School Forest Day Chair Trisha Mulligan looks forward to the eighth annual School Forest Day, which will be held in the Garrison School Forest on Thursday, May 5 and Friday, May 6, 2016. "I love it so, so much," Mulligan said. This year, School Forest Day encompasses two days of outdoor educational programming. Each grade will spend one day in the School Forest.

"I've talked with the Student Government representatives to explore what they liked and didn't like about past School Forest Days," Mulligan said. "They like building fairy houses, shelter building, sensing the forest while blindfolded, team building activities, the scavenger hunt, and orienteering."

Mulligan and Principal John Griffiths hope to recruit several parent volunteers to assist with planning School Forest Day, and to work as coordinators on the day of the event. Each grade level will engage in different activities at various locations within the School Forest. So, teachers will need the assistance of parents.

The Eco-Moms group dreamed up School Forest Day in 2008, and produced the first event in 2009.


Rooney, Alison. Sarah Wallis. Photograph. "School's Out(side) at Garrison School Forest Day." Highlands Current, 11 May 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

David Gordon spoke about the history of community building and environmental stewardship in the Philipstown area at the third annual Think and Drink fundraiser on Sunday, Jan. 24. The event, sponsored by the Environmental Education Committee, raised approximately $1,000 for School Forest Day and other environmental education initiatives.

Originally planned for Sat., Jan. 23, the event was rescheduled due to heavy snow. More than 50 people gathered the next day at the home of Christine Foertsch and Michael McKee to listen to David Gordon and to enjoy food and beverages created by Celia Barbour, Jenny Evans, Jill Corson Lake, Trisha Mulligan, and Julia Wynn. Savory menu items included Korean barbecue pulled pork sliders, seasonal vegetable tarts, and bruschetta with ricotta.

Gordon discussed the histories, generosity, and environmental stewardship of several influential Philipstown families in the 19th and 20th centuries. Gordon's family pioneered educational and conservation initiatives in our area more than a century ago. His grandfather founded the Malcolm Gordon School in Garrison in 1927. An active environmental steward, Gordon has served on the board of the Constitution Island Association and the original School Forest Committee at the Garrison School. He has volunteered at School Forest Day since its inception. After the Malcolm Gordon School closed in 1990, Gordon worked with the Open Space Institute to preserve the school's property. This work led to OSI's 1995 gift of Philipstown Park to the community.

Art teacher Coulter Young invited Hudson Valley artist Andrew Lattimore to serve as an artist in residence at the Garrison School in spring 2015. Lattimore led three sessions for students in grades 3-8 on drawing, perspective, and art history. He also discussed his career as a professional artist. Then, on School Forest Day, Lattimore taught seventh- and eighth-grade students the art of plein air painting at the South Redoubt within the School Forest. Plein air artists paint outdoors and record what they observe in the natural environment.

Lattimore teaches at the Center for the Arts at Westchester Community College. He also teaches workshops in the Hudson Valley, Rhode Island, and Italy. The Garrison Children's Education Fund made Lattimore's residency possible.