The Quiet Work of Interdependence: July Newsletter
Dear friends and neighbors,
July has settled gently over the Schoharie watershed. The hayfields are filling their second growth. Swallows skim low across the creek at dusk. Milkweed has bloomed, drawing monarchs and bees into their annual work. Up in the mountains, cold springs gather and begin their journey north, becoming the Schoharie Creek as they weave through forests, farms, villages, and floodplains before joining the Mohawk River, and eventually the Hudson, on their way to New York City and the Atlantic Ocean. The water reminds us of something easy to forget: how closely the downstream cities, valleys and watersheds are connected to us here in the upstream forests of the Catskills, which is also the eastern most tip of Appalachia.
This month, our nation marked 250 years of independence. It is an anniversary that invites reflection. But here in the watershed, perhaps there is another story worth telling, one that is much older than the Republic itself.
The creek has never understood independence. Long before roads crossed these valleys or county lines divided the landscape, the Schoharie carried snowmelt north through hemlock ravines and limestone valleys. Brook trout depended on shaded tributaries. The forests depended on fungi beneath the soil. Pollinators carried abundance from blossom to blossom. Every living thing belonged because every living thing depended on something else.
Nature has always been organized around relationship. The watershed teaches this better than any textbook could. Water that falls near Windham or Prattsville eventually nourishes communities many miles away. The health of a stream in Lexington shapes the farms below Middleburgh. A wetland in Gilboa softens floodwaters downstream. A patch of native flowers beside a country road becomes part of a migration stretching across an entire continent. No hillside, forest, farm, or village stands alone.
We have become accustomed to thinking of ourselves as individuals first, as separate, self-made, independent. Yet every meal begins in living soil. Every breath begins in forests and wetlands. Every glass of water tells the story of a watershed. Even here, where the Schoharie Reservoir quietly sends water beyond the basin to millions of people, the creek reminds us that our lives are tied to places we may never see, just as others are tied to this place.
A bioregion asks different questions than a nation-state. It asks: What waters sustain us? What birds return each spring? What grows here? Which trees shade our streams? What responsibilities come with living here? Who are your neighbors? What do people do here? A bioregion measures belonging not by borders, but by relationships.
At the Waterfall Center, we believe these are questions worth practicing together. Restoring pollinator habitats. Recording the stories of neighbors who remember the creek before us. Growing food that nourishes both people and soil. Protecting the forests, fields, and waters that make life here possible. These are not separate acts - they are all expressions of kinship.
So, while our fireworks briefly illuminate the night sky, the fireflies will be carrying on a far older celebration in the meadows. The creek will continue its patient journey North. Great blue herons will glide across the shallows. Sycamores, willows and hemlocks will keep holding the banks together – none of them striving for independence, only continuing the quiet work of interdependence.
Perhaps that is what nature has been trying to teach us all along. We hope this month offer opportunities to slow down, follow the water, and remember that the strongest communities, human and more-than-human alike, are not built on standing apart, but on learning how to belong...together.
With gratitude,
The Waterfall Center Team
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
Cobleskill-Richmond Environmental Science Club
Back row, left to right: Brady Lampron, Ezra Aranovitch. Front row, left to right: Ana Minardi, Daniel Ruenes, Connor Wilkinson. Photo courtesy of Cobleskill-Richmond School District
Celebrating Tomorrow's Environmental Stewards
Few things give us more hope for the future of the Schoharie Creek watershed than seeing young people dedicate themselves to understanding and caring for the natural world.
This spring, three teams from Cobleskill-Richmondville High School's Environmental Science Club, led by teacher Susan McConnelee, competed in the 2026 Capital Region Envirothon, an annual hands-on environmental competition that challenges students in aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and current environmental issues. Through teamwork, critical thinking, and a deep understanding of ecology, the students demonstrated the knowledge and curiosity that every healthy bioregion depends upon.
We're especially excited to congratulate the first-place team - Daniel Ruenes, Ezra Aranovitch, Connor Wilkinson, Brady Lampron, and Ana Minardi, whose outstanding performance earned them the opportunity to represent our region at the 2026 New York State Envirothon at SUNY Cortland.
At the Waterfall Center, we believe that caring for a place begins with knowing it. These students embody that spirit, reminding us that environmental stewardship is cultivated through education, curiosity, and a willingness to work together. We celebrate all three Cobleskill-Richmondville teams for their commitment to learning about the lands and waters that sustain us, and we wish the state-bound team every success as they continue their journey. Their accomplishments are an inspiration to our entire community.
Read the announcement from the school district HERE
WATERFALL CENTER NEWS
We are excited to announce that we have a position open for a Consulting Managing Director!
This is a unique opportunity to help shape and our organization as we continue our work dedicated to ecological stewardship, place-based education, and community resilience in the Schoharie Creek bioregion. The ideal candidate will have strong ties to the bioregion, preferably living in the community.
For a full job description please visit waterfallcenter.org/employment, and please share if you know someone who would be interested in this opportunity.
We are excited to announce our newest addition to the Learning Library - and what would be more appropriate for a library than books! We invite you to explore our new Bioregional Bookshelf where we have selected titles related to bioregionalism, connecting with nature, sustainable agriculture, nature based faith practice and sense of place. Feel free to browse the curated selection on Bookshop.org, but we encourage you to request these titles at your local library or independent bookseller. Each month we will feature a new title in our newsletter, and our list will be updated as we become aware of new books to add. Feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions!
