Pine Day sheds a light on the trees of Pine Plains

PINE PLAINS — Just in time for Earth Day, the Pine Plains community set aside a day to celebrate all of its trees with its first-ever Pine Day on Saturday, April 20.

Beginning at 10 a.m., the Community Room above the Pine Plains Free Library opened its doors to a full day of events and activities. While the day was meant to kick off with storytime  with local residents Lenora Champagne, Dave Owens and Nelson Zayas, there weren’t any children in attendance. Children did arrive later in the day to build fairy houses with Pine Plains Free Library Director Veronica Stork and local yoga instructor Nichole Martini. Using natural materials like feathers, pine cones, flowers and blades of grass, attendees fashioned houses for the little people of the Mohegans (also known as the Makiawisug) that lived in the woods surrounding Pine Plains. 

At 11:30 a.m., Mark Stonehill of Full Circus Farm launched the first of many lectures with a talk about composting, followed by a talk by Little Nine Partners Historical Society President Dyan Wapnick on how trees define the town of Pine Plains. From the American elm that created a canopy over East Church Street to the legendary “Old Pine Tree” that once sat on the northeast side of Pine Street, Wapnick gave several examples of trees that helped shape the town’s character and history. Attendees showed a particular interest in the giant sycamore, which Wapnick said stands as one of the three largest sycamore trees in the Northeast with a height of 117 feet. During the talk’s Q&A segment, Pine Plains Councilwoman Sarah Jones suggested organizing trips to the giant sycamore so that residents could observe its magnificence.

Stonehill next gave a talk about planting trees. Speaking from his experiences as a farmer in Pine Plains, he gave helpful tips for planting trees, holding up a small fruit tree to illustrate which parts of the tree should receive special care. Rather than host a formal Q&A segment, he invited attendees to share their experiences with planting trees and share what tree species were their favorites.

“Really, there’s nothing to it,” Stonehill said. “I’m sure many of you have planted trees before.”

As chair of the Conservation Advisory Council, John Hoffman III gave a talk about Climate Change and the Drawdown, a challenge meant to inspire action to mitigate climate change.

Gathering at the Community Garden outside Pine Plains Town Hall at 3 p.m., the first celebration of Pine Day ended with a Taino blessing of the garden led by Zayas.

“We didn’t get the turnout we would have wanted, but we’re hoping as we do it again over the years that we get more people,” Stork said.

“It was a truly lovely way to spend a rainy Saturday,” said Pine Plains town Supervisor Darrah Cloud. “I hope we can continue it because it was really great.”

As she continues developing Pine Day for the future, Cloud said she’ll work to entice more people to bring their children to the event.

With the Makiawisug houses in hand, Cloud spent part of the following day, Sunday, April 21, placing the houses all over town for the little people of Pine Plains to inhabit. Residents can obtain a list of where to find the biodegradable houses by visiting the Pine Plains Free Library.