Sustainable Finger Lakes grew out of a feasibility study led by Dr. Gay Nicholson to determine whether residents of our county were interested in forming a coalition to pursue sustainable community development. Community leaders and citizens participated in study circles and “sustainability salons” and identified key projects that would help our community make the transition to more sustainable living.
Since then, Sustainable Finger Lakes has played a central role in the local sustainability movement. Below is a timeline highlighting some of our activity in the community. As you look through the list, you will likely notice the many ways in which we have connected citizens with resources, catalyzed new organizations, and convened gatherings to discuss (and act on!) the important topics of the day. Click on any hyperlinked item to learn more about it.
Program Summaries, 2004-2021:
2004
Feasibility Study with Circles and Sustainability Salons, Circle Summit organized by Gay Nicholson – Jan-April
Monthly Gatherings begun and conducted through Spring 2009
Wendy Skinner is first chair of the ST Coordinating Committee
Working groups established: Green Resource Hub, PLUS (Planning for Land Use Sustainability), Healthy Generations, Art and Sustainability
Sustainability Master Classes
Welcome Salons
2005
Sustainable Technology Showcase – January
Sustainability Master Classes
Welcome Salons
Health Practitioners Study Circle – May-August
Give Your Business a Sustainability Makeover Workshop – November
Green Purchasing Collaborative started
2006
Green Resource Hub Design Charrette – April
Green Resource Hub incorporated and board of directors recruited
Cayuga Inlet Sustainability Corridor proposed
Finger Lakes Buy Green developed in partnership with Tompkins County Solid Waste
Kendal Sustainability Study Circle – Jan-June
First Sustainability Fair as part of Ithaca Festival
Signs of Sustainability recognition program started – December
Just Sustainability Initiative
2007
Tompkins Weekly Signs of Sustainability Series started – February
Energy Efficiency Community Outreach – DIY home energy learning circles
Tompkins Sustainability Map created
Sustainable Design Workshop – June
Health and Sustainability Conference – September
Cayuga Sustainability Council launched in October
Connect Ithaca grant for projector, screen, portable speaker system
2008
Equity & Sustainability Monthly Gatherings
Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program launched
Green Collar Pipeline Outreach
Green Collar Career Fair – November
Focus groups on potential for SEEN – August
Second round of ECCO circles
Community Picnic – June
2009
Sustainable Enterprise Network (SEN) meetings started
Green Job Development in Tompkins County Roundtables – Feb
R&D on Finger Lakes Climate Fund
Finger Lakes Bioneers launched
Marcellus Challenge launched
Downtown office established – August
2010
Finger Lakes Climate Fund launched
Sustainable Enterprise and Entrepreneur Network (SEEN) officially launched — September
Energy Teach-In for Shaleshock Activists – January
Awakening the Dreamer Symposium – June
Gay Nicholson becomes first employee, President and Director of Programs – April
Nicole Pion hired as Director of Operations in September
Finger Lakes Bioneers II – October
ST membership program launched
2011
Partner in the Building Bridges initiative
Finger Lakes Bioneers regional film series
Second annual Energy Fair, video clips of which are featured in the film Empowered: Power from the People
First two Finger Lakes Climate Fund grants awarded
2012
Partner in launching Get Your GreenBack Tompkins
Co-founded the Sustainability Center, which opened in 2013
First hosted Earth Day Ithaca
2013
Coordinated the regional Climate Smart & Climate Ready Conference — April
2014
“The Climate, the Market, and the Commons” community conversation salons
“Disruption” film screening
2015
First People’s Choice Signs of Sustainability Awards
2016
Earth Day Community Teach-In on Ithaca’s housing shortage
2017
Sustainable Finger Lakes Map launched
People’s March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice, part of Earth Day Ithaca
2018
Youth Climate Challenge launched
2019
Sustainable Finger Lakes website launched
2020
2020 was a year of unprecedented challenges and significant advancements for Sustainable Finger Lakes (SFLX), at the time Sustainable Tompkins. Despite the pandemic and political upheaval, it was our busiest year ever for the Finger Lakes Climate Fund (FLCF), awarding a record number of grants and expanding support for low-income households with clean energy updates. To combat the lack of carbon offsetting due to air travel being halted, we launched new campaigns (Giving is Gorgeous and the Finger Lakes Enterprises for Climate Action) to raise funds. We combined our FLCF grants with heat pump incentives for low-income residents, and then awarded more grants for 21 additional heat pumps through a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) grant. Through streamlining the application process for contractors online, we were able to increase their participation in our grant programs. We were able to raise over $130,000, completely online, all of which was used to reduce the energy burden for low-income households and prevent the emissions of over 3,100 tons of CO₂.
Given the transition to remote work, SFLX began taking novel approaches to continue community resilience work in a digital age. These initiatives included completely new digital tools, such as the My Green FLX, our first augmented reality app that was designed as a tool to educate people on heat pumps through video by scanning an image in a flyer or brochure. Additionally, we started the SustainFlx.caard.co, a digital hub for our programs, and large-scale Facebook ad campaigns using NYSERDA targeting tools. These new digital tools helped our organization thrive by reaching and engaging a broader audience when the world shifted to a more digital presence during the pandemic.
During the lockdown, we raised $8,500 for our Mini-Grant program, which funded various projects as restrictions lifted and community members began to rejoin civic life. Projects awarded impacted Tompkins County across several key areas, such as strengthening community connections, improving transportation infrastructure, promoting reuse and waste reduction, enhancing food access and security, supporting sustainable energy practices, and protecting and restoring the environment.
Read more on https://sustainabletompkins.org/programs/neighborhood-mini-grant-program/recent-awards/.
SFLX also strengthened partnerships through webinars and remote collaborations. We co-hosted a webinar in partnership with HeatSmart Tompkins to provide education on energy efficiency and climate solutions, which had the highest number of registrants and led to 11 enrollments in the LMI program. Our Virtual Earth Day event, co-organized with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) and Building Bridges, brought together dozens of community groups for a day of online sustainability programming. In 2020, we were approached by local municipalities to explore launching a local Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) initiative, planting seeds for a more equitable clean energy future.
In summary, although the pandemic brought significant challenges, we secured new funding rounds that enabled essential energy upgrades, leveraged innovative tools to expand our digital outreach, and continued to cultivate and maintain strong partnerships.
2021
This year was marked by transitions, with a renewed focus on our commitment to climate equity at Sustainable Finger Lakes. While still facing lingering pandemic challenges, we took major steps forward, most notably securing an over $860,000 grant from NYSERDA for a first-of-its-kind pilot project to install heat pumps in low-income rental units in Ithaca. Rentals of 1-4 units comprise 24% of all lower-income dwellings in NYS. This pilot aimed to lay the foundation for a scalable, statewide solution. This initiative addressed the split incentive dilemma that occurs when landlords have little motivation to invest in energy-efficient upgrades (like heat pumps) because they are not the ones who pay the utility bills and, at the same time, tenants who would benefit from lower energy bills do not own the property, so they cannot make these upgrades themselves.
To support the pilot, we received funding from the Community Foundation of Tompkins County to conduct over 200 in-person surveys in four working-class Ithaca neighborhoods, gathering responses on home energy and comfort. We also interviewed 12 local landlords to refine the project design. Through community insights, we developed a fuller understanding of tenant concerns and local needs, allowing us to design a more responsive and inclusive heat pump installation model for low-income renters.
The FLCF awarded 12 grants for clean energy upgrades totaling $23,746, which prevented the emissions of 1,511 tons of CO₂. We completed our NYSERDA HeatSmart grant with 17 additional awards to LMI households worth $24,100, preventing another 1,226 tons of CO₂ from being emitted. The Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program issued 13 grants totaling $5,708, helping local initiatives that strengthened community ties, supported climate action, and empowered residents. Funded projects supported key focus areas, including expanding educational and cultural access, improving transportation equity, reducing waste through creative reuse, increasing food security with shared gardens, and fostering environmental awareness through public engagement and storytelling.
Read more on https://sustainabletompkins.org/programs/neighborhood-mini-grant-program/awardee-history/
2021 also marked our official rebranding from Sustainable Tompkins to Sustainable Finger Lakes. The name change reflected a shift from concentrating solely on Tompkins County to serving and engaging with the broader Finger Lakes Region, aligning with our growing portfolio of regional programs and partnerships. It also marked the launch of a regional webinar series, Finger Lakes Forecast, on climate impacts to engage with new audiences.
We strengthened collaborations with HeatSmart programs in Tompkins, Central New York, and Southern Finger Lakes, Get Your GreenBack Tompkins (a community initiative helping residents of Tompkins County live more sustainably through simple, everyday actions), and began new campus partnerships with Colgate, University at Buffalo, and Ithaca College. We continued meetings with local governments and Local Power to shape a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) framework funded by the Park Foundation. A regional CCA webinar in March expanded awareness and laid the groundwork for broader municipal participation in a platform for shared purchase of renewable electricity.
Read more about Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) here https://townithacany.gov/cca/
Within our successful year of programs, 2021 also brought a major staffing transition. Three interns left for new chapters, and we welcomed four new hires,. Each brought fresh perspectives and a new set of skills to build our next chapter.
Finally, we continued championing climate policy through coalition work, call-ins, op-eds, and public feedback campaigns, particularly around the crypto mining moratorium and the NYS Climate Action Scoping Plan.
In 2021, Sustainable Finger Lakes advanced its commitment to climate equity through innovative clean energy projects, grassroots grants, and expanded regional partnerships. With a new name and broadened focus, we laid the foundation for a just energy transition across the Finger Lakes Region.
