastal areas, known as marine debris. There are five gyres: the North Atlantic Gyre, the South Atlantic Gyre, the North Pacific Gyre, the South Pacific Gyre, and the Indian Ocean Gyre. In the North Pacific Gyre, a Great Pacific Garbage Patch persists in an area between Hawaii and California. The vast patch is made up of tiny micro plastics along with larger items of debris.

More than five decades ago, it was students behind the anti-war movement who helped inspire the Earth Day movement. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, seeking to ignite consciousness about air and water pollution,  announced the idea of a teach-in on college campuses. The day that ultimately was chosen was April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day — a weekday falling between spring break and final exams.

The grandparents of today’s IMS students may remember the first Earth Day. At the end of it, Walter Cronkite anchored a CBS News Special. “Good Evening,” he began. “A unique day in American history is ending. A day set aside for a nationwide outpouring on mankind seeking its own survival.”

Student groups in 2,000 colleges and 10,000 lower schools and citizen groups in 2,000 communities planned to participate in the first Earth Day. Cronkite went on to say it was unclear how many actually participated, but the network’s correspondents nevertheless reported on the day’s activities across the nation. Today, by some estimates, one billion people get mobilized for Earth Day.

Our communities in the Northwest Corner and across eastern Dutchess County also mobilize around Earth Day. This coming Saturday, April 22, it will be hard not to come across an Earth Day event or exhibit or activity in town after town.

Latest News

Legal Notices - February 19, 2026

Legal Notice

Notice of formation of Glynevian Gundogs LLC. Arts of Org filed with SSNY on 9/25/2025. Office location: Dutchess County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Business Name and Address. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Keep ReadingShow less
Classifieds - February 19, 2026

Help Wanted

PART-TIME CARE-GIVER NEEDED: possibly LIVE-IN. Bright private STUDIO on 10 acres. Queen Bed, En-Suite Bathroom, Kitchenette & Garage. SHARON 407-620-7777.

The Salisbury Association’s Land Trust seeks part-time Land Steward: Responsibilities include monitoring easements and preserves, filing monitoring reports, documenting and reporting violations or encroachments, and recruiting and supervising volunteer monitors. The Steward will also execute preserve and trail stewardship according to Management Plans and manage contractor activity. Up to 10 hours per week, compensation commensurate with experience. Further details and requirements are available on request. To apply: Send cover letter, resume, and references to John Landon at info@salisburyassociation.org. The Salisbury Association is an equal opportunity employer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amenia trails project public hearing set for Feb. 19
Amenia Town Hall on Route 22.
Photo by Nathan Miller

AMENIA — A proposed hiking and biking trail system will be the subject of a public hearing at Amenia Town Hall on Route 22 this Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.

Northern Red Oak LLC, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, seeks to build 10-12 miles of public trails on land at 426 Old Route 22 and two additional vacant parcels.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Speed cameras gain ground in Connecticut, stall in Dutchess County

A speed enforcement camera in New York City.

Photo courtesy NYC DOT

Speed cameras remain a tough sell across northwest Connecticut — and are still absent from local roads in neighboring Dutchess County.

Town leaders across northwest Connecticut are moving cautiously on speed cameras, despite a state law passed in 2023 that allows municipalities to install them. In contrast, no towns or villages in Dutchess County currently operate local automated speed-camera programs, even as New York City has relied on the technology for years.

Keep ReadingShow less
In remembrance:
Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible
In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible
In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible

There are artists who make objects, and then there are artists who alter the way we move through the world. Tim Prentice belonged to the latter. The kinetic sculptor, architect and longtime Cornwall resident died in November 2025 at age 95, leaving a legacy of what he called “toys for the wind,” work that did not simply occupy space but activated it, inviting viewers to slow down, look longer and feel more deeply the invisible forces that shape daily life.

Prentice received a master’s degree from the Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1960, where he studied with German-born American artist and educator Josef Albers, taking his course once as an undergraduate and again in graduate school.In “The Air Made Visible,” a 2024 short film by the Vision & Art Project produced by the American Macular Degeneration Fund, a nonprofit organization that documents artists working with vision loss, Prentice spoke of his admiration for Albers’ discipline and his ability to strip away everything but color. He recalled thinking, “If I could do that same thing with motion, I’d have a chance of finding a new form.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Strategic partnership unites design, architecture and construction

Hyalite Builders is leading the structural rehabilitation of The Stissing Center in Pine Plains.

Provided

For homeowners overwhelmed by juggling designers, architects and contractors, a new Salisbury-based collaboration is offering a one-team approach from concept to construction. Casa Marcelo Interior Design Studio, based in Salisbury, has joined forces with Charles Matz Architect, led by Charles Matz, AIA RIBA, and Hyalite Builders, led by Matt Soleau. The alliance introduces an integrated design-build model that aims to streamline the sometimes-fragmented process of home renovation and new construction.

“The whole thing is based on integrated services,” said Marcelo, founder of Casa Marcelo. “Normally when clients come to us, they are coming to us for design. But there’s also some architecture and construction that needs to happen eventually. So, I thought, why don’t we just partner with people that we know we can work well with together?”

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.