Clearpool Model Forest
Clearpool Model Forest
(264 acres) The Clearpool Model Forest is owned and managed by Green Chimney’s Clearpool Campus and is located near the Boyds Corner Reservoir in Putnam County.
Green Chimneys Clearpool Campus
33 Clearpool Road
Carmel, NY 10512
People interested in visiting the Clearpool Model Forest should go to Green Chimney’s Clearpool Campus website for event listings, or email [email protected] or call 845-225-8226 for more information.
For directions from Google Maps, click here.
The Clearpool Model Forest is located off Route 301 and is easily accessible from the Taconic or I-684. The Clearpool Model Forest provides Best Management Practice (BMP) demonstrations, an active sugarbush, and miles of trails and roads.
The Model Forest is managed by Green Chimneys. The site features a dining hall that overlooks a 10 acre lake, accommodations for workshops and events of all sizes, and is situated in the geographic center of the Model Forest.
In October 2011, the Council and Green Chimneys, officially announced the designation of the Clearpool Model Forest at the Clearpool Education Center campus in Carmel, Putnam County. The fourth Model Forest site to be established in and around the New York City Water Supply System, Clearpool represents 264 acres of privately-owned forestland set aside to support environmental education and forest stewardship of the Catskills/Delaware Watersheds, making it the second largest of the four outdoor classrooms.
Green Chimneys’ Clearpool Education Center emerged as an ideal Model Forest site in 2010 when the Council sought to establish a Model Forest in the East of the Hudson region of the Catskill/Delaware Watersheds located in Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties.
Model Forests serve as outdoor classrooms to educate forest landowners, students, and the communities of the lower Hudson Valley about effective forest management and stewardship practices that are compatible with water quality protection – a critical issue for New York City Water Supply System that includes the Croton, Catskill and Delaware Watershed on both sides of the Hudson River.
The key concepts that create the foundation of the Model Forest educational experience are water quality, biodiversity, forest ecosystems and human interaction with the natural landscape. As an established environmental education facility and vibrant forest set on 350 acres, Clearpool Education Center offers a spectacular venue for stakeholders and community members to learn about the issues that confront forests within the East of Hudson region of the NYC Water Supply System. For over 100 years, Clearpool has offered countless ecological resources and extensive wildlife for exploration and discovery. Its protected woodlands include over five miles of forest trails, a pond, lake, marsh, wetland, and an extensive stream system, all of which provide multiple habitats for a diverse population of plants, birds, and animals.
In early 2011, the Clearpool Model Forest Steering Committee guided the site planning process, the development of a forest management plan, and educational programming to be offered. The Committee is comprised of key representatives from Green Chimneys and Clearpool Education Center, Town of Kent officials, Putnam County Cornell Cooperative Extension, local environmentalists, foresters, educators, Quality Deer Management Association representatives, and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The group reports to the board of Green Chimneys and has been responsible for making all recommendations and final decisions on proposed projects within the model forest.
The Clearpool Education Center’s sustainable forestry program is dedicated to promoting responsible forest stewardship in the lower Hudson Valley region by demonstrating sustainable approaches and sharing this information with landowners, students, forestry professionals, conservation organizations, and community members. Through hands-on programs, seminars and field-based experiences, the vision for the Clearpool Model Forest is to create broad public commitment by helping people to understand and experience the shared benefits that can be attained and preserved through properly managed forests. These benefits include protection of public and private water supplies; improved air quality; protection of biological diversity; increased recreational opportunities; and access to sustainably harvested forest products. A plan for site projects and initiatives to be completed in Year 1, 3 and 5 is currently in development. Some of these projects include ecosystem inventory; monitoring of water quality; development and mapping of hiking trails; building bridges and passages to facilitate access along trails; design of public programs and demonstrations; and structural improvements to maintain best management practices.