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The Uplands Center

The Uplands Center fosters community through hands-on gardening workshops and sustainable practices, empowering individuals to cultivate their own green spaces while promoting environmental stewardship and connection to nature.

Come gather with us for a gentle morning of muddy hands and blooming imagination. In this preschool nature workshop, led by Lauren, little ones will learn how to create their own seed balls using native wildflower seeds from the Wild Seed Project. Together, we&rsquo;ll explore the magic beneath our feet&mdash;talking about different soil types, what helps seeds truly take root, how these flowers support the ecosystem, and a few gentle, age-appropriate medicinal uses when relevant. What is a seed ball? A seed ball is a small mix of clay, compost, and seeds rolled into a ball. Once dried, it can be tossed onto the ground, where it protects the seeds until the right conditions help them sprout and grow.<p fr-original-style='font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12px;' style='font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12px; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit;'> Activities include:<p fr-original-style='font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12px;' style='font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12px; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit;'> 1. Nature Walk: We&rsquo;ll begin with a slow, curious walk through the Uplands Center, led by Renee, who will introduce the children to native wildflowers on the property and share a few fun, memorable facts about each along the way.2. Make Seed Balls: Children will get their hands in the dirt as they mix clay, compost, and seeds to create their own seed balls&mdash;tiny bundles of life they can take home and scatter wherever flowers are needed most.3. Flower Collage Art: We&rsquo;ll close our time with a simple paper collage craft, where children will create their own wildflower-inspired artwork to take home as a keepsake of the day.<p fr-original-style='font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);' style='font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit;'> A sweet, hands-on way to connect with nature, creativity, and the art of growing things.

Little Explorers: Wildflowers

Join the Catskills Center for Conservation &amp; Development in a morning of ponding fun! Kids will get to explore the edges of the pond with dip nets and buckets, and we will learn about various macroinvertebrates, insects, amphibians, and water plants. Waders will be available for adults who want to get immersed, and there may be a couple of waders available for bigger kids.&nbsp; LIFEJACKETS REQUIRED for wading, highly encouraged for pond-side exploring. Please bring your own and let Renee know if you don&#39;t have one! If you are so inclined, donations to the Catskill Center would be greatly appreciated to thank them for their time and efforts in helping us run this program. Visit https://www.catskillcenter.org/donate.

Little Explorers: Ponding

A morning rooted in connecting and learning about fire safety, fire building, storytelling and enjoying some wild seasonal snacks &amp; teas.&nbsp; An opportunity for little ones to run openly outside and help gather twigs to build our gathering fire, once established we will talk about fire safety for us and the environment and work together to build stories while enjoying snacks.&nbsp; For the little ones this will be more about being outside and connecting to some fun seasonal/wild foods, but for the adults present, the hope is that this lights some sort of internal fire for tending to community and our families through food &amp; warmth.&nbsp; Great for all ages, just please mention food allergies in submission. (Babies and young toddlers could absolutely lay out on blankets, enjoy the sun, snacks and hopefully some silly stories from the older kiddos)

Little Explorers: Around the Flames

Join us for a magical sourdough adventure! Little bakers will discover three fun facts about sourdough &mdash; including why it&rsquo;s so good for their tummies &mdash; while mixing up their very own sourdough starter to bring home and watch grow. We&rsquo;ll then use our hands to bake something delicious together, because the best way to learn is to get a little messy and eat what you make! The day will include some sourdough inspired books and outdoor movement as well. Please bring a 12-24oz jar with you (we will have extras if you don&#39;t).

Little Explorers: sourdough

Join us for a hands-on clay play session where we and our children explore nature and get creative together. We&rsquo;ll take a short nature walk to collect leaves, twigs, and interesting textures, then press them into clay to make keepsake air dry dishes or just squish, poke, and play together! Suggested for ages 2 years and older.

Little Explorers: pottery

Welcome to our shop! All prices listed are suggested donations, which reflect our manufacturing costs (with little to no mark-ups). There is an option to provide an additional donation at checkout for those who wish. If cost is a barrier to an item you&#39;d like, please take it! You can offer any donation amount at the bottom of this page. All proceeds go directly toward our mission to provide restorative and strategic retreats for caregivers and changemakers.

Welcome to our shop! All prices listed are suggested donations, which reflect our manufacturing costs (with little to no mark-ups). There is an option to provide an additional donation at checkout for those who wish. If cost is a barrier to an item you'd like, please take it! You can offer any donation amount at the bottom of this page. All proceeds go directly toward our mission to provide restorative and strategic retreats for caregivers and changemakers.

Uplands Center's Shop

Join us (Sarah Williford and Uplands Garden team) for a hands-on, 3-hour workshop where you’ll learn how to design and build your own herb spiral—a beautiful and efficient garden feature that creates multiple growing conditions in a small space. This workshop is open to all, whether you’re brand new to gardening or have years of experience. You’ll learn about herb spirals: how they work, why they’re so effective, and which culinary herbs thrive in each microclimate. You’ll get to know a variety of herbs suited to our region, including their growing needs and roles in the garden ecosystem.&nbsp; You’ll be guided through some personal planning time to consider what feels right for your own space—whether you’re ready to build right away, gathering inspiration, or simply coming to be in community around gardening. Then we’ll move into the building process, working together to construct a spiral using natural materials. We look forward to being together. Group size is limited and registration is required. Please, if you sign up and are unable to attend, contact us so we can fill your spot.

The Uplands Center

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