Donor event spotlights growth of Otisville 4-H Park and education center

Walden Savings Bank’s investment will give Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County another major piece of its Education Center & 4-H Park in Otisville, where a campus that started with 54 secured acres in 2013 has grown into a regional hub for youth, agriculture and family programming. The bank’s support will name the Horse Barn, a facility CCE says sits at the center of Orange County 4-H equine programming, educational opportunities and community events.

At CCE Orange County’s Because of You Donor Event on June 18, supporters were invited to tour the site and see how donor dollars have already been turned into visible improvements. The list includes a 70,000-gallon rainwater harvester used for irrigation, animal care and arena maintenance, along with a livestock wash rack that supports daily use of the grounds. The campus also now includes Justin Terrace in Memory of Mia, an educational garden connecting the Kosuga and Dairy barns, and Gregg’s Garden, which grew through a partnership with Access Supports for Living.

The Otisville property, at 300 Finchville Turnpike, was purchased by Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County in 2016 after the land was secured in 2013. CCE says the site remains under day-to-day construction, but the work has already created a safer, more welcoming setting for 4-H events and activities. The organization says its broader mission in Orange County dates to 1915 and includes agriculture, families and youth, environment and economic development.

The benefits reach beyond Otisville itself. CCE’s All Aboard to the Fair program brings youth and chaperones from Newburgh, Middletown and Port Jervis to the fairgrounds with round-trip bus transportation, a five-hour fair experience, two hours of hands-on agricultural education in English and Spanish, and a lunch voucher for youth. That program is part of the larger buildout around the park as a place where children can learn about livestock, farming and food systems without leaving the county.

Members of the Orange County 4-H Horse Program also took part in the event, underscoring how the Horse Barn will serve riders now and those who follow them. The next big test for the campus comes July 24-27, when the first annual 4-H Farm & Family Fair is scheduled at the Otisville park with horse, dairy, sheep, poultry and dog shows, plus pet adoption days on Saturday and Sunday.