Sustainability Episodes

In this episode of Kaatscast , we explore the journey of Emily Li Mandri, founder of the women's accessories brand MLE , based in Saugerties, New York. Emily shares insights into the challenges and rewards of running a fashio...

Mark Hearon didn't always drink coffee, but when he got started, he was all in. Now, he's roasting fair trade organic coffee at an 1872 general store that also carries gourmet sandwiches and local essentials –– beer, bread, m...

In 2022, four Master Gardeners were looking for a new way to bring their expertise to our region, and they did so with a weekly podcast on everything from honeybees to hydrangeas; perennials and pollinators; monarchs, chicken...

Ann Cihanek is a goat farmer whose herd of semi-retired goats are employed across the region to clear sites of invasive plants, brush, and overgrowth. We caught up with 10 of her Green Goats at the John Burroughs Memorial Sta...

In July, a small group of hikers was apprehended and ticketed for leaving two Adirondack chairs at the summit of Slide Mountain. Those hikers' actions, while misguided, may have been good-intentioned. But they fly in the face...

If the Catskills seem busier lately, you're not imagining it. According to a new report, visits to the Catskills more than doubled between 2018 and 2021, when the region welcomed an estimated 12 million travelers––that's roug...

There's a "herd" of sewing machines in the hundreds, in Delancey, NY, and they're in the loving and capable hands of one Billy Hancock, owner of Billy's Make & Mend , an outpost for sewing machine repair and maintenance, sewi...

Stephen Sautner is a lifelong fisherman, environmental activist, and the author of several books on those topics. And while his passion for fishing has taken him to the Falkland Islands, Cuba, the Zambezi River, and even ... ...

Anne Hall's addiction to flower growing is a boon to Catskills designers, florists, restaurants, and individuals who want locally grown, chemical-free flowers in another league from generic supermarket fare. In February, we p...

Recycling is a great way to reduce the (many) truckloads of trash bound for distant landfills, but "wishcycling," the practice of throwing questionable items into the blue bin and HOPING they'll be recycled, is problematic, t...

As daylight shortens and temperatures fall, many of us in the Catskills turn to our wood stoves to help keep warm. "Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice," the old adage goes. But if you don't chop …

For more than a century, New York City has relied on the Catskills for its abundant supply of clean, soft drinking water. The Catskills' relationship with NYC has been a complicated one, including the staggering loss of entir...

This week... it's the only mammal capable of flight. And it can catch 1000 mosquitos in an hour! We're talking bats with Catskill Mountainkeeper’s Senior Research Director, Kathy Nolan, who joined me among the little brown ba...

Honey bees aren't the only species facing serious population declines. Wild bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and other insects, plus birds, bats, and amphibians are losing natural habitat and being forced out by invasive sp...

Join us for part two of our behind-the-scenes tour of "Sustainable Catskills," with stops at the nation's first "passive house" library, an eco-conscious resort on the banks of the Esopus, and an Arkville solar array that imp...