June is full of opportunities to get outside, get your hands in the soil, and care for land in community. From planting a neighborhood food forest to stewarding creekside trails, learning compost practices, and celebrating pollinators, our Volunteer & Stewardship Parties offer something for everyone. Join us throughout the month as we cultivate connection, resilience, and shared responsibility for the places we love in the Kingston area!
June 7, Sunday, 9-1pm
Murray Round Food Forest - Community Celebration and Planting | Murray Street by Rondout Gardens Apartments
Join us as we continue to plant and expand the food forest and parklet at Murray Street near Rondout Gardens! Your efforts will support community members working to bring edible abundance and shade to an underutilized grass and asphalt area in an environmental justice zone.
Project Background:
The KLT has been stewarding this project for several years, a project that was inspired by the community food forest we steward in the nearby KLT-protected Forest Sanctuary. Neighbors have chimed in about the design of the park and it’s name. Murray Round Food Forest will have edible fruit trees, beautiful flowers, and seating in three round segments. We will be planting trees and flowers and there will be refreshments.
RSVP tom@kingstonlandtrust.org
June 11, Thursday, 5-7pm
Stewardship Party + Compost Tea Demonstration | LIBH Land Base
Join us for a Stewardship Party at the Land In Black Hands Land Base as we come back together for spring planting and collective care of the land. This
is a chance to get your hands in the soil, connect with community, and support a space rooted in Black land access, healing, and resilience.
Bring your coffee grinds, today’s kitchen scraps and learn how to turn your trash into gold!
Whether you’re an experienced grower or just curious to learn, all are welcome—come share in the work, the joy, and the vision of cultivating land in community.
RSVP shaniqua@kingstonlandtrust.org
June 16, Tuesday, 5:30 to 7:30pm
Stewardship Party: Help clear a boat carry trail | KLT conserved floodplain land (parking and meetup address 20 Wiedy Rd, Kingston)
Help us clear a short trail so that people paddling on the Lower Esopus Creek where it passes through the City of Kingston can carry canoes and kayaks around a large wood jam that blocks the creek. In addition to supporting public access to the Lower Esopus Creek, this is a great opportunity to get to know the KLT’s most recent land conservation project--50 acres of floodplain forest in the Town of Ulster near the 587 bridge over the Esopus Creek.
Be sure to wear long pants--you will likely be walking through poison ivy. We will provide tools and refreshments to enjoy together along the creek after we sweat!
Meetup location address: 20 Wiedy Road, Kingston. Park along Wiedy Rd, across from the Ulster County SPCA. We’ll leave promptly at 5:40pm (please arrive at 5:30) and walk together about a half mile to the site location.
RSVP greg@kingstonlandtrust.org
June 23, Tuesday, 5:30 to 7:30
Stewardship Party: Native and Edible along the Esopus Creek | 48 Buckley St, Kingston (located in the Town of Ulster)
Help us clear a short trail so that people paddling on the Lower Esopus Creek where it passes through the City of Kingston can carry canoes and kayaks around a large wood jam that blocks the creek. In addition to supporting public access to the Lower Esopus Creek, this is a great opportunity to get to know the KLT’s most recent land conservation project--50 acres of floodplain forest in the Town of Ulster near the 587 bridge over the Esopus Creek.
Be sure to wear long pants--you will likely be walking through poison ivy. We will provide tools and refreshments to enjoy together along the creek after we sweat!
Meetup location address: 20 Wiedy Road, Kingston. Park along Wiedy Rd, across from the Ulster County SPCA. We’ll leave promptly at 5:40pm (please arrive at 5:30) and walk together about a half mile to the site location.
RSVP greg@kingstonlandtrust.org
June 25, Thursday, 5-7pm
HVBH Pollinator Sanctuary Volunteer Party | The Forest Sanctuary at 81 Gross St, Kingston, NY
Celebrate National Pollinator Week June 22-28 by joining the Hudson Valley Bee Habitat for a volunteer event at the Pollinator Sanctuary, part of the broader Forest Sanctuary at 81 Gross St, Kingston, NY.
Help us plant and maintain the garden while learning about local pollinators, plants, and wildlife. Bring items for your comfort working outdoors: work gloves, sun protection, bug repellent and water bottle.
June 27, Saturday, 10am-12pm | Rain date: Sunday, June 28th 10-12pm
BioBlitz with KLT, Hudson Valley Bee Habitat, The Bee Conservancy, Scenic Hudson, and the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies | Begin in Sojourner Truth State Park, East Kingston Trail Head and continue to KLT Forest/Pollinator Sanctuary at 81 Gross St.
To celebrate National Pollinator Week, join us for a group scavenger hunt — known as a Bioblitz — to identify pollinators, plants, birds, and other forms of life. We’ll begin by exploring pollinators and their host plants in the Sojourner Truth State Park, a 500+ acre post-industrial State Park with a rich cultural and ecological history and continue in Kingston Land Trust’s Forest Sanctuary, a small forested area with special pollinator habitats adjacent to the Kingston Greenline.
Your observations will contribute to the growing database of biodiversity (the variety of plants and animals) being gathered as part of the Defining Urban Biodiversity study and Bee The Solution projects in Hudson Valley cities. You’ll also learn how to use the iNaturalist and Bee Machine apps that you can continue using as you explore local parks and natural areas. This event is a collaboration between The Kingston Land Trust, Hudson Valley Bee Habitat, The Bee Conservancy, The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, and Scenic Hudson.
RSVP hvbeehabitat@gmail.com