College Programs in the Adirondack Park

Over the past few weeks on our blog, there have been multiple posts about learning and schooling in the Adirondacks.  Anne posted about NOLS and other youth leadership institutes that teach leadership skills to teenagers in the wilderness, and Michaela’s article focused on her thoughts about, and personal experiences with, experiential learning in the Adirondacks.  Although the Adirondack Park is host to a number of learning opportunities for grade school aged students, the park is also home to a number of higher education research institutions.  Although Paul Smiths College is most often thought of as the educational institution in the Adirondack Park, there are several other university-affiliated areas in the park, providing research and experiential opportunities for their students.

SUNY ESF runs several university programs in the Adirondack Park, and thus is a great case study for higher education in the park.  In Wanakena, NY, is the SUNY ESF Ranger School, which plays an important role within the Adirondack Park, as many of the school’s students inevitably end up working for the Adirondack park conservation efforts (SUNY ESF Careers).  This Adirondack branch of Syracuse’s SUNY ESF grants degrees in environmental and natural resources conservation, forest technology, and land surveying technology, all of which are taught with “field-based education” techniques (SUNY ESF Ranger School).  Along with the Ranger School, SUNY ESF’s Cranberry Lake Biological Station (CLBS) provides ESF students with the opportunity to take certain environmental science courses, and perform research in a non-classroom setting (SUNY ESF CLBS).  Along with SUNY ESF, other New York schools such as St. Laurence University and Cornell University have research and learning properties within the Adirondack Park.

Beginning next year, Hamilton will use their Adirondack Semester to promote higher learning in the Adirondack Park.  The program is described as, a “place-based, semester long learning experience that combines rigorous academic study with the skills and understanding gained through field experience” (Hamilton College).  Though slightly different from SUNY ESF’s program, Hamilton emphasizes both the fieldwork, and the fully immersive experience in the Adirondack community.

The Adirondack Park is an extremely unique place from multiple perspectives.  The park’s governance is based solely on an overly ambiguous piece of legislation from 1892, which can be defied only through amending.  Consequentially, this high level of protection is fascinating to the environmentalist and the non-environmentalist alike.   As such, a the unique landscape of the Adirondacks provides a fantastic place for college students to learn, research, and live.  Hopefully, programs like those of Hamilton, SUNY ESF, and other New York schools will inspire other universities to explore, research, conserve, and learn to effectively live with local parks and reserves.

Thank you to Jackson Graves from the Writing Center for your thoughts and edits to this blog post!

Works Cited:

1. "Adirondack Semester." Academic Program in the Adirondack. Hamilton College, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. <http://www.hamilton.edu/adk>.
2. Jenkins, Jerry, and Andy Keal. "10-3 Colleges & Adult Education." The Adirondack Atlas: A Geographic Portrait of the Adirondack Park. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse UP, 2004. 152. Print.
3. "The Ranger School." SUNY-ESF: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. State University of New York, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.esf.edu/rangerschool/>.
4. "SUNY ESF Career and Graduate School Opportunities." (n.d.): n. pag. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. State University of New York. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.esf.edu/career/documents/CareerBrochure.pdf>.
5. "2015 Courses." SUNY-ESF: Cranberry Lake Biological Station. State University of New York, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. <http://www.esf.edu/clbs/schedule.htm>.