Little Stony Point Volunteer Center

Little Stony Point Citizens Association (“LSPCA”) is an all-volunteer Friends Group dedicated to promoting safe access to the Little Stony Point section of the Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve. LSPCA mission is to provide stewardship of the preserve’s natural beauty.  Formed in 1984, LSPCA was envisioned by Pete Seeger and was the first Friends Group to Parks in New York State.

The new Little Stony Point Volunteer Center will support volunteer activities onsite at the park and will amplify this trend of increased cooperation and mutual stewardship of the Park by Parks Staff and volunteers.


We’ve already raised over 90% of what we need, through donations, grants, and volunteer labor. The balance is needed for installing the roof shingles and for electrical services. If we are lucky enough to exceed our goal, any overages will be directed to Phase II, which includes solar panels and a bathroom.

Donations by credit card are warmly welcome. To make your donation stretch a little further, please send a check to Little Stony Point Citizens Association, PO Box 319, Cold Spring, NY 10516.

==============================

We now see and will continue to see increased public enjoyment of Little Stony Point, the impact of which must be managed.  Our strategic vision is to grow the stewardship of the Park by increasing LSPCA membership and volunteers through engagement in activities that encourage member and volunteer participation.  These activities will be planned and launched from our proposed Volunteer Center.  


In additions to our major annual events such as Maple Syrup Day and the Hoot on the Hudson music festival, some of the ideas we have for the Volunteer Center include:

•   Support for Seasonal Clean-up Events, such Earth Day, Riverkeeper Sweep and I Love My Parks Day

•   Monthly Pot Luck Barbecue and Acoustic Songs on the Back Porch

•   Environmental Education Classes in conjunction with Haldane and Garrison schools


•   Themed Hikes, such as our First Day Hike, the Veo Veo and Spooky Halloween Tales hikes (in collaboration with Hudson Highlands Land Trust), birding hikes in collaboration with Audobon members

•   The Volunteer Center can host meetings of Girl and Boy Scout Groups, including the Cub Scout Pack 137, whom we sponsor. 

•   Plein-aire Painting Workshops with local master oil painters

•   Photography Workshops with local artist photographers, and Open Mike Poetry and Music

•   Exhibits of Art and of the History of the Hudson Valley Environmental Movement

•   An External "Information Wall" alongside the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, with coming events, information about the greater Park's amenities and about the missions of LSPCA and partner organizations

The Volunteer Center will be available to other community organizations that wish to partner with us.  (E.g., NY NJ Trails Conference, Haldane Environmental Club, Hudson Highlands Land Trust, Friends of Fahnestock & Hudson Highlands State Park, Open Space Institute Alliance For Parks, Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper, Lions Club, Knights of Columbus.)

The ongoing use of the facility itself is part of the plan to sustain and grow LSPCA membership.  Further facility enhancements, such as composting toilet, wood stove installation and solar panels will give opportunities for more group efforts and fundraising.



The increased activities will increase LSPCA’s visibility and inform people of  our mission.  We want to encourage volunteerism by providing more fun events (e.g, not just clean-ups) to create a balance between work and enjoyment, and allow people the opportunity to have a place to be together at the park and relish the satisfaction of having contributed toward the stewardship of the park.