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As a life-long resident of Schenectady County, Vincent Schaefer was very vocal about preserving the purity of the land and water of the Great Flats Aquifer which provided the drinking water for the majority of the county and once served as very fertile farmland.

The Philadelphia data collection instrument from the Philadelphia Defenders' Association.

This subseries includes files documenting Vincent Schaefer's varied environmental and outdoor activities that are not associated with a particular organization, such as the Huyck Preserve or Mohonk, or a specific legal effort like the fight to preserve the Great Flats Aquifer. Materials include maps, correspondence, photographs, draft manuscripts, and news clippings. Of interest are folders devoted to the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club, which Schaefer helped found, and his vision for the Long Path, which he saw as a trail for hikers stretching from northern New Jersey through the Adirondacks passing landmarks along the way. Schaefer published articles in this subseries as an individual who loved, studied and appreciated nature, and not as a scientist for General Electric, Munitalp, or the ASRC. Therefore articles in this series span his lifetime. Researchers should note his "Five Rivers Rambles" ongoing series for the Knickerbocker News, written during the early 1970s. In his column, Schaefer explored timely topics, such as air pollution, but also area locations of natural beauty and wonder, including Gore Mountain, the Helderbergs, and Pine Plains.

This subseries documents the day-to-day administration of the Severity Study from David Zuckermans office at the Defenders Association of Philadelphia (DAP). This includes notes and correspondence with David C. Baldus and Neil Alan Weiner while designing the study and the Data Collection Instrument (DCI). The bulk of the subseries includes address listings and mailings from prospective and active participants, including postcards requesting participation and returned survey materials. Some reference materials are also present.

The photographs in this subseries date from Schaefer's teenage years all the way through his retirement after he left the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. Having a love and deep respect for the outdoors from a young age, Schaefer participated in organized activities like the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club, but he also incorporated spontaneous outdoor adventures into his busy schedule whenever he could. Sometimes this meant a day or afternoon exploring areas in and around the Capital Region; other times it meant taking time to explore while he was away on business. His work for General Electric, Munitalp, and the State University at Albany/ASRC (not to mention his extensive consulting) offered ample opportunities to venture into mountain ranges, deserts, plains, valleys, and forests to pursue environmental studies that were of interest to him.

This subseries contains the Data Collection Instrument of the Ventire Study from the Defenders' Association of Philadelphia.

The Defenders' Association of Philadelphia's subject files contains case files and reference material.

These letters were not previously sorted out by Schaefer before he donated them to the archive, and like the correspondence in subseries #1, they span many years and have their source in many of Schaefer's professional and personal activities. To expedite progress for researchers, the materials have been organized by year.