Sunrise at Dionondehowa © Copyright 1997

Dionondehowa Wildlife Sanctuary and School Inc. is non-profit and located on 217 acres bordering the Battenkill River in southern Washington County, eastern New York State.

While the Sanctuary serves as a refuge and recharge area, the School is dedicated to the Nature Studies and to the Healing and Expressive Arts, using them to engender social and environmental responsibility, in an atmosphere both contemplative and joyful.

First recorded in 1709, Dionondehowa is listed in Beauchamp’s Aboriginal Place Names of New York State. A word long associated with the river, it means "She Opens The Door For Them" and may have referred to the Eastern Door of the Iroquois Confederacy.

The Sanctuary is open to the public through the School thus allowing visitors to become familiar with the DWS&S guiding philosophy which includes philanthropically-based land use, quiet reflection, and richly animated dialogue.


The Dionondehowa Wildlife Sanctuary :

  • provides a recharge area for wildlife on the Sanctuary and in the region
  • contributes to the corridor which provides migration routes for large animals
  • provides habitat for native plants and animals in an ever-dwindling natural landscape
  • ensures riparian and landscape beauty for recreational users of the Battenkill
  • contributes land to existing forever-wild areas

The Dionondehowa School :

  • focuses on Nature Studies, the Healing Arts, and the Expressive Arts in a beautiful natural setting
  • encourages the free exchange of ideas
  • makes Healing Arts, Expressive Arts and Nature programs available to individuals of diverse backgrounds and interests
  • engenders a sense of social and environmental responsibility
  • offers skills for implementing social and environmental responsibility