SHERBURNE – For perhaps the last time this Sunday, Rogers Environmental Education Center will host its annual Winter Living Celebration.
The event had to be rescheduled from its regular January date after the New York Department of Environmental Conservation announced the center’s closure by Dec. 31 and the elimination of five full-time positions at the facility.
The event has taken on a more profound meaning for those opposed to the center’s closure and organizers are hoping it will attract a high number of supporters this weekend.
Rogers Director Marsha Guzewich, whose position is also being cut, referred to the celebration as “the last hurrah.”
Rogers was established as New York’s first game farm in 1909 and is currently the oldest in the United States.
The site began operating wildlife and nature educational programs in 1968, and was ordered to close by the end of the year on Nov. 18 as part of Governor David Paterson’s plan to save $250 million by laying off 898 state workers, including about 150 from the DEC.
Sunday’s event is sponsored by the Friends of Rogers, a non-profit volunteer group that has long supplemented the center’s state-funded programs with number of additional community based activities.
Since announcement of the closure, however, the group has been thrust into the role of leading a call to restore funding at the facility.
“A well attended Winter Living Celebration will send a message to Albany about how important the Rogers Center is to our community, and will help us make the case to keep the facility open,” said Laurie Trotta, president of the Friends of Rogers.
The group is petitioning lawmakers to abort the planned cuts and has engaged a number of other organizations seeking the same goal, including an impressively mounted Facebook campaign, which has attracted nearly 5,000 supporters in the last month.
The Facebook fan page called, “Save Rogers Conservation Center” features hundreds of remarks from citizens protesting the center’s closure and offers its members information on contacting local officials.
“We’re hoping that the community will show its support and appreciation for all that the Rogers Center staff has done over the past 30 years. We are working hard to persuade DEC that the center needs to remain open, and are trying to find a way to accomplish that in spite of the staff layoffs,” said Trotta.
The free Winter Living Celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday. Highlights include horse-drawn sleigh rides, snowshoeing and cross country skiing, story telling, performances by the Susquehanna String Band and a special guest appearance by popular signer songwriter Tom Chapin, who agreed to perform at the event to show his support. Snowshoes and skis, which are typically rented at the center, will be provided free to the public for the event. Admission is also free, but donations will be accepted. The celebration will also feature dozens of exhibitors, food vendors, performances and educational programs.
Guzewich said the event annually plays host to about 1,500 visitors, but added she’s optimistic this year’s event has the potential to attract a higher number.
“It’s hard to be optimistic these days, but if anything has showed me the positive side of things, it’s the all the people who have stepped forward to show their support,” she said.