Changes to be made to MCAST degree courses Education Minister Dolores Cristina confirmed that there will be a number of changes made to the degree courses being run by the Malta Colleges of Arts, Science and Technology. Read more on di-ve

A Guide to Online Degrees - Considering Getting your Degree Online

In today's world, the job market is become extremely competitive. Most of times, whenever there is a job vacancy available, there will be dozens of applicants trying very hard to compete to get that position. Same goes for a job promotion, many of your colleagues at the same level are waiting for a promotion to higher managerial position, you have to complete with them with some advantages in order to win the position.

The most two important factors which the employers or the bosses will scrutinize seriously during the process of evaluating their candidates are "Working Experience" and "Educational Background". Your competitors may have equally or better working experience than you in the required field, if you do not have the related degree on the required field, you will be at the loosing edge in term of education background.

You may thinking of go back to school to earn your degree but you are not willing to quit your current job or stopping your current income is impossible for you as you have family and children education to support with. With that reasons, you keep holding your decision to get a college degree for career advancement. But with the available of online degree programs, your reasons are not valid anymore because through online degree programs, you can earn your degree while continue with you current life style.

Online degree programs are increasing in popularity and creditability, more and more prestigious colleges and universities offer complete online degree programs taught by the same faculty who teach in their classrooms. Subject areas range from business to nursing, degrees from Bachelor to MBAs and Ph.Ds. You should be able to find your preference degree from these online degree programs.

Through online degree program, you can pursue your degree courses basically through any location as long as you have access to internet; and most online degree programs allow you to plan your own learning pace with a very flexible schedule. These advantages give you flexibility to plan your leaning schedule from home so that it does not crash with your working schedule.

If you are considering of earning your degree online, there are a few other factors to take into consideration in order to ensure you earn a worthy degree which have value to your career and within your budget. Starting with this article, we initiated a series of articles with title "A Guide To Online Degrees" to guide you on everything you need to know about online degrees. These series of articles will include timely tips and advice to help you in making a decision to pursue an online degree. The topics that will cover by "A Guide To Online Degrees" article series include:

Advantages of earning a degree online
Is online degree right for you
Considering online degree pricing
How to choose a prestige online school
How to identify online degree scams / diploma mills
Degrees that are offered online
How to apply for online degrees
Where to get financial aids to fund your online study
Where online degrees lead students
Online degrees focusing on careers

Wish you choose a right degree online that bring you a bright future. See you on next series: "A Guide To Online Degrees -Advantages of Earning A Degree Online".

A Guide to Online Degrees - Advantages of Earning a Degree Online

The online degree's unique features have made it a popular learning mode for busy professions to earn their degree for career advancement. The online degree programs are growth rapidly and is a today's learning trends and the best alternatives for traditional class-based learning. What are these features that bring the advantages that made online degree program a choice for many online students?

Let review some key advantages of earning a degree online:

1. Study Anywhere

The online degree programs allow the student to study from home or any place they like as long as they have access to internet. This is the key advantages that many online students see it and decide to go for online degree program than the traditional college program.

Many people after starting their working life have many commitments to take care: job, family, children education, home mortgage, car loan repayment & etc. It gets harder to go back to school to get our University degrees as quitting our current job is almost impossible and holding your current life style just to go ahead with a college degree is another "No-No" decision. Online degree programs which enable us to study from anywhere match perfectly with our need of getting a degree without giving up our job and lifestyle. That's why many busy people like us choose to pursue our degree online.

2. Flexibility

Your busy working schedule sometimes makes you hard to fit a regular schedule for certain routine. In addition, your job may require you to frequently travel to other locations or countries. This means attending regular classes like what is needed in traditional college learning will be your road block to stop you from go ahead with your degree earning. Flexibility of online degree program that allow you to plan your learning schedule at your own pace is one of key decision for busy working people to go for knowledge enhancement and getting their degree for career advancement.

3. Saving Money

You have the ability to study from home and you don't have to commute. Since you don't have to commute you save money on gas, which is become a huge issue now that gas prices are soaring. Most of learning materials are supplied in electronic texts which will save you some money needed to buy the printed text books. Comparatively, online degree program's tuition fees are lower as compare to traditional degree courses.

4. Earn More Than One Degree At The Same Time

If you can manage your time properly, you can earn more than one degree offer by difference universities through their online degree programs. If you have a degree on your career related field, you are at a better position when goes for career advancement or job promotion as compare to your other colleagues. And if you have more than one degree on the related knowledge that needed for your moves, you will have a better chance to success when come to educational background assessment by the employers or bosses.

In summary, study online gives your many advantages over a traditional college program and it is designed especially for busy working professions to earn their degrees using the enhance internet technology. But, the fact is, not all online students successfully complete their online degree program. There are some characteristics that you need to have in order to success in online study. Check out whether an online degree program is right for you in our next article, "A Guide To Online Degrees - How to be A Success Online Student".

Video Rating: 0 / 5

Question by Drixnot: Why don't all those poor kids who "only want an education" go to a college in Mexico? Because once they get the dream act, they will get financial aid and a free ride. It's not about education or a path to citizenship, it's all about the freebies. http://www.udlap.mx/Default.aspx They could easily goto college in Mexico and ::gasp:: immigrate to the US legally once they graduate. byedinos- NEWSFLASH - IT'S NOT CHEAP & EASY TO TO GO TO COLLEGE IN THE US EITHER. The college I listed up there, costs the same as any state college here in the states. If you actually look there is a link for international students, and that is in English. Best answer:

Answer by Tommy S
http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/restarea.asp http://www.nps.gov/orpi/planyourvisit/yoursafety.htm

What do you think? Answer below!

Federal grant to help build health-information exchange SALINA - U.S. Rep. Daniel Maffei (D-DeWitt) today announced 0,000 in federal funding to help connect prominent Syracuse-area health-care providers to an electronic health-information exchange. Read more on Central New York Business Journal

Brewer Library Closed Next Week The Brewer Public Library will shut down next week for some renovation work. Thanks to a federal grant, the library will replace its heating and air conditioning system. Starting Monday, they'll install an energy efficient heat pump system, which means they won't have to buy any more oil. C . . . Read more on WABI Bangor

Five Ways to Fund College Education for Non-Traditional Students

Of the Americans that are pursuing or have plans to pursue a higher level of education, more than half will be categorized as non-traditional. Whereas a traditional college student moves straight from high school to college, a non-traditional student faces different challenges. The ages of non-traditional students widely vary, and the reasons behind their gaps in education just as much. Most have or have had careers, families, or long-term services in the military. Most have even some previous college experience.

Unfortunately for the non-traditional student looking to broaden his or her horizons, college is still as financially challenging as ever. Financial aid from the most common sources is tailored to the needs to the young, traditional first-time college student. It can be difficult, even discouraging, for an aspiring student with a family and a full-time job to find financial help.

So where can non-traditional students find reliable financial help? It is out there, if you know where to look. This article makes five suggestions for non-traditional students seeking financial assistance.

Federal Financial Aid

While most federal aid is targeted at traditional students, non-traditional scholars can still take advantage of government programs. There are a wide variety of financial options available from federal funds including grants, loans, and scholoarships. Many federal programs will become more available to those over 24, as this is when the US government considers a person legally independent of his or her parents. The key is communication with the schools financial services representatives, and smart use of theFree Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The FAFSA provides the government with the information they need to evaluate financial need, but for non-traditional students, it doesnt tell everything. In addition to filling out the FAFSA, its important to talk to the financial aid office at the school you will be attending and communicating your life situation and your educational goals.

State Financial Aid

The state the student resides in may also offer funding to qualified non-traditional students. The amount and condition under which state aid will be renewed varies depending on area. It may or may not require a FAFSA form to apply. A complete listing of websites for more information is available sorted by state at the Department of Education, as part of the Education Resource Organizations Directory.

529 Savings Plan

The 529 savings plan is a method of saving for college that provides the investor with tax incentives and rewards. The school chosen by the investing student does not affect the 529 savings plan. Once a 529 savings plan is established, deposits can be made automatically and, like a savings account, remains in control of the investor. Savings grows tax-deferred, and all payments made from the 529 for college expenses are paid tax-free. Its a low maintenance, high rewards way for a student to grow his or her college savings instead of relying on financial aid.

Scholarships

All colleges and universities will typically have their own scholarship programs. The scholarship programs may or may not be restricted by age or by college experience. Non-traditional students can find many different scholarships dedicated to them. Searching and applying diligently for scholarships can be very rewarding.

Employer Help

Many businesses, both large and small, have incentives available that encourage their employees to reach their educational goals while remaining employed. This is usually referred to as employer tuition assistance, and information about employer programs can usually be obtained by speaking with a human resources representative. Programs vary among employers, but sometimes tuition assistance can be excluded from income and received tax-free. Restrictions usually apply, such as accumulating a certain number of credits or attending a specific college or university.

If you're a non-traditional student looking for financial aid, there are many possible options available to you. Check n Go, a leader in the payday loan industry, offers more tips for smart management of major financial needs in its new Financial Planning section.

Related Financial Aid Scholarship Articles

A few nice government grants images I found:

NY - Hyde Park - Vanderbilt Mansion NHS - Vanderbilt Formal Gardens - Greenhouse Gardens
Image by wallyg The Formal Gardens is just down the gravel path from the Vanderbilt Mansion, the centerpiece of the Vanderbilt National Historic Site in Hyde Park. The gardens were designed in the tradition of the Italian garden, which is characterized by terraces, fountains, pools and statues. The first gardens on the estate were laid out in the early 1800's by Belgian landscape architect Andre Parmentier, when the land was owned by Dr. David Hosack. Walter Langdon, who owned the land after Hosack, continued to maintain them. Frederic W. Vanderbilt bought the propetty in 1895 and the estate was home for the Vanderbilts during the spring and fall seasons. Mr. Vanderbilt enlisted a series of landscape architects, most notably James L. Greenleaf, to radically revised and enlarged the gardens in 1902-3. Mr. Vanderbilt held a horticultural degree from Yale University and took a deep interest in the gardens. He and his garden staff were renowned at the Dutchess County Fair for their exhibits of flowers and vegetables. The gardens thus represent several periods of development. They consist of three levels or tiers dedicated to specific types of plants. The top level, the greenhouse gardens, is the "annual" level. Most of the over 600 plants here do not survive winter and are replanted each spring. It consists of three separate parterre gardens within a rectangle framed on the west by the rose and palm houses and on the north by the toolhouse, carnation house, and gardener's cottage. The next level, the cherry walk and pool gardens, are located east and contain "perennials", which survive winter but bloom for just a few weeks a year, resulting in constantly changing colors. The lower level, the rose garden, still further east, has two terraces with rose panel beds. The rose garden was added by Frederick Vanderbilt, himself. It regularly contains over 1800 rose bushes. Many of them are considered "vintage" roses, which are old varieties which might have appeared in the original garden at the turn of the 20th century. There is a combination of tea roses, climbers and bush variety roses. Their best flowering is normally between mid-June and mid-July depending on the weather. All the beds are laid out in a formal, "Italian" style, referring to the symmetrical layout of the beds. When Frederick W. Vanderbilt died in 1938, the Hyde Park estate, including the Vanderbilt Mansion was bequeathed to Mrs. James Van Alen, a niece of Mrs. Vanderbilt. Two years later, Mrs. Van Alen gave the estate to the Federal Government, and on December 18, 1940, it was designated a National Historic Site. The country soon went to war and there were no funds to maintain the gardens. Weeds and brush took over the garden beds and vines choked the arbors and crumbling walls. In 1974 the National Park Service began to restore the brick walls. A government grant in 1981 allowed the park service to complete the restoration of the walls and structures. In 1984 the Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association volunteer, not-for-profit organization, was founded for the purposing of restoring and maintaining the gardens. Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site National Register #66000059 (1966)

Will Our 'MIGHTY LANC' Fly Again?
Image by Never Was An Arrow II FOLKS, you know very well, if AVRO CANADA was still around…they would just give the MUCH NEEDED Lancaster props to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, free of charge! Such was the greatness and generosity of the company. The Mississauga Hospital is there today because Crawford Gordon (President of Avro Canada) and the company Avro got behind the fundraising efforts to put a hospital in Mississauga, where one was desperately needed in the 50s. And our Lanc was one of their own. That Lancaster, you see before you, was made in the very same bays as the legendary CF-105 Arrow! No foolin'. But alas…Avro ISN'T around to bail out the Lanc. It's just you. And me. Without 0, 000 CDN…the propellers can't be purchased and the Lancaster will miss out on the airshow "revenue circuit" this season. When she flys, people pay to fly with her. She makes money for the museum! We gotta' keep the cycle going. So whatever you can give… HERE, I'll let the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum tell you all about the dilemma: At this time we are seeking your financial support for a very special project here at Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. During the annual inspection on our Lancaster bomber aircraft it was discovered that there is a corrosion issue with the propellers and until we can replace these propeller blades our Lancaster will be grounded. The propellers used on the aircraft are unique and although we have been fortunate enough to locate a very limited and currently available supply, the total replacement cost will be about 0,000.00. As I am sure you are aware, we own and operate one of only two Lancaster bombers still flying in the world today. This aircraft is the most popular and notable aircraft in our collection and we therefore receive many requests to have the Lancaster attend events throughout North America. Unfortunately without new propeller blades we will not be able to meet our flying commitments for the 2009 season. As this year is the Centennial of Flight in Canada, the Lancaster has been requested to attend a number of high profile events and venues including Air Venture at Oshkosh, WI, the largest air show in the world. It is also scheduled to go to Cold Lake, Alberta; Bagotville, Quebec; and Winnipeg, Manitoba; as well as attending several other events in Southern Ontario. In 2009 the Lancaster C-GVRA flight schedule has been planned to allow many hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy this aviation icon during the course of the summer as we celebrate 100 years of powered flight in Canada. In order to honour our commitments, we must endeavor to make our Lancaster airworthy once again. We have sent an appeal letter to our members and supporters and now we are asking for your assistance at this difficult time. With less than 2% of our annual operating budget coming from any government grant or assistance, we rely very heavily on supporters like you. As a donor, your investment in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is an investment in a great Canadian success story. We still have a great deal to be accomplished here at the museum and we hope you will take part in this worthy endeavor. PLEASE DONATE NOW!! Donations can be made on our website by clicking: www.warplane.com/Gift-Shop/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=38&a.... Or please contact the museum at (905) 679-4183 to donate by phone. Donations can also be mailed in to: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, 9280 Airport Road, Mount Hope, ON. L0R 1W0 Please mark "Lancaster Propeller Fund" on your cheques.

Check out these government grant images:

SEABISCUIT and Our Lancaster ::..
Image by Never Was An Arrow II First, he's here. Then way over there. Once…he ran right up to me! I don't know how many photos I have of Seabiscuit (X marks the guy) running around the tarmac marshaling (signaling) the Lancaster. On the face of the earth, there is not an aircraft marshaller (signaler) who takes his job more seriously than "Seabiscuit". He puts the Visual Docking Guidance System (VDGS) found at busier airports to shame. Here, he hasn't started running yet but…he will— But…will…our Lanc' even fly again? If she does, it will be because of you and I. New props cost 0, 000 CDN. HERE, I'll let the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum tell you all about it: "At this time we are seeking your financial support for a very special project here at Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. During the annual inspection on our Lancaster bomber aircraft it was discovered that there is a corrosion issue with the propellers and until we can replace these propeller blades our Lancaster will be grounded. The propellers used on the aircraft are unique and although we have been fortunate enough to locate a very limited and currently available supply, the total replacement cost will be about 0,000.00. As I am sure you are aware, we own and operate one of only two Lancaster bombers still flying in the world today. This aircraft is the most popular and notable aircraft in our collection and we therefore receive many requests to have the Lancaster attend events throughout North America. Unfortunately without new propeller blades we will not be able to meet our flying commitments for the 2009 season. As this year is the Centennial of Flight in Canada, the Lancaster has been requested to attend a number of high profile events and venues including Air Venture at Oshkosh, WI, the largest air show in the world. It is also scheduled to go to Cold Lake, Alberta; Bagotville, Quebec; and Winnipeg, Manitoba; as well as attending several other events in Southern Ontario. In 2009 the Lancaster C-GVRA flight schedule has been planned to allow many hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy this aviation icon during the course of the summer as we celebrate 100 years of powered flight in Canada. In order to honour our commitments, we must endeavor to make our Lancaster airworthy once again. We have sent an appeal letter to our members and supporters and now we are asking for your assistance at this difficult time. With less than 2% of our annual operating budget coming from any government grant or assistance, we rely very heavily on supporters like you. As a donor, your investment in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is an investment in a great Canadian success story. We still have a great deal to be accomplished here at the museum and we hope you will take part in this worthy endeavor." PLEASE DONATE NOW!! Donations can be made on our website by clicking: www.warplane.com/Gift-Shop/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=38&a.... Or please contact the museum at (905) 679-4183 to donate by phone. Donations can also be mailed in to: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, 9280 Airport Road, Mount Hope, ON. L0R 1W0 Please mark "Lancaster Propeller Fund" on your cheques.

NY - Hyde Park - Vanderbilt Mansion NHS - Vanderbilt Formal Gardens - Rose Garden
Image by wallyg The Formal Gardens is just down the gravel path from the Vanderbilt Mansion, the centerpiece of the Vanderbilt National Historic Site in Hyde Park. The gardens were designed in the tradition of the Italian garden, which is characterized by terraces, fountains, pools and statues. The first gardens on the estate were laid out in the early 1800's by Belgian landscape architect Andre Parmentier, when the land was owned by Dr. David Hosack. Walter Langdon, who owned the land after Hosack, continued to maintain them. Frederic W. Vanderbilt bought the propetty in 1895 and the estate was home for the Vanderbilts during the spring and fall seasons. Mr. Vanderbilt enlisted a series of landscape architects, most notably James L. Greenleaf, to radically revised and enlarged the gardens in 1902-3. Mr. Vanderbilt held a horticultural degree from Yale University and took a deep interest in the gardens. He and his garden staff were renowned at the Dutchess County Fair for their exhibits of flowers and vegetables. The gardens thus represent several periods of development. They consist of three levels or tiers dedicated to specific types of plants. The top level, the greenhouse gardens, is the "annual" level. Most of the over 600 plants here do not survive winter and are replanted each spring. It consists of three separate parterre gardens within a rectangle framed on the west by the rose and palm houses and on the north by the toolhouse, carnation house, and gardener's cottage. The next level, the cherry walk and pool gardens, are located east and contain "perennials", which survive winter but bloom for just a few weeks a year, resulting in constantly changing colors. The lower level, the rose garden, still further east, has two terraces with rose panel beds. The rose garden was added by Frederick Vanderbilt, himself. It regularly contains over 1800 rose bushes. Many of them are considered "vintage" roses, which are old varieties which might have appeared in the original garden at the turn of the 20th century. There is a combination of tea roses, climbers and bush variety roses. Their best flowering is normally between mid-June and mid-July depending on the weather. All the beds are laid out in a formal, "Italian" style, referring to the symmetrical layout of the beds. When Frederick W. Vanderbilt died in 1938, the Hyde Park estate, including the Vanderbilt Mansion was bequeathed to Mrs. James Van Alen, a niece of Mrs. Vanderbilt. Two years later, Mrs. Van Alen gave the estate to the Federal Government, and on December 18, 1940, it was designated a National Historic Site. The country soon went to war and there were no funds to maintain the gardens. Weeds and brush took over the garden beds and vines choked the arbors and crumbling walls. In 1974 the National Park Service began to restore the brick walls. A government grant in 1981 allowed the park service to complete the restoration of the walls and structures. In 1984 the Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association volunteer, not-for-profit organization, was founded for the purposing of restoring and maintaining the gardens. Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site National Register #66000059 (1966)

Unis threatened with funding cuts over filesharing Starting this month, US colleges and universities that don't do enough to combat the illegal filesharing put themselves at risk of losing federal funding. Read more on 3news

Some cool government grant images:

THE OIL SPILL COULD HAVE BEEN SOLVED ON DAY 2........IF WE HAD ASKED FOR HELP FROM NATIONS WHO HAD HIGH-TECH IN UNDERWATER OPERATIONS..........FOR EXAMPLE, CHINA, who built the THREE GORGE DAM....could have solved this problem. I know this for a fact.
Image by roberthuffstutter SLOWLY, THE REAL TRUTH IS BEGINNING TO LEAK OUT... Despite the vow by President Obama to keep the Gulf oil spill a top priority until the damage is cleaned up, 50 days after the BP rig exploded, a definitive date and meaningful solution is yet to be determined for the worst oil spill in the U.S. history. So, you would think if someone is willing to handle the clean-up with equipment and technology not available in the U.S., and finishes the job in shorter time than the current estimate, the U.S. should jump on the offer. But it turned out to be quite the opposite. . U.S. Refused Help on Oil Spill According to Foreign Policy, thirteen entities had offered the U.S. oil spill assistance within about two weeks of the Horizon rig explosion. They were the governments of Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations. The U.S. response - Thank you, but no thank you, we've got it. "..While there is no need right now that the U.S. cannot meet, the U.S. Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future." Blame It On The Jones Act? Separately, Belgian newspaper De Standaard also reported Belgian and Dutch dredgers have technology in-house to fight the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, butthe Jones Act forbids them to work in the U.S. A Belgian group--DEME-- contends it can clean up the oil in three to four months with specialty vessel and equipment, rather than an estimated nine months if done only by the U.S. The article noted there are no more than 5 or 6 of those ships in the world and the top specialist players are the two Belgian companies- DEME and De Nul - and their Dutch competitors. The U.S. does not have the similar technology and vessel to accomplish the cleanup task because those ships would cost twice as much to build in the U.S. than in the Far East. The article further criticizes this "great technological delay" is a direct consequence of the Jones Act. What Is The Jones Act? The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 is a United States Federal statute that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. Section 27, also known as the Jones Act, deals with coastal shipping; and requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. The purpose of the law is to support the U.S. merchant marine industry. Critics said that the legislation results in increased costs moving cargoes between U.S. ports, and in essence, is protectionism, Supporters of the Act maintain that the legislation is of strategic economic and wartime interest to the United States. . European Service Sector - Offshore Subsea Specialist As discussed in my analysis of the oil service sector, the European companies typically possess the knowhow in offshore and subsea; whereas their North American counterparts excel in onshore drilling and production technologies. So, it is more than likely that European firms do have the expertise to clean up the spill quicker and more effectively as DEME asserts. Since the Jones Act means the Belgian ship and personnel cannot work in the Gulf, it does seem the Act has inhibited technology and knowledge exchange & development, and possibly prevented a quicker response to the oil spill. Jones Waiver Time On the other hand, waivers of the Jones may be granted by the Administration in cases of national emergencies or in cases of strategic interest. It would appear the U.S. government's initial refusal to foreign help most likely stemmed from a mis-calculation of the scale and deepwater technological barriers for this unprecedented disaster, and/or perhaps ..... pride. Whatever the rationale, and if De Standarrd's claim that the Jones Act forbids the European companies to help fight the spill is true, it is high time the U.S. government grant the Jones waiver, and let this be an international collaborative effort. It's always better late than never. Global Research Articles by Dian L. Chu

NY - Hyde Park - Vanderbilt Mansion NHS - Vanderbilt Formal Gardens - Cherry Walk
Image by wallyg The Formal Gardens is just down the gravel path from the Vanderbilt Mansion, the centerpiece of the Vanderbilt National Historic Site in Hyde Park. The gardens were designed in the tradition of the Italian garden, which is characterized by terraces, fountains, pools and statues. The first gardens on the estate were laid out in the early 1800's by Belgian landscape architect Andre Parmentier, when the land was owned by Dr. David Hosack. Walter Langdon, who owned the land after Hosack, continued to maintain them. Frederic W. Vanderbilt bought the propetty in 1895 and the estate was home for the Vanderbilts during the spring and fall seasons. Mr. Vanderbilt enlisted a series of landscape architects, most notably James L. Greenleaf, to radically revised and enlarged the gardens in 1902-3. Mr. Vanderbilt held a horticultural degree from Yale University and took a deep interest in the gardens. He and his garden staff were renowned at the Dutchess County Fair for their exhibits of flowers and vegetables. The gardens thus represent several periods of development. They consist of three levels or tiers dedicated to specific types of plants. The top level, the greenhouse gardens, is the "annual" level. Most of the over 600 plants here do not survive winter and are replanted each spring. It consists of three separate parterre gardens within a rectangle framed on the west by the rose and palm houses and on the north by the toolhouse, carnation house, and gardener's cottage. The next level, the cherry walk and pool gardens, are located east and contain "perennials", which survive winter but bloom for just a few weeks a year, resulting in constantly changing colors. The lower level, the rose garden, still further east, has two terraces with rose panel beds. The rose garden was added by Frederick Vanderbilt, himself. It regularly contains over 1800 rose bushes. Many of them are considered "vintage" roses, which are old varieties which might have appeared in the original garden at the turn of the 20th century. There is a combination of tea roses, climbers and bush variety roses. Their best flowering is normally between mid-June and mid-July depending on the weather. All the beds are laid out in a formal, "Italian" style, referring to the symmetrical layout of the beds. When Frederick W. Vanderbilt died in 1938, the Hyde Park estate, including the Vanderbilt Mansion was bequeathed to Mrs. James Van Alen, a niece of Mrs. Vanderbilt. Two years later, Mrs. Van Alen gave the estate to the Federal Government, and on December 18, 1940, it was designated a National Historic Site. The country soon went to war and there were no funds to maintain the gardens. Weeds and brush took over the garden beds and vines choked the arbors and crumbling walls. In 1974 the National Park Service began to restore the brick walls. A government grant in 1981 allowed the park service to complete the restoration of the walls and structures. In 1984 the Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association volunteer, not-for-profit organization, was founded for the purposing of restoring and maintaining the gardens. Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site National Register #66000059 (1966)

Lancaster: URGENT APPEAL!
Image by Never Was An Arrow II Our "Made in Toronto" Avro Lancaster Bomber has been grounded. Corrosion found. Propellers. 0, 000 CDN needed to get our Lanc back in the air. C'mon CANADIANS!! Whatever you can give… HERE, I'll let the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum tell you: "At this time we are seeking your financial support for a very special project here at Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. During the annual inspection on our Lancaster bomber aircraft it was discovered that there is a corrosion issue with the propellers and until we can replace these propeller blades our Lancaster will be grounded. The propellers used on the aircraft are unique and although we have been fortunate enough to locate a very limited and currently available supply, the total replacement cost will be about 0,000.00. As I am sure you are aware, we own and operate one of only two Lancaster bombers still flying in the world today. This aircraft is the most popular and notable aircraft in our collection and we therefore receive many requests to have the Lancaster attend events throughout North America. Unfortunately without new propeller blades we will not be able to meet our flying commitments for the 2009 season. As this year is the Centennial of Flight in Canada, the Lancaster has been requested to attend a number of high profile events and venues including Air Venture at Oshkosh, WI, the largest air show in the world. It is also scheduled to go to Cold Lake, Alberta; Bagotville, Quebec; and Winnipeg, Manitoba; as well as attending several other events in Southern Ontario. In 2009 the Lancaster C-GVRA flight schedule has been planned to allow many hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy this aviation icon during the course of the summer as we celebrate 100 years of powered flight in Canada. In order to honour our commitments, we must endeavor to make our Lancaster airworthy once again. We have sent an appeal letter to our members and supporters and now we are asking for your assistance at this difficult time. With less than 2% of our annual operating budget coming from any government grant or assistance, we rely very heavily on supporters like you. As a donor, your investment in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is an investment in a great Canadian success story. We still have a great deal to be accomplished here at the museum and we hope you will take part in this worthy endeavor. PLEASE DONATE NOW!! Donations can be made on our website: www.warplane.com/Gift-Shop/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=38&a... Or please contact the museum at (905) 679-4183 to donate by phone. Donations can also be mailed in to: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, 9280 Airport Road, Mount Hope, ON. L0R 1W0 Please mark "Lancaster Propeller Fund" on your cheques."