Council of Park Friends

The Council of Park Friends (CPF) helps maintain, preserve, and interpret the exquisite natural settings of the State Parks of central New York. Begun in 1980, CPF was organized to promote appreciation of the Parks as educational resources. Among the early trail blazers was Mildred Faust whose botany course at Syracuse University used Clark Reservation State Park as a classroom. She is honored today by a kiosk at Clark provided with the support of CPF. CPF operates the Nature Center at Clark Reservation. Our Naturalists offer programming on the botany, geology, and wildlife of the park through a series of scheduled events. Special requests by school groups, seniors, youth and those with special needs are met as well. The core function of CPF is nature education. We partner with like-minded groups dedicated to preserving the natural environment and informing the public on environmental issues. Our newsletter, the Polypodium is published twice-yearly and sent to all CPF members.