Dan Spada, left, and Ray Curran explore a first-growth Adirondack forest. (Provided photo — Adirondack Land Trust)

KEENE — The Adirondack Land Trust recognized two scientists as its 2021 Volunteers of the Year for their work to engage people in conservation through natural history.

Ray Curran, of Saranac Lake, and Dan Spada, of Tupper Lake, are volunteers together in many endeavors, including the Northern Forest Atlas, Adirondack Botanical Society, Adirondack Orchid Survey, New York Flora Association, Northern Current music festival, and the Adirondack Land Trust.

Both were introduced to the Adirondacks as students at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where they studied plant ecology and bryology with educator and conservationist Dr. Edwin H. Ketchledge. Later Spada and Curran worked together as scientists in and leaders of the Adirondack Park Agency natural resource technical division. Ray retired in 2004 after 34 years of state service; Dan followed in 2012 after 28 years.

For many years, but especially during the coronavirus pandemic, Curran and Spada helped the Adirondack Land Trust scout, plan and lead natural-history field trips to get people excited about conservation through knowledge of the Adirondack landscape.

“To me it is so very important to connect people with ‘the place,’ to ensure long-lasting conservation and preservation,” Curran said. “I like to lend my technical knowledge to help people of all skill levels understand and appreciate nature in all its complexity and beauty. It’s very enjoyable for me and keeps my knowledge up to date, my mind and body young, as I interpret for others.”

“We all develop skills throughout life; sharing them with others is socially important and personally and professionally satisfying,” Spada said. “Learning about the natural history of the land is an endlessly fascinating quest for understanding of the natural systems within which we are embedded.”

Curran and Spada have also helped land trust staff better understand the places they protect and consider management options. With the Adirondack Botanical Society, in 2021, they located a candidate for state champion white spruce on a land trust property in the town of Jay. The record has been submitted to New York state’s Big Tree Register. White spruce is an ecologically important and often overlooked native species found in the High Peaks region only in scattered valley stands. It is common farther north.

To learn about volunteer opportunities with the Adirondack Land Trust, visit adirondacklandtrust.org/about-us/volunteer or contact info@adirondacklandtrust.org.