This Month’s Featured Articles…

When interscholastic sports first appeared, it was in the form of school organizations that reached out to neighboring schools in the manner of colleges and universities. Track and field, baseball, and football clubs eventually became teams, which in turn spawned leagues, divisions, state championships, and cottage industries of coaches and instructors who promise to turn your fifteen year-old into the next Babe Ruth. The past decade has wrought some curious changes on interscholastic playing fields and the competitive landscape, building on decades of growth in [...]

As we embrace spring, we revel in the freedom that emerges with the arrival of warmer weather. With the darkest days of the pandemic hopefully behind us, we’re all anticipating more gatherings, parties, and celebrations. Of course, many of these occasions call for gift-giving – bestowing someone with that perfect token that will delight them while commemorating the occasion. Although Earth Day is coming on April 22, we should remember to be mindful of our own consumer habits and strive to make eco-conscious choices year-round. [...]

We have a long, and at times, turbulent history with the trees and forests that inhabit our vast landscape. Even before Europeans sailed across the Atlantic in a vain attempt to tame the “pristine wilderness” of the New World, humans were utilizing American forests to help support their way of life. Native Americans used the wild forests that surrounded them in the Northeast to sustain themselves. The concept of fire ecologies first evolved in many forests thanks to Native American communities. As settlers arrived, the [...]

Hello, gardening enthusiasts! Welcome to April, the month to start getting serious about what you hope to grow this season. Whether your plot is several acres, some select beds, or even select containers on a patio, you can start dreaming and scheming now. And what better way than with tips from a Master Gardener? Master Gardeners (MG) are a group of trained volunteers who work in partnership with their county Cooperative Extension office to extend information throughout the county. The first MG program was started [...]

Carbon neutrality sounds like an impossible goal, doesn’t it? The answer turns out to depend a great deal on where you live. It isn’t that hard if you happen to live in upstate New York. That’s because one of upstate New York’s best kept secrets is that it has the cleanest electrical grid in the nation, i.e., it emits the least carbon per kWh – about a quarter of the national average. It’s hugely cleaner than New York City’s grid, and even cleaner than California’s, [...]