manor_ink_dec_2021_for_web

NEWS
MANOR INK | DEC. 2021 |
3
SUNY Sullivan Trails
A network of seven pathways around the campus
Hiking trails
College Rd.
Leroy Rd.
LUZON LAKE
Light
bulb loop
SUNY Sullivan
Campus
Farm trail
Solar trail
Solar Farm
500 feet
N
TRAIL BLAZING SUNY students Tofowa Pyle,
Green Building Maintenance and Management,
left, and Ryan Grodin, Liberal Arts and
Science, install trail makers on the SUNY Sullivan
Solar trail. Provided photo
SUNY Sullivan’s new trail network open to all
Paths take hikers to a variety of destinations
By Manor Ink Staff
Loch Sheldrake, NY – There are many
paths to follow in an institution of higher
learning, but not all are academic. At
SUNY Sullivan, there is a new network of
paths, trails really, that offer users a ramble
through nature. Not just your ordinary hiking
trails, either – these seven connected
footpaths are so much more.
“We consider our campus a living laboratory,”
explained Larry Reeger, professor of
Green Studies at the college in this hamlet.
The school now invites the community to
enjoy seven trails that are part of the connected
system. “The trails are a living laboratory
that people can experience, enjoy
and learn from,” Reeger said.
Each trail has a theme based on what a
hiker can expect to see. “When you take
the ‘solar stroll,’ which goes down around
the campus solar farm, you’re going to see
an array of solar panels. And in the near
future, we’re going to have signage that
says, ‘Our school uses this electricity from
the sun,’ because roughly 75 percent of the
electricity that we use year round comes
from that solar array.’”
Tofowa Pyle is a work-study student who
is responsible for rolling out the trail signage.
“The woodland trail that goes into the
woods and the solar trail are fully marked
out,” he said. “A third trail goes through
Hope Farm, an organic farm and community
garden.” The farm is a fully-functioning
agricultural operation that serves both the
school and a nearby nonprofit.
“New Hope Community has been with
us for more than six years with Hope
Farm,” Pyle said. “Also part of the trail system,
the farm produces over 10,000 pounds
of organic fruits and vegetables here at
SUNY Sullivan. Most of that food goes back
to New Hope Community, which provides
AGRICULTURE, TOO Hope Farm is just one of
the destinations of SUNY Sullivan’s new trail
system. Cassie LaNoce photo
residential services to people with intellectual
and other disabilities.”
Another trail is the light bulb loop which
is blacktop and is a running, walking and
‘The trails are a living
laboratory that people can
experience, enjoy and learn from.’
Larry Reeger
SUNY Sullivan professor
biking trail. An athletics trail goes from the
parking lot all the way down to a basketball
and volleyball court. Pyle emphasizes that
a connector links all the trails together.
The college campus is open seven days a
week for the community to enjoy the trails
for hiking, bird-watching, running and
snowshoeing. With Sullivan 180, SUNY Sullivan
hopes to encourage wellness among
its students and the larger community with
the addition of the trail system. Maps and
information about the trail system will soon
be available at trailkeeper.org.
Reporter Cassie LaNoce conducted the interviews
for this story.