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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.

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.