Our Projects
Past & Present
Please click on the name of any of these great institutions we have worked with to visit their website.
Advances scientific understanding of the natural world through research, education, and conservation programs.
The Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield
The Beatrix Farrand Garden Association is dedicated to honoring and sharing the environmental and design legacy of Beatrix Farrand. By restoring and preserving Farrand’s garden at the Bellefield Mansion and offering educational and cultural programs, the association inspires visitors and increases public appreciation of her pioneering work.
Centennial Tree Project- Balmville NY
In 2013, The Garden Club of America celebrated its centennial in numerous ways to promote horticultural knowledge and sustainability to members and the public. The GCA Horticulture Committee’s Centennial Tree Project aimed to preserve the past while growing the future. This resulted in more than 22,550 trees being planted around the country. Projects often required creativity, extensive research, and restoration of historical sites—a fitting celebration for the GCA’s Centennial year.
Constitution Marsh Audobon Center and Sanctuary
Shares nature education programs for visiting groups, bird studies, invasive species management and habitat restoration efforts.
Downing Park is a 35-acre landscape park located in the heart of the City of Newburgh designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Filled with hills and valleys, streams, a pond, and a rich variety of vegetation, the park has serpentine paths and picturesque vista — features very similar, though on a different scale, to those of New York City's Central Park, created by the same designers.
Dedicated to preserving rural character, important resources and open lands by encouraging sound, well-planned growth, balanced with the conservation of important natural resources and working landscapes to ensure healthy and vibrant communities for all.
Saves and shares outstanding American gardens for the education and inspiration of the public.
At the Hudson Highlands Nature Center. Grasshopper Grove is a ‘bridge’ between a mowed lawn and the wild woods, that inspires children to discover nature play spaces in their own backyards and the wider world. Natural elements are at the heart of child-centered play.
Habitat for Humanity Greater Newburgh and Habitat for Humanity Dutchess County
Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to providing decent, affordable homeownership through partnership with families. Reaching across religious, cultural, and racial boundaries, we seek to strengthen a sense of community with the common goal of strengthening neighborhoods through homeownership.
Built in the 1760’s, historic Hill-Hold and Brick House Museums reflect the lives of two family homesteads in the New York State Hudson River Valley. Both museums are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hudson Highlands Nature Center
Creates responsible caretakers of the environment through quality Nature Education programs focusing on the unique ecology of the Hudson Highlands and the dynamic role of human interaction in its well-being.
Madison Lewis Wetlands- Warwick
While the site is managed as a public park offering numerous natural resources, it also has strong interpretive opportunities, providing a unique glimpse into the grand estates that once characterized much of the Village landscape. A great deal of continuity to the historic period and character is exhibited in the landscape today.
Each year in early December, our Club Members create 400 small holiday arrangements that are delivered to friends and neighbors in Orange and Dutchess Counties through the Meals on Wheels program. To quote the Meals on Wheels national website: “Delivering so much more than just a meal.” These arrangements are also sent to various nursing homes throughout the counties by our members.
Newburgh Urban Farm and Food Initiative
Builds community cohesiveness and food security in Newburgh through access to fresh food produced at the Downing Park Urban Farm and in neighborhood community and school gardens.
Preserves water resources, critical habitat, rural and urban farmland, scenic viewsheds, and ecosystems for the benefit of all who depend on them. This year, a special donation was made to honor our member and her husband, Jo Marvel Hull and Professor Richard Hull.
The Outdoor Club of Port Jervis is a 100% volunteer group operating in the Port Jervis, NY area as the stewards of the Port Jervis Watershed Trails and the Port Jervis Pump Track, working to support the outdoors and the development of the Port Jervis Watershed Park and Recreation Area in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner.
Cultivates local leadership in sustainable farming, food access and education, and fosters an inclusive, welcoming community.
Roots! For Trees- Downing Park
The Root for Trees! program is an experiential, year-round educational program that immerses local students in an urban park setting and teaches tree and plant care, the importance of public green spaces and educates students on environmental job opportunities. In the Newburgh area, the program has seen success with San Miguel Academy students from last year.
Seeks to transform lives and build communities through housing and the arts.
The playground is located in 700-acre Thomas Bull Memorial Park. In addition to picnic facilities (including grills), it features tennis courts, horseshoe pits, a pond stocked for fishing and a dog park.
Inner- city elementary school early learning center with a need for green space for students and community. The garden we created serves as a teaching tool for the students and a community garden in an area designated as a food desert.
Staatsburg Landscape Restoration at Mills Mansion
The Friends of Mills of Staatsburgh supports and promotes the preservation, improvement, and interpretation of Staatsburgh State Historic Site, one of the finest surviving great estates of the Gilded Age. We sponsor educational programs, secure funds for preservation and interpretation, and support the research library and educational materials to keep this history alive for Dutchess County and the Hudson Valley. We accomplish this through membership and fundraising. We are committed to preserving this extraordinary Beaux-Arts landmark and ensuring its relevance for generations to come.
The Warwick Historical Society’s 1810 Garden
For over 60 years, our Club Members have worked to lovingly maintain this beautiful Herb Wheel. In addition, we contribute to the material costs of caring for this garden as well.
Trailside Museums and Zoo in Bear Mountain State Park for Jane Colden
Trailside Museums & Zoo is guided by the vision of its founders: the best way to learn about nature is to be in nature and the best way to enjoy nature is to have a friendly, knowledgeable voice as your guide. Trailside is devoted to the interpretation of history, zoology, geology, botany on a 32-acre woodland preserve. Trailside is located on the Appalachian Trail; it exhibits non-releasable rehabilitated native wildlife, houses 4 museums and native plant gardens. It serves a diverse audience of park patrons.
Walkway Over the Hudson is the nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and improving Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park. This linear park spans the Hudson River between the Town of Lloyd in Ulster County and the City of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County.
Our members, donors, and corporate sponsors are the Walkway's lifeblood and our future. Your generous gifts make our programming, sustainability initiatives, capital projects and special events possible. Lend your support today and join us in improving this historic park, regional economic driver and scenic treasure.
The Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess Counties.
Founding Member of the Garden Club of America • Organized 1913 • Incorporated 1965
