CATS Booth at Christmas in Essex, Raffle, Quarry Hike, and Birding Walk on Dec. 7

Christmas in Essex (Source: www.christmasinessex.com)

We’re happy to be a part of Christmas in Essex, Saturday, December 7, from 9-3.

Christmas in Essex is a fun event for all ages, with so much to do and see; see the full schedule of activities and events here.

The CATS booth will be in the Old Stone Church (11 Church Street). Stop by and say hello. We’ll have CATS items for sale: tee shirts, notecards, and books so you can shop for presents and help CATS at the same time. Plus if you don’t already have yours, you can get a copy of CATS’ Central Champlain Valley Trail Map and the Northern Champlain Valley Trail Map or pick up one for a friend.

We’ll be celebrating the Essex Quarry Nature Park Conservation and Trail Project, where CATS is raising money to preserve this 35-acre gem on the southern edge of the Town of Essex and make trails.

We’re holding a raffle to support the Essex Quarry Project at the CATS booth, offering the last available “Hike the Lake” poster! Really, this is the last one we have so it’s a one of a kind! Raffle tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25. Plus, we’ll be giving away beautiful postcards of the Essex Quarry Nature Park at the booth.

At 1:00, Chris will lead a hike to Essex Quarry to you can walk through this amazing place, learn about the project, ask questions and see how it will benefit Essex and our Champlain Valley communities.

Join us in front of the Old Stone Church off Main Street and we’ll walk to the Quarry. It will be about a 1.5 mile hike and will take about an hour.

It’s your chance for a “before” view in anticipation of the “after” when the project is complete.

Birding with Derek

Derek Rogers has joined Champlain Area Trails (CATS) as the organization’s first Development Director. — Derek Rogers will lead the birding walk on Dec. 7 at 8AM.

Coming up, Saturday, December 7, CATS Development Director Derek Rogers will lead a birding walk at Wickham Marsh Wildlife Management Area Hike in Port Kent. This will be a fun morning of birding, from 8:00 am until about noon.

Derek is a voting member of the New York State Avian Records Committee and volunteers as a regional data quality reviewer in the Adirondacks for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird Program.

As a major bonus, we just learned that Stacy Robinson, Champlain Valley birder extraordinaire, will also be joining and co-leading this walk, Derek and Stacy are both passionate about birds and they look forward to spending the morning with you and exploring some of the unique winter bird life at this popular wildlife management area.

To ensure participants get the full experience, we are capping this outing at 20 people, so advance registration is required. There is no charge but donations are gratefully accepted. Please register by calling the office at 518-962-2287 or drop us an email at info@champlainareatrails.com.

About Champlain Area Trails (CATS)

Champlain Area Trails (CATS) is a non-profit organization, begun in 2009, which creates and maintains hiking and cross-country ski trails in the Champlain Valley that link communities, connect people with nature, and promote economic vitality. In its short history, CATS has developed 35 miles of trails that when added to existing trails, gets it half-way toward the long-envisioned goal of a 30-mile trail loop between Westport and Essex. CATS will extend its trails to neighboring towns and eventually connect them to trails in the Adirondack Mountains, Vermont, and Quebec. Learn more on the CATS website.