The ADK (Adirondack Mountain Club) is the recipient of a 2018 REI Foundation Stewardship Grant for the Adirondack High Peaks Summit Stewardship Program.
The Summit Steward Program, a partnership of ADK, the Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, protects New York’s alpine habitat through education, trail work, and research.
“REI Rochester is excited to partner with the ADK Summit Stewards program. It strongly lines up with our passion to inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship,” said Emily Copland, manager of the Rochester REI.
“We’re thrilled to partner with REI this year. Thanks to this grant, we will share a message of summit stewardship with the REI community and with the hikers visiting the highest alpine summits,” said Kayla White, ADK summit steward coordinator.
The Summit Steward Program is in its 29th season of protecting rare and fragile alpine plants. With increasing numbers of visitors hiking the High Peaks, the need for an educational presence on the summits continues, ADK officials said. Since the hiking season began in May, ADK’s stewards have spoken with 22 percent more hikers than over the same time frame last year.
ADK’s partnership with REI provides both funding to field a crew of five educators and an opportunity to connect with the REI outdoor community.
Working together, REI and ADK hope to build greater awareness of and engagement in efforts to steward and increase access to outdoor recreation that both ADK and REI members passionately support.
ADK is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and advocating for the state’s wild lands and waters while also teaching people how to enjoy natural places responsibly. Since 1922, the organization has offered people opportunities to stay and play in as well as protect, discover, and explore the outdoors.
Today, ADK has 30,000 members in 27 chapters statewide and is served by a professional, year-round staff. The organization is recognized as a vital voice in the commitment to environmental stewardship and ethical outdoor recreation in the state.
For more information visit ADK.org.