Canton, NY, Aug 01, 2012 — Toward the end of her career as a schoolteacher, Cindy Quackenbush realized that the number of monarch butterflies in the area was dwindling. She decided her retirement project would be encouraging monarchs and other butterflies.

She's creating new habitats for the butterflies. One butterfly garden is taking shape in front of the new E.J. Noble Hospital Building in Canton.

Jasmine Wallace caught up with Cindy and the youth crew working on the garden.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Jul 25, 2012 — The North Country Children's Museum is slated to open its doors in the fall of 2015. But organizers aren't waiting three years to start reaching out to their potential audience. They're on the road with a traveling exhibit this summer, visiting festivals and conferences with what they call their museum without walls. Jasmine Wallace ran across the robot zone booth in the middle of the busy, noisy Potsdam Summer festival earlier this month.  Go to full article

Massena, NY, Jul 11, 2012 — This week, North Country Public Radio has been taking another look at how renewable and local energy might reshape the region's economy.

State and local leaders are making big investments in everything from hydro to biomass. And more and more families and businesses are slowly converting away from fossil fuels, adding solar panels or small wind turbines. But big hurdles remain. Start-up costs for green energy technology are steep. Government incentives can be confusing. Many consumers are sticking with natural gas and oil, at least for the time being.

One of the men on the front line of this turbulent energy revolution is Pat Curran. He opened Curran Renewable Energy in Massena three years ago with $11 million in support from the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency. He makes burnable wood pellets, supplying some big institutions, including Clarkson University in Potsdam and the Wild Center in Tupper Lake.

Wood pellets are cheaper than fuel oil and much better for the environment. But Curran has struggled to find enough customers to keep his plant operating. Jasmine Wallace has our profile.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jul 05, 2012 — Horseback riding was once our main form of transportation, but today the people who ride do it because they love the animal and the sport. We spoke with local equestrian Arian Maury as she was getting her horse ready for a ride. She works as a secretary during the day and spends every evening she can at the barn. She shared her connection to her horse, Champ, with us.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jun 15, 2012 — Peggy McAdam-Cambridge owns a horse farm a few miles outside Canton.
Honey Dew Acres will host whats known as an eventing competition this weekend for local equestrians. One of those events is cross-country jumping. A series of natural-looking obstacles in a field tests the horse's, and rider's, endurance and bravery.

Peggy likes a rustic look for her course. Our intern, Jasmine Wallace, found her in a converted cow barn building a new jump. With a mare and foal watching from one side, and a pile of tools on the other, Peggy made quick work of it.  Go to full article