Education and Outreach

The Environmental Cooperative

The Environmental Cooperative brings together regional environmental organizations, community groups, educators, the Vassar College community, and residents to increase their impact and expand conservation efforts in the Hudson Valley. They aim to actively create and maintain natural areas to help people connect with the outdoors and their neighbors and to foster a community mindset of environmental stewardship.

Exploring Science at the Vassar Farm

Exploring Science

The Exploring Science at Vassar Farm program brings local school children to the Environmental Cooperative at Vassar Barns for hands-on lessons about nature and science. It also gives Vassar students who are interested in science education experience with teaching.

Guided Walks Farm

We host guided walks and events that are open to the public at no charge. Our goal is to teach participants about various aspects of the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve and to increase their understanding of the natural world.

VCNature

Great Horned Owl farm

VCNature is an environmental outreach campaign by the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, the Environmental Cooperative at the Vassar Barns, the Warthin Museum of Natural History, and the Office of Sustainability at Vassar, with the goal of connecting the Vassar community with nature. Issues are sent out monthly.  To subscribe, email vcnature@vassar.edu.

Winter Walking Tour for Vassar Students! 

The Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve team has been so excited to see many Vassar students utilizing the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve this semester. 

Attention Students:

To make your walks at the preserve more exciting, we have designed a self-guided tour with audio through the app ECHOES: interactive GPS-triggered sound walks. For more information on how to access the tour, see the flyer posted below.

Winter Walking Tour Flyer Farm

Geocaching at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve

Come explore the Preserve and find 10 hidden caches! This geocaching document has a map, hints, descriptions and coordinates for you to create your own treasure hunt! Plus, learn about the many habitats on the Ecological Preserve! This activity is great for kids and families! 

You can find a map with the cache locations on ArcGIS Explorer, a free app. All you have to do is download the app and search for "Geocaching at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve."

You can also download a hardcopy map with hints/descriptions below:

Geocaches at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve (PDF)

We plan to have these caches public on the Geocahing app once the Ecological Preserve is open to the public. 

Multisensory Nature Trail

The multisensory nature trail at Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve aims to provide the structure and space to learn the skills needed to forge deep connections with nature. This guide and map were created by Lydia Gold '16 as part of her senior thesis.