Spring 2011
Marcellus Seventh and Eighth Graders Visit Amberations
On April 12th & 14th, groups of 7th and 8th graders from Marcellus came to Amberations to
work on a service learning project. It was amazing what they accomplished with their incredible enthusiasm and creativity. All the volunteers from Amberations that worked with
these groups had only positive things to say about the kids. We hope you take some time
to come and see their hard work for yourselves.
Adjacent to our barn is a chain link fence that some worked on camouflaging with branches, vines and limbs. What transpired is beautiful...rubber duckies in a nest, a donkey, sun patterns, braidings and even a fish dangling from a pole over the stream. The biggest and only complaint was that there was not more time to work. The materials are all at the barn, along with the animals, so feel free to come visit, observe, enjoy and even pitch in.
In addition to the fence work, 7th graders built an amazingly sturdy framework in the upper field from black locust cut on our land. We plan to train vines to grow over them this summer, possibly gourds. Underneath will be a nice shady place to rest. Again the only problem was lack of time. The grid work for the top still needs to be bound and attached. We invite you again to participate in its completion or just appreciate the display of hard work.
If you choose to walk our trails, they are nicely raked, again thanks to this great group of kids. There is a rather steep trail from the barn to the upper fields and another along the gorge at the far side of the upper fields. You can download a brochure which includes a map at our website: www.amberations.org. Our treasure hunt, which leads you along the trails, will be maintained and enhanced in time for our May 15th Bike Race and Fun Day. You can find a treasure map at the barn that will lead you to the stops.
Now a personal note. A little over 5 years ago I started Amberations. My goal was to share this beautiful little piece of land and provide opportunities for people of all abilities to participate and determine how our site would evolve. The dream has always been for our guests to feel ownership. We have had many visits from a variety of groups. Until April 12th and 14th, those visits were just that--visits. The visit from the Marcellus students was the first time an outside group has come in, taken some control and participated in shaping our evolution. I believe it was an extremely positive experience for all involved and that has been our goal. That is why our mission statement says, "supporting mental health by providing opportunities for people of all abilities to impact and interact with the natural environment."
Thank you, Marcellus 7th and 8th graders, for helping us realize our dream! Please come back.
--Gloria Wiley, Founder & President of Amberations
Introducing Diana Green
I’ve known Gloria for about 30 years. We still play on the same softball team. Whenever I went to a gathering at Gloria’s or to an Amberations event I was always taken by her creations — glass bottle houses, herb gardens, climbing walls in her house, etc., etc. Then her Pumpkin People, fantastic Chili & Spinakopita, Big Joe, a Treasure Hunt & Duck Race!
That highlighted several years of effort directed at creating Amberations’ barn of wonderful animals & trails into nature to share with people with disabilities or anyone. How could you not want to support that? Gloria seemed to be doing all of this practically alone. All I did was play once a year in the Marimba Band at Amberations’ October Fall Festival. So, when I retired from teaching this past year I decided I could help a little.
In the Fall I took a table of Amberations’ material to the Volunteer Day at SUNY ESF. There I met several students who were enthusiastic about helping. Some came to the Fall Festival. One, Sarah Prussing, has accompanied me on weekly trips to Amberations to feed the animals, work on trails, clear snow or gather firewood. We are smitten with Big Joe (the donkey) and love to see him run and kick sideways or roll in the dirt as he enjoys a few hours of freedom. Now even placid sheep Katie and Smiley seem excited at our approach. Of course, the cats, Happy and Shadow, are always hopping into our laps for rubs. The barn resounds with chicken squawks. The ducks waddle in the stream. It’s a very special place. Then recently the nicest middle school students I’ve ever met came to share their energy at Amberations. Such a special place, such incredible people and community. Gloria has many more creative ideas to shape this place. Wouldn’t you want to help, too?
-- Diana Green
Eagle Scout Project
For his project, an Eagle Scout Candidate, John Lapezynski, from Troop 61 in Skaneateles will be installing a Handicap access route from the barn to the beginning of our trailhead. The access route will consist of a boardwalk type structure to be built from 2x4 and 2x6 pressure treated lumber. John is currently planning to finish the project by the end of August. From now until the project is completed, he is accepting materials and/or monetary donations. John will post a build date list at the barn if you would like to help with the building of the boardwalk.
Give Back America
Please remember Give Back America. Give Back America is like an online shopping mall that gives a percentage of all purchases to your favorite charity.
Our experience is that if you add it to your bookmarks/favorites it’s a lot easier to remember to use it. Give Back America works with most of your favorite online stores.
Good Search
GoodSearch is a search engine like Yahoo or Google but goodsearch.com donates to a charity, a penny for every search made.
It's very easy to set it as your default search engine with Amberations as your charity of choice and let the pennies roll our way.
A percentage of your purchases from your favorite online shopping sites can also go to Amberations. Just link to the websites from the bottom of Goodsearch.com. Thanks to all our supporters using GoodSearch.
