Five Rivers Environmental Education Center
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Thank you for your concern for the environment! - Five Rivers Staff
About Five Rivers EEC
56 Game Farm Road
Delmar, NY 12054
Phone: (518) 475-0291
Fax: (518) 439-8044
Email: 5rivers@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Dedicated in 1972, Five Rivers Environmental Education Center (Five Rivers EEC) comprises 446 acres of broad fields, towering forests and tranquil wetlands. Guided programs and self-guided opportunities bring over 115,000 visitors annually to a heightened awareness and appreciation of our precious natural heritage.
Mission
Five Rivers EEC aims to enhance the public's appreciation of and sense of responsibility for the environment, and to raise public awareness and understanding of DEC's programs and responsibilities for natural resource and environmental quality management.
A Tradition of Stewardship
Five Rivers is a place where conservation began, and today the Environmental Education Center proudly carries forward this long legacy of environmental stewardship. From 1933-36, a resident Civilian Conservation Corps built brooder houses, dammed streams and fenced fields to create New York's first and only State Experimental Game Farm. For 40 years, state biologists conducted a comprehensive and widely acclaimed study of the ruffed grouse, while raising a variety of game species for release.
Research biologists at the site's Wildlife Resources Laboratory, established in 1941, field tested new techniques in wildlife management, many of which revolutionized the profession and put New York in the forefront of a growing national conservation movement. The technique of aging deer by dentition, the use of cannon-nets for live-trapping, and the abundance of mallards in the eastern flyway are all directly attributable to this early work on the grounds. Today, the careful visitor can spot many elements which recall the storied Game Farm era.
Services
Located in the Capital District, Five Rivers EEC provides a variety of programs and services which are easily accessible to individuals, families and organized groups. The Center's staff encourages your interest, participation, and involvement. In recognition of outstanding programming, Five Rivers EEC has been designated a National Environmental Study Area by the National Park Service. Come explore the Center's grounds, enjoy our public programs and use our many services, which include:
- public programs, guided walks and demonstrations on a variety of environmental and natural history topics
- workshops providing in-depth coverage of particular environmental topics and outdoor skills
- guided lessons for school and youth groups
- self-guided opportunities
- teacher workshops, school site consultations, and professional advice
- Teacher Resource Loan Library offering posters, books, videos, curriculum guides, and biological specimens
- Talking Book Loan Library for the visually impaired
- meeting facilities for environmental and civic group use
- access to programs for people with disabilities, and public access areas
- Naturalist Intern program
Facilities
Visitor Center - open daily, (closed state holidays) featuring exhibits, bird viewing area, classroom, restrooms
Interpretive Trails - seasonal pamphlets available (Braille, audio and large print format available)
Other Trails - over 10 miles of multiple use trails for hiking, snowshoeing, cross-county skiing
Picnic Area - with pavilion
Wildlife Garden and Water Garden - model landscape treatments offering aesthetic and wildlife value
Accessibility
Facilities:
All amenities of the Visitor Center, picnic area, Woodlot Trail and Nature's Backyard Trail are wheelchair accessible, as are several hard-surfaced interior routes.
Programs:
Sign interpreters available upon request.
Services:
Braille, large print and audio format interpretive guides, wheelchairs and walkers available upon request.
Hours
Grounds:
Open daily from sunrise to sunset
Visitor Center:
Weekdays: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Saturdays: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Sundays: 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
**Visitor Center closed state holidays**
Visitor Rules
Please be aware that, in accordance with Conservation Law:
- Picnicking is allowed only in designated areas
- Cooking grills are prohibited
- Campfires are allowed by permit only and in designated areas only
- Alcoholic beverages are prohibited
- Collecting biotic and/or cultural material of any kind is prohibited
- Introducing biota of any kind is prohibited
- Hunting, fishing and trapping are prohibited
- Bikes, skates and skateboards are prohibited
- Pets are prohibited
- Please carry out all refuse carried in
**Grounds are patrolled by staff and local authorities**
Directions
Five Rivers EEC is located in Delmar approximately 8 miles southwest of Albany. From Albany follow Delaware Avenue (Route 443) through the Village of Delmar. Continue 1.2 miles beyond the Elm Street traffic light, past Bethlehem Central High School to Orchard Street. Turn right onto Orchard Street and then left onto Game Farm Road. You'll see the Visitor Center straight ahead.
Friends of Five Rivers
The friendly greeter at the front desk, the knowledgeable instructor for the school class, the busy weeder in the wildlife garden are all part of Friends of Five Rivers - the citizens' support group at Five Rivers EEC. Join this organization which supports and enhances the Center's programs and consider volunteering your talents. To contact the Friends of Five Rivers, call 518-475-0295 or visit their website .
Your Invitation
Come, leave the parking lot behind and enter a different world. Listen for the plaintive notes of the eastern bluebird, sneak a glimpse of deer browsing in the fields and let the gentle rustle of the wind inform you. Share in the spirit of that "long green line" of conservationists at Five Rivers EEC who still today carefully study the natural world and devote their lives to its stewardship.
More about Five Rivers Environmental Education Center:
- Five Rivers' Tails by Mail - Thematic educational kits featuring biological specimens, posters and curriculum enhancement ideas available to teachers and youth leaders by mail or pick up.
- Five Rivers Program Schedule - Current programs offered at Five Rivers EEC.
- Guided Lessons at Five Rivers - Guided lessons offered to classes and groups by center staff.
- Marvelous Maples - A hands-on lesson in March teaching the process of maple sugaring to school and youth groups by Five Rivers staff.
- Exploring Five Rivers - Take to the trails and enter a different world at Five Rivers EEC.
- Summer Teacher Fellowship at Five Rivers - This is an unique opportunity for teachers to develop their skills and knowledge of environmental education at Five Rivers.
