Lauren Maresca with a solar-powered generator that can be used to charge phones and small devices – but not a hot plate (she tried it). ( Becca Tucker) Prepping goes mainstream Prepping is having a moment in the wake of the [insert disaster of your choice]. But for some people it’s second nature.... Features 24 Mar 2025 | 12:26
Amy Sweetman with her small bluebirds last summer at Transformation Trails, the park in progress at the former Mid-Orange Correctional Facility. She’s looking for a new site to host the large-scale bluebird sculpture she envisions. ( Becca Tucker) Bluebird changes trajectory Sculptor Amy Sweetman, of Warwick, NY, is looking for a public space in Orange County to host a large-scale bluebird sculpture... News & Views 07 Mar 2025 | 01:49
Juno, 9, and Niko headed down to the stream. ( Becca Tucker) It all happens on the blue trail The blue trail started out as a footpath down to the stream about a quarter-mile from our house. It’s an easy walk, but it’s... Home 06 Mar 2025 | 11:55
Why I don’t want AI writing my story (or yours) AI writes creepily well, as you’ve probably gathered by now. I’ve been keeping it at arm’s length for existential reasons.... From the Editor 02 Jan 2025 | 12:47
Sharlin Barragan Lara, 17, at the Alamo Farmworkers Community Center in Goshen, NY. ( Becca Tucker) Black dirt’s newest crop: teen health advocates Celine Arizpe Benitez and Sharlin Barragan Lara, honors students whose Mexico-born parents have worked as farmhands, are... Studs 02 Jan 2025 | 11:07
Sweetman with her bluebirds at the old prison site in July. ( Becca Tucker) To tame a wasteland Amy Lewis Sweetman is in her studio, which is a shipping container next to a compost heap on the dairy farm where she and... Features 26 Sep 2024 | 01:41
Tom Brown, Jr. on the first night of camp. “Well gang, here we go. Welcome to the Tracker School.” Before founding the Tracker School, Tom trained Navy SEALS in high-speed invisible survival and helped the police and FBI track criminals and missing people. ( Becca Tucker) Higher education Editor’s note: To commemorate the recent passing of Tom Brown, Jr., we are re-posting this story originally published last... Features 26 Aug 2024 | 02:30
Spongy moth caterpillars have eaten my young apple trees to tatters. ( Becca Tucker) The infestation blues It’s perfect out: high 70s and sunny. This, moreover, is the treasured day a week I work from home. The time not spent commuting... From the Editor 29 May 2024 | 11:55
Swiss chard exchanging hands at Genesis Farm. ‘A Boomer thing?’: The uncertain future of the CSA As a CSA farmer of three seasons, I have personally experienced the joys of connecting with the people for whom we grow food.... Home 11 Apr 2024 | 04:03
Cindy Allyn in her brand-new refill store, the Sustainafillery, in Florida, NY. ( Becca Tucker) The ingredient sleuth After itchy, oozing skin on her hands threatened this single mom’s livelihood as a medical massage therapist, she made it... Studs 02 Apr 2024 | 02:12
The pioneer of the outdoor classroom At 83, Jack Padalino is still leading caravans to search for eagles’ nests. The president emeritus of the Pocono Environmental... Studs 07 Dec 2023 | 11:39
The kids shelling beans while listening to a Harry Potter audiobook, as humans have been doing (minus audiobook) for 8,000 years. ( Becca Tucker) The Tao of dry beans Green, purple, wax, bush, pole, edamame. Who knows why, but this was the year of the bean. Vines clambered up the eight-foot... From the Editor 22 Nov 2023 | 02:55
The mercenary army in my garden This morning, I got zapped while picking raspberries, once on the ankle and twice upside the head, above my ear, as if my... From the Editor 27 Sep 2023 | 02:25
Arugula Toad in her favorite garden bed. ( Becca Tucker) Arugula Toad Was it a trick of the eye or did that clump of dirt shift ever so slightly? On closer inspection, the clump resolved into... From the Editor 06 Jun 2023 | 03:45
The truck-tree, a Walmart checkout-aisle impulse buy, awaiting planting after fluorishing through the winter. ( Becca Tucker) “We don’t have to ever throw away our truck-tree, right?” asked Dion, my four-year-old. “Uh, right,” I hollered back over... From the Editor 03 Apr 2023 | 11:19
