John McDowell and Alexandra Spadea, the husband and wife who run Camp Hill Farm in Pomona, will open their place to the public this Saturday.

The couple has been working one acre of the six-acre plot housing the farm in hopes of creating a model pocket farm that can be duplicated in suburban communities to provide [...]

I am not in the habit of speaking on my cell phone while walking in the park. I find it rude to others who may also be enjoying the outdoors, plus it distracts me from the surroundings.

But this morning an important matter had me on the phone while walking through the woods at Demarest Kill [...]

Carl Brandt was minding his own business, heading home to Garnerville when he saw a streak across the night sky.

“I would describe it as a fireball,” he said.

He was traveling south along the Palisades Interstate Parkway near the Lake Welch exit the other day when he saw the phenomenon.

Brandt emailed us to see what we [...]

Talk about timing!

My nephew and niece visited today, along with my brother. They live in New Jersey, in an area where there are no deer.

But when you’re just 3 and you think you’re looking at Bambi — THE. ACTUAL. BAMBI. — well, let’s just say the deer that visited my yard today thrilled my niece. [...]

Demarest Kill Park is the next destination in the season-long guided walk program sponsored by Rockland County.

The walk starts at 9 a.m. Saturday. The parking lot is off New Hempstead Road in New City, near the county Sheriff’s Department.

New walkers and families will find the walk, less than a half-mile in length, easy and [...]

Before I enjoyed a terrific family barbecue today, I headed over to Kakiat Park in Montebello.

It being a holiday and all, I’d promised the dog some quality time at her favorite park. Seriously, of all the parks we hit, she seems to love Kakiat the most. I think it’s due to the decent number of [...]

We featured a story in today’s Surroundings column on Steve Sachs, a dentist who practices in Harriman, lives in White Plains and grew up in Ramapo. He’s been taking photos of peregrine falcons nesting at Hook Mountain at Nyack Beach State Park for three years.

Here are a few more of his stunning shots, and if [...]

One of the secrets to growing healthy plants and vegetables is having great soil.

One of the best ways to achieve great soil — and help reduce the amount of food scrapes you send to the landfill — is to start a compost pile. Less stuff for the landfill means fewer trips by the garbage truck, [...]

John Rogers, an expert on bluebird conservation, will present a program on the species at 8 p.m. Friday in the gym/auditorium building at Rockland Country Day School, 34 Kings Highway, Congers. The free program is sponsored by the Rockland Audubon Society.

While speaking with Rogers on the phone the other day, he had some interesting facts [...]

What do sheep, goats and cows have to do with the Indian Point nuclear power plants?

Members of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, also known as IPSEC, want to see if the milk from the animals shows signs of tritium or strontium 90.
If it does, it could indicate that the materials are in more places [...]