Earth Day 2005 Celebration at Camp DeBruce

On April 22, 2005, DEC campers celebrated Earth Day at Camp DeBruce in Livingston Manor. Campers participated in a nationwide attempt to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most trees planted in an hour. The group planted 60 spruce and larch trees to beautify Camp DeBruce as their contribution to breaking the record, aided by camp and Region 3 operations staff. Nationwide, groups planted 4,852 trees between noon and one o'clock that day, 700 more than were needed to set a new world record!

"This [was] a fun and exciting way to mark this year's Earth Day and to get our youth involved and interested in conservation, which is the main goal of DEC's Summer Environmental Camp Program," Acting Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan said. "Trees are among our most valued natural resources and planting them is a great way to foster environmental stewardship and give youth hands-on experience in conservation."

The first Earth Day was in 1970, which was also the day that DEC was created in New York State. The 2005 Earth Day also marked DEC's 35th anniversary.

In recent months, DEC has made a concerted effort to increase camper diversity and to encourage the participation of urban youth in the camps program. The initiative includes plans to work with urban organizations to offer campers transporation and to provide orientation and follow-up activities beyond the traditional week-long camp experience. The trip to Camp DeBruce was planned as a pre-camp orientation activity for children from Albany, New York, in the hopes that touring camp ahead of time will ease anxiety about leaving homes in the city to spend a week at camp this summer.

The campers also visited the DEC Catskill Fish Hatchery and toured the facilities. The hatchery specializes in rearing brown trout and maintains a brood stock capable of producing two million eggs. About 115,000 pounds of brown trout are produced annually. Scott Covert, manager of the hatchery, explained the stocking process and showed campers the large brood fish.

Camp DeBruce is located in the heart of the Catskill Mountains in proximity to famous trout streams the Beaverkill and the Willowemoc. Formerly a private estate and fish hatchery, DeBruce was converted into a conservation education camp for boys in the 1940s. In 1975, Camp DeBruce began operation as a co-educational facility. Today, it is a summer home to youth from across New York State.