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Our Mission

Teatown Lake Reservation is a nonprofit, environmental organization with an 834-acre nature preserve and education center located in the Lower Hudson Valley in the Towns of Yorktown, Cortlandt, and New Castle, New York. Teatown Lake Reservation’s mission is to conserve open space and to educate and involve the regional community in order to sustain the diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats for future generations. We are devoted to conserving biodiversity, teaching ecology and promoting nature-friendly living.

Located in the heart of the Lower Hudson Valley’s Hudson Hills and Highlands bioregion, Teatown is the largest nonprofit nature preserve in Westchester County. About 28,000 people come each year to attend an education program, visit the Nature Center, hike our trails, or tour Wildflower Island, a two-acre island sanctuary located within Teatown Lake that is home to over 230 native and endangered species of wildflowers. Teatown’s educators offer adult, family and children’s programs to over 18,000 participants annually, including nearly 9,000 school children and 700 summer campers. Annually, over 10,000 hikers traverse Teatown's 15 miles of scenic trails that span abundant fields, mixed forests, lakes, streams, swamps and farm land. Our Nature Center is a source of wildlife knowledge and home to a variety of amphibians, birds of prey, mammals and reptiles. Teatown conducts three annual celebrations: Hudson Hills and Highlands Fall Festival; Nature-friendly Plant Sale and Workshops; and Hudson River EagleFest, a celebration of the annual winter gathering of bald eagles in the Hudson Valley.

In addition, Teatown is rapidly developing a reputation as the Hudson Hills and Highlands’ foremost environmental organization, providing conservation leadership to this bioregion, which encompasses most of Westchester and Putnam Counties, and parts of Dutchess, Orange and Rockland Counties. Teatown takes an active role in state, county and community efforts to protect open space and natural areas. We provide assistance to civic leaders in crafting practical solutions to environmental issues and help land owners and residents become more “nature friendly between the parks.”

Mission Statement

Teatown Lake Reservation’s mission is to conserve open space and to educate and involve the regional community in order to sustain the diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats for future generations.

We realize our mission through environmental education, stewardship of Teatown preserve, and regional conservation of the Hudson Hills and Highlands. At the center of all our endeavors is teamwork and partnership, because nature conservation and environmental health are possible only when people and their communities work together for the common good. The Teatown Team is made of our members, volunteers, board, staff and program participants. Our successes are only possible because of their hard work and dedication to our mission.

In addition, we seek collaborations with other organizations and businesses who share our concerns. For example, in 2007, we collaborated on projects with: Westchester County Parks, New York State’s Hudson River Estuary Program; The Native Plant Center, Hudson Highlands Land Trust, Westchester Land Trust, Pace University’s Environmental Center, Greenburg Nature Center, Wildlife Trust’s New York Bioscape Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, Saw Mill River Audubon, Beczak Environmental Education Center, Constitution Marsh Audubon Sanctuary, BestWeb, Club Fit, Con Edison, PepsiCo, Goldman Sachs, and others.

Our Vision

Picture Teatown and the entire Hudson Hills and Highlands as a place for both people and a rich diversity of flora and fauna – a mosaic of human-use areas and preserved natural areas.

Envision healthy, sustainable communities throughout our region where adults and children can share and marvel at the wonders of nature in their own neighborhoods.

Imagine a community free from the threats of pollution, invasive species and human wildlife conflict (e.g. deer overpopulation).

Visualize all of the Hudson Hills and Highlands as a place where we can concurrently benefit from open space protection, nature conservation, and a healthy economy.

A Dream? We don’t think so at Teatown Lake Reservation. We work toward this vision by accomplishing the following:

Environmental Education

An important part of our mission is to teach ecology and encourage responsible interaction with nature. We accomplish this through the myriad of weekend nature education programs, multi-week preschool classes, school programs, summer and mini, vacation camps, community outreach including fairs and events, and our Nature Center.

Teatown’s Hours of Operation

Teatown Lake Reservation’s Nature Center is open Tuesday – Sunday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Trails are open from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year.

Admission and parking are free.

Call (914) 762-2912, ext. 110, for more information.