Join the Friends for their Annual Furnace Fest, preceded by an optional 10 AM to noon talk and walk led by lichenologist James Lendemer (above) of New York Botanical Garden. All are invited for lunch, music and other celebratory activities from 12-2 PM at the Iron Works historic site, 33 Valley View Road, Copake Falls. Dr. Lendemer’s program about these fascinating organisms will begin at 10 with a short slide talk at the Museum of the Roe Jan Historical Society, followed by a lichen walk in the Park.

Reservations (use the ticket form below) are required for the lichen program, since space is limited. No reservation is required for Furnace Fest.

Lichens are one of the earliest forms of land-dwelling life on earth, and should be all around you in a healthy ecosystem: on bark, on mossy areas and other spots where the soil may be thin, on wood, and even defiantly on stones. They play key roles in keeping an environment in balance, too. An interview with James Lendemer.