Friends of Saranac River Trail Presents “Making Geotourism Happen” — a talk and workshop with Janet Kennedy

WHEN: Monday, November 9, 2015; 4 PM

WHERE: Community Room, Plattsburgh City Hall, 41 City Hall Place, Plattsburgh NY 12901

FURTHER INFORMATION: saranacrivertrail.org or info@saranacrivertrail.org

SUMMARY: We’re almost wrapping up our first year of programming for Friends of Saranac River Trail with this Talk and workshop about Making Geotourism Happen. How many times have we read (or written!) that a project has the potential to attract tourists to the area? And how many times have we been able to point to specific results? And how many times have we known how to really drill down to the nuts and bolts to improve the geotourism experience for tourists, residents, and sponsoring organizations? Janet, Andy, and the workshop audience will get into the details.

And about that ‘almost’… another Wastewater Treatment Plant Trek is being scheduled so make sure you’re registered on saranacrivertrail.org in order that we can let you know as soon as reservations (free) are available. They will be strictly limited due to space constraints.

ABOUT GEOTOURISM: “Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.” [National Geographic] Visit http://on.natgeo.com/1XH7jtk to see how Lakes to Locks Passage participates with the Center for Sustainable Destinations.

OVERVIEW: Janet Kennedy, Executive Director of Lakes to Locks Passage (LTLP) will give a presentation and lead a discussion about moving from the concept of geotourism to the reality. She’ll cover what it means, and how to do it. Then, she’ll be joined by LTLP Board Member Andrew Sajor (and members of the audience) in a work session to explore how an experience in Plattsburgh and along the Saranac River Trail can become a LTL PassagePort. By the end of the session, we may be well on our way!

DETAILS: Admission is free, but we do request that you register on http://bit.ly/1Wxfm9N if possible so that we can make plans.

SPEAKERS:

Janet Kennedy, Executive Director of Lakes to Locks Passage. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, Janet Kennedy has gained a broad range of experience working in both the public and private sector in site planning and recreation management, as well as transportation and regional planning.

Since 1997 Janet has focused on planning and economic revitalization for New York communities through the Federal Highway Administration's National Scenic Byway program.  Her work received national recognition in 2000 by earning the prestigious AASHTO award for “Best Practices” in community planning and implementation.

Through the Quebec-New York Corridor, she has been involved in the development of a cross-border tourism partnership with the communities along the Richelieu River in Quebec. Her latest work effort is a collaboration with National Geographic to promote tourism that is “guided by locals” to national and international audiences

Andrew Sajor, Board Member, Lakes to Locks Passage.

Andrew Sajor is a lifelong resident of New York State who currently resides in Plattsburgh. For the first half of his working career, Mr. Sajor was a power lineman, then Chief lineman for the City of Plattsburgh. Returning to school in his mid 40’s, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Earth Science, and a Masters of Science in Curriculum Development, both from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. 

Upon graduation, Andy taught physical science, earth science and physics in the Peru School district and spent his summers doing research and developing curriculum for the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies Discover Earth program, a National Science Foundation funded program where science teachers worked with research scientists aboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s research vessel Oceanus, exploring the paleo-currents of the gulf stream. 

Now retired from the classroom, Mr. Sajor has been working with various scientific teams working in Antarctica, helping them develop educational outreach programs with specific emphasis in high school curriculum. He is also a contributor to the NASA sponsored CERES S'COOL program (Students’ Cloud Observations On-line), and a NASA Space Science product Reviewer for the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. When he is not working on a project, you can generally find Andy out sailing on Lake Champlain, summer or winter.