Learn how to restore those beautiful, crumbling stone walls on your property, walls that divided farmers’ fields for centuries here in Orange County, or learn how to create new stone walls for your outdoor garden, at a workshop led by a well known Hudson Valley landscape artist utilizing the traditional, old world methods of his Irish ancestors.
The Orange County Land Trust is pleased to sponsor a workshop in the art of traditional stone wall building and restoration on Saturday, April 25. This all day workshop will be led by Robbie Haldane, a landscaper, artist, musician and poet well known for his work with stone -creating stone walls, walkways, benches and out buildings using designs and methods evolved from a past steeped in Irish folklore. Robbie incorporates into his garden designs the ancestral landscaping traditions passed down from his Scottish grandfather, a noted landscaper of Irish country manors and estates. Born in Ireland, Robbie emigrated to the U.S. in the 1980’s bringing with him the traditions and techniques to stone landscaping that are several thousand years old, yet still valid for enriching landscapes today. In addition to creating beautiful stone walls and artistic garden retreats at homes throughout the Hudson Valley, Robbie is well known for his garden restoration work at Steepletop, the last home of the American poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay in Columbia County, New York.
Having studied Irish language, literature and folklore at university, Robbie has been described as the “stone poet”, for his Irish sensitivity and incorporation of the “lore of the land” into his work.
“I enjoy teaching workshops that help people reach a deeper awareness of the hidden landscape and their place in it,” said Robbie.
“We are so delighted to have Robbie teaching this workshop on traditional stone wall building and restoration,” said Mary Yrizarry, vice president of the Orange County Land Trust. “Helping to preserve the traditions and the rural character of Orange County is very much a part of the mission of the Orange County Land Trust.”
Robbie Haldane’s workshop will be held at Moonbeams Preserve, a 150-acre public nature preserve in the Town of Wallkill that is owned and managed by the Land Trust. The cost is $75 per person for a full day workshop from10 am to 5 pm. Space is limited and pre-registration is required by calling the Land Trust at (845) 343-0840, x 12. Refreshments will be provided but all participants should bring a bagged lunch. Directions to the preserve can be found on our website at www.oclt.org under the heading protected lands.
The Orange County Land Trust is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve the fields, forests, wetlands, ridgelines, and river corridors, as well as working farmland, in and around Orange County. To date, the Land Trust has preserved over 3,500 acres of land in communities throughout the county. The Land Trust collaborates with many conservation and planned growth organizations and partners with Orange County in implementing the county’s open space plan. For more information and volunteer opportunities, as well as ways of giving to the Orange County Land Trust, please visit our website at www.oclt.org or call us at (845) 343-0840.
