The Greater Irvington Land Trust (GILT) Board has worked to ensure that the Village-owned

property that made up the Irvington Woods would be preserved and protected from future

development. GILT spent six months researching the history of that property and determined that

much of it was not, in fact, fully protected. Therefore, on February 27, 2018, GILT submitted its

findings to the Village Board of Trustees and formally requested that the Village dedicate as public

parkland those parts of the Irvington Woods that were unprotected from future development.

Over the next fourteen months, GILT worked closely with the Board of Trustees and with the

Irvington Recreation and Parks Department on this issue and, on April 15, 2019, the Board of

Trustees dedicated 48 additional acres of Village-owned property in the Irvington Woods as

public parkland and combined that property with other previously-dedicated Village property to

create a new Irvington Woods Park. The Board's resolution also confirmed that an additional 45-

acres containing the Irvington Reservoir and surrounding areas, although not dedicated as public

parkland at that time, will be identified as part of the broader Irvington Woods and will be subject

to and protected by the Rules and Regulations applicable to the Village's public parks. As a direct

result of this advocacy, the Village now has one of the largest, protected woodland parks in

southern Westchester.

In late 2020, GILT identified a similar issue with respect to the Village-owned property on the

southern and western boundary of Halsey Pond. Again, after doing extensive research on the

history of this property, on January 8, 2021, GILT submitted its findings to the Village Board of

Trustees and formally requested that the Village dedicate the 16.79-acre parcel surrounding

Halsey Pond as public parkland. Based on GILT's work and efforts, on June 21, 2021, the Village

Board dedicated this property as public parkland and formally folded it into Halsey Park.

In the fall of 2018, GILT also launched the Irvington Pollinator Pathway project, which was one of

the first pollinator pathway projects in Westchester County. As part of the Pollinator Pathway

project, GILT established the Learning Classroom presentation project and brought in speakers to

talk about issues concerning native plants, pollinator protection, pesticide reduction efforts and

overall environmental sustainability. GILT also worked on establishing new pollinator gardens in

the Village and supported efforts to create similar pollinator pathway projects in Hastings, Dobbs

Ferry, Ardsley, and Tarrytown. GILT also partnered with New York State Parks to create a new

program for creating pollinator gardens on the Old Croton Aqueduct, and it worked with the

Irvington Green Policy Task Force to create such a pollinator garden on the OCA just south of

Main Street.

GILT has also worked closely with CJ Reilly, Peter Strom and Joe Archino on restoration projects

at the O'Hara Nature Center and the surrounding Irvington Woods. GILT funded the Eagle Scout

project to construct the new path from the ONC down to the Hermits Wetland. It also funded the

purchase of Chain Saw and Sawmill attachment that the ONC now uses to create benches at the

ONC and surrounding areas.

GILT has also worked on a number of other projects to protect and preserve the Irvington Woods

and other open space in the Village, and has been actively involved in applications before the

Planning Board that raise a range of environmental and open space issues. GILT has also worked

in Tarrytown and Dobbs Ferry to protect and preserve open space and parkland.

Current Board Members: Chet Kerr, Jan Blaire, Jon Elwyn, Rich Goldman, Neil Maher, Phil

Whitney and Paula Veale

To make a contribution, send checks to 

The Greater Irvington Land Conservancy Foundation, Inc.

c/o Charles Kerr

21 Ardsley Avenue East

Irvington, NY 10533