New York and New England contain nearly 200,000 miles of stone walls that were built by 18th-19th century farmers. With the abandonment of thousands of farms in the mid-19th century and the fields being reclaimed by forests, most of those walls are now located in the woods. Dr. Delano measured nearly 1,000 miles of stone walls using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), principally in New York State and New Hampshire, and has published the results in the peer-review, professional journal, Journal of Geophysical Research. In combination with ancestral information, these old stone walls provide an enduring legacy of subsistence farmers and their struggles for survival in a harsh climate.

Guest Speaker:
John Delano, PhD retired in late 2016 from the University at Albany, State University of New York as a professor at the Distinguished rank. During his academic career, he served as the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University, an Associate Director of a NASA Astrobiology Institute involving a consortium of five universities and was the recipient of several university awards including the President’s Award for Exemplary Public Engagement. He served on 24 scientific advisory panels for both NASA and the National Science Foundation. Since retiring to Williamsburg in 2016, he has published four scientific papers in professional journals, taught courses and made invited presentations, and volunteers his time with several clubs and organizations.