The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is a non-profit organization dedicated to "the protection and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, and other parks, wild lands, and waterways.” Founded in 1922, ADK is a member-driven organization with over 28,000 members in 27 chapters across the state of New York. ADK employs a balanced approach of outdoor recreation, environmental stewardship, and natural resource conservation. The Adirondack Mountain Club supports Nature Up North by providing environmental education training for project coordinators and interns and helping to actively publicize and promote participation in Nature Up North.
 

We are a non-profit after school program serving community children ages 6 - 20 and their families since 2001

Our Mission

"To inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us the most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring community members"

Our Boys & Girls Club provides:

• a safe place to learn and grow 
• ongoing relationships with caring
• adult professionals
• life and skill enhancing programs
• character development experiences
• hope and opportunity

The Alcoa Foundation supports sustainability by partnering with local communities and non-profit organizations to address local environmental issues and promote environmental education. The Alcoa Foundation is supporting Nature Up North with a grant of $45,000. The grant will cover the costs of running an annual workshop that will train local school teachers for participation in the program. The funds will also pay for school travel kits, which come with hand-held, camera-equipped GPS units that will be used to capture and record natural occurrences and data, including location. In addition, the grant will pay for website support and for St. Lawrence University students to serve as environmental educators and project assistants.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is a non-for-profit corporation that focuses on making grants in five core program areas: Higher Education and Scholarship; Scholarly Communications and Information Technology; Art History, Conservation, and Museums; Performing Arts and; Conservation and the Environment. Their grantmaking philosophy is to "build, strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities" and in doing so to develop "thoughtful, long-term collaborations with their grant recipients". The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is supporting Nature Up North with two grants totaling $113, 658 to support the launch and establishment of the project.

Canton’s Hugh C. Williams Senior High School is located in a residential section of Canton, New York, which is eighteen miles southeast of the Canadian border. The community’s socio-economic composition is diverse. Major area employers include education, agriculture, small business, correctional facilities, health care and large and small industries.

The Canton Central School District has one high school, one middle school and one elementary school on a single campus with an enrollment of approximately 1270 students. The Canton Central School District enjoys the academic and cultural benefits of having St. Lawrence University and SUNY at Canton in the community, as well as Clarkson University and State University College at Potsdam which are located n the immediate area.

The Canton Chamber of Commerce is a local business network that works closely with businesses and members to create a stronger community.

The Canton Recreation Department is a shared service of the Town and Village of Canton that strives to provide inclusive, affordable, accessible recreational services for all Canton residents. The Department maintains several parks and playgrounds, including Taylor Park Beach and the Canton Recreational Pavilion Ice Arena. Additionally, the Recreation Department offers programs year-round to increase recreation opportunities. The variety of programs offered share a common goal of providing inclusive environments to promote participation in positive leisure time activities and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

The Canton Recreation Department collaborates with Nature Up North to promote Canton’s beautiful rivers, parks, and trails. Through programs such as the Canton Fall Trails Series, the Recreation Department and Nature Up North encourage residents to engage in their surrounding environment. 

Colton-Pierrepont Central School is a small rural school system located in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. New York State’s second longest river, the Racquette River, flows through the district creating majestic scenery, a source of electrical power, and spectacular recreation. SUNY Colleges at Potsdam and Canton, Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University are located in neighboring communities; serve as a resource for undergraduate, graduate and partnership opportunities. This portion of Northern New York is known for a high quality of life created by the combination of career opportunities in agriculture, the arts, higher education, industry, technology and recreation.

Colton-Pierrepont Central School proudly educates students to become responsible, respectful, and resourceful citizens, thereby continuing a tradition of innovation and excellence.

Cornell Cooperative Extension puts knowledge to work in pursuit of economic vitality, ecological sustainability and social well-being. We bring local experience and research based solutions together, helping New York State families and communities thrive in our rapidly changing world.

DJ Case and Associates is a communcation consulting and mobile web development company dedicated to conservation and environmental issues.  DJ Case supports the Nature Up North effort by providing web application design, architecture and development services.
 

The Henry David Thoreau Foundation is an organization that supports undergraduate scholars through tuition scholarships and grant programs to prepare them for environmental leadership. The foundation believes in the critical need to prepare and foster future environmental leaders to face the environmental challeges that lie ahead for our country and our world. The Henry David Thoreau Foundation is supporting Nature Up North with a grant of $18, 644 to help fund the training of undergraduate students as environmental educators and community stewards.

Higley Flow State Park is nestled among the Adirondack foothills on the picturesque Raquette River. Spacious campsites, separated from neighbors by pine trees, abound in the park. The terrain is hilly and heavily-wooded and there is a sandy beach on the reservoir of the Raquette River. The scenic river is ideal for canoeing and fishing. The Beaver Pond Nature Trail has interpretive signs that describe the six distinct habitats through which the trail passes. Hiking trails double as cross-country ski trails in winter, when snowmobiling, snowshoeing and ice fishing are also allowed.

Indian Creek Nature Center consists of approximately 320 acres located within the Upper and Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area in the town of Canton in New York State. The center borders flooded lands between the Oswegatchie and Grasse Rivers designed to enhance waterfowl habitat.

The center contains approximately 7.9 miles of trails, including a handicapped accessible boardwalk trail through a marsh to an overlook with expansive views of Upper and Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area. Elevation ranges from 308 feet in the northern portion to 350 feet near the road in the southern portion.

All trails are free and open to the public.  Extensive efforts are underway to improve many of the trails including informational plaques and a guided nature trail.  Please enjoy the center as a wildlife haven with a myriad of amphibians, mammals, and resident and migratory birds. 

The center also offers a number of guided programs in the spring and fall.  Choose events above to view current offerings.

Little River Community School is an alternative school serving 34 students, grades K-12, in a three-room schoolhouse, in Canton, NY. At Little River, we have a fundamental trust in children and their inherent motivation to learn about their world.

Our approach nurtures self-motivation and is characterized by the following:

• Multi-age groups
• 8:1 student teacher ratio
• Commitment to nonviolence and nondiscrimination
• Cooperation
• Community involvement
• Appreciation of our natural and physical world
• Hands-on activities

Call us at (315) 379-9474 or write us at steve@littleriverschool.org for more information.

Little River is located 5 miles south of Canton on the Canton-Russell Road, 1227 County Route 25.

The Massena Central School District is located in the heart of the St. Lawrence River Valley. In a beautiful rural setting, just an hour from Ottawa and Montreal, the district includes a population of 15,000 residents on 122 acres of the peaceful St. Lawrence River Valley. Canada is only minutes away and the majestic Adirondack Mountains are within a thirty minute drive.

Massena Central enjoys a long and proud history of community, industrial and business support. The district is well diversified industrially (ALCOA and GM Power train) and commercially (shopping mall, large box stores, and local businesses). The District is also home to the New York Power Authority, the Snell and Eisenhower Locks and the Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Dam.

The District is within a thirty minute drive of four outstanding colleges and universities; Clarkson University, St. Lawrence University, SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam. Paul Smith’s College and several Canadian colleges are within a short drive.

Recreational opportunities abound on the St. Lawrence, Grasse, and Raquette Rivers, all of which flow through the district. Numerous parks, beaches, walking trails, marinas and boat launches can be found within the District. The Nature Center provides cross country skiing, snowshoeing and other activities.

Massena Memorial Hospital provides modern and excellent health care services. The Massena Museum and the Massena Library provide quality educational opportunities to the community as well.

The Mohawk Valley Trading Company offers the highest quality organic, unprocessed natural products they can produce such as maple syrup, maple sugar, honey, raw honey, comb honey, and beeswax candles.

The Boys & Girls Club is a positive place for kids!  The Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club was established in 1964 by a group of people that believed a place was needed to serve boys of the Ogdensburg area to provide them with educational, recreational, social skills, and other positive traits.  Admitting its first ever girl member in 1975, today the Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club serves over 1,000 boys and girls a year from Ogdensburg and throughout St. Lawrence County. 

The addition of the John E. Claxton Memorial Learning Center in the fall of 2002 expanded the club’s academic opportunities for its members establishing “Power Hour” for students to receive tutoring in all academic areas.  The learning center also hosts the newest addition to the club, the SUNY ATTAIN Lab, which opened in the Spring of 2005.  The ATTAIN Lab contains 15 state of the art computers with built in academic coursework for children and adults of all ages, including internet access.  The lab is in partnership with the SUNY Research Foundation and is servicing club members and much of the adult community free of charge.

Robert Moses State Park is located partly on the mainland and partly on Barnhart Island. Visitors reach the park through a tunnel under the Eisenhower Lock. The park is spacious, home to a large variety of flora and fauna and offers a multitude of recreational opportunities, including wooded campsites and cabins, a marina and boat launch, some of the best fishing in the Northeast, picnic areas, a swimming beach, tennis courts and a year round nature center. The nature center also offers holiday, special events and school outreach programs. The park's nature, hiking and cross-country skiing trails wind through fields, forests and wetlands, with overlooks showcasing spectacular views. In winter, the park also welcomes snowmobilers.

The Mohawk Territory, which started out as a tiny village, is a truly international community which is home to approximately 10,000 people. Located in northern-most New York State and literally bisected by the United States-Canada Border, the present territory, called Akwesasne, a Mohawk word for Land Where the Partridge Drums is divided into two separate federally recognized jurisdictions, The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, and one traditional governing body encompassing all of Akwesasne, the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs. The efforts of the Environment Division are directed toward preventing disease and injury, while at the same time, promoting lifestyles that respect, protect and enhance the environment for the next seven generations at Akwesasne. Largely due to the fact that the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation is situated next to a Superfund site highly contaminated with toxic chemicals, this Tribe has one of the most advanced environment divisions of any Tribe in the Country.

The St. Lawrence River Research and Education Fund (SLRREF) was established by the New York Power Authority to support environmental research and environmental education projects relateing to the ecology of the St. Lawrence River watershed. The SLRREF is supporting Nature Up North with a grant of $20,000 to help fund environmental education and community outreach programing focused around the watershed and the lands and wildlife which depend upon it.

 
St. Lawrence University (SLU) is leading the development of Nature Up North on behalf of the North Country community. Located in Canton, NY, St. Lawrence University is a coeducational, private, independent liberal arts institution of about 2,300 students. The educational opportunities at St. Lawrence inspire students and prepare them to be critical and creative thinkers, to find a compass for their lives and careers, and to pursue knowledge and understanding for the benefit of themselves, humanity and the planet. SLU is a vibrant and collaborative community of learners with a strong focus on active engagement with ideas in and beyond the classroom, providing students the opportunity to embrace the natural world, engage with global challenges and ultimately leading students to make connections that transform lives and communities, from the local to the global. 

Traditional Arts in Upstate New York is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people understand and appreciate the folk traditions and local culture of everyday life--present and past--in the North Country. To do so, TAUNY seeks to research and preserve a record of diverse groups, customs and traditions; to recognize and empower traditional arts and artists; to identify and promote regional identity; and to provide opportunities for people of all ages to learn about folklore and local culture. 

The North Country Children’s Museum (NCCM) will focus on learning and discovery for children in preschool through middle school and their families. The museum is designed as a learning lab for faculty across the four campuses in education, science and the humanities. Local businesses and artisans will also play an integral role. NCCM will serve community needs for vacation weeks and summer camps, after school programs, school field trips and birthday parties.

The North Country Children’s Museum will be the area’s first cultural institution geared towards children and families. NCCM supports children as creative and engaged learners and thinkers through exploring our rich cultural and geographical region.

The Wild Center is a not-for-profit organization overseen by a Board of Trustees with the assistance of its Advisory Board. The Center is located on a 31-acre site in the Town of Tupper Lake, NY near the geographic center of the Adirondack Park.

The Adirondacks are unique in the world. Surrounded by people, they house great expanses of nature interspersed with small towns and communities. They can be an example for a future where man and the rest of the natural world find better ways to coexist.

This new Center, dedicated to understanding this rare place, is committed to helping people explore not a small collection, but one that lives and breathes across the entire expanse of the Adirondacks.

The Wild Center is science-based, and its experiences, exhibits and programs are designed to open new ways to look into the latest discoveries made by natural scientists.

There may be no more important issue facing humankind than discovering better ways to coexist with the rest of the natural world, and there may be no better place to understand that effort than in the Adirondacks. The Center is the place to see and appreciate the natural side of that vital story.

The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) is a consortium of individuals and organizations focused on monitoring the influence of climate on the phenology of plants, animals, and landscapes through the collection, sharing, and scientific application of phenological data. The USA-NPN seeks to serve both science and society by broadening and deepening our understanding of phenology and its relationship to the changing environment. The USA-NPN encourages phenology monitoring by people of all ages and backgrounds as a means to explore and better understand the pace of our ever-changing world. Nature Up North is working as a partner with the USA-NPN to achieve a variety of goals, including working to properly monitor phenology, engaging members in phenology observation, and using the USA-NPN as an archive for phenological data.