Community partners came together on October 25, 2015 to make the John B. Staalesen Vanderhyeden nature preserve a beautiful place for all to enjoy. Volunteers helped installing preserve signage, planting shrubs and trees, informational kiosk completion, and general landscaping, and sprucing up the preserve entrance. Thank you to all who took part in this community effort!

Why this work needed to be done?
There were two ancient sewer lines running under the preserve. They were falling apart, busting open and gushing raw sewage into our preserve and the Wynantskill, a trout stream. The City of Troy replaced the sewer lines and located the new one as far from the creek as possible. Now that the project is completed, we can begin habitat restoration in the preserve and make it a welcoming and beautiful corner of nature for our community.

Community Partners Come Together
With much appreciation and many thanks we'd like to acknowledge our community partners' efforts to help restore our beautiful urban nature preserve.

The City of Troy for providing a much needed water line to the Capital District Community Garden's plot in our preserve; for sowing a native grass seed mix on the disturbed spaces; for planting trees along the new sewer line; and for installing a gate to prevent unauthorized motor vehicle access.

The McCarthy Charities for the needed funding to acquire new preserve sign, materials to finish the informational kiosk, and wood for the fence.

Brown's Brewery Co. for lending us a dump truck to move the trees and landscaping materials.

NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program's Trees for Tribs program for donating 100 shrub and tree seedlings.

Faddegon's Nursery for donating seven 15-20 trees.