From staple foods to bicycling infrastructure to botany education, small locally-based initiatives can help to meet the needs and improve the lives of people in rural areas. In April 2023, Sustainable Finger Lakes awarded a total of $2,500 in four Neighborhood Mini-Grants supporting such projects across Tompkins County. Artist/ecologist Ash Ferlito and ecological landscape designer…
(Tompkins Weekly, 5-24-23, by Debra Freeman) Whether you are a Finger Lakes native or visitor, if you want to better understand global climate change and see local signs of sustainability, start at the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI). Affiliated with Cornell University, PRI comprises four buildings, 100 acres, and more: laboratories in Palmer Hall; outdoor education…
(Tompkins Weekly, 5-10-23, by Holly Hutchinson) As someone who lives in a mobile home in Tompkins County, I have a feeling for what my fellow mobile home dwellers here experience. Our homes are affordable and may be the only home ownership option for us in the county. They are often attractive inside and homey. They can use up…
(Tompkins Weekly, 4-26-23, by Elizabeth Keokosky) Every 5 years Congress negotiates the Farm Bill. It is a wide-ranging bill with more than half a trillion dollars to spend, and twelve separate segments, called “Titles,” that authorize most federal policies governing food and agriculture. It was first passed in 1933, during the catastrophes of the Depression…
(Tompkins Weekly, 4-12-23, by Guillermo Metz) Last year, across the US, electricity production from renewables surpassed coal for the first time, and clean energy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in NY State, with more than 24,000 jobs added since 2015. At the same time, the latest international climate change study reminds us just how…
(Tompkins Weekly, 11-22-23, by Eric Banford) The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has many programs beneficial to farmers, ranchers and forest landowner. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is one such program that we are utilizing for our farm in Danby, NY. We are participating in a cost share incentive program to establish pollinator habitat…
(Tompkins Weekly, 3-8-2023, by Cathleen Banford) Recently, some folks met in downtown Ithaca to generate conversations centered on regional biological regeneration. Plans are underway to gather again, bringing local organizations into the conversation. Ithaca was just one stop of several for Joe Brewer and his partner Penny Heiple, who host webinars based on developing regional…
Do you have an idea for a project to make our community more sustainable, resilient, or inclusive? Need a little help in covering the costs? Sustainable Finger Lakes is accepting applications for our spring/summer 2023 round of Neighborhood Mini-Grants. The Sustainable Finger Lakes Neighborhood Mini-Grant program supports initiatives improving environmental sustainability, equity, and environmental, economic, and…
(Tompkins Weekly, 1-25-23, by Zasu Scott) New York’s hard-fought climate law was a big win for the climate justice movement. The landmark Climate and Community Protection Act (CLCPA or Climate Act) passed in 2019 set ambitious targets for both emission reductions and environmental justice, including a mandate for 40% emissions reduction by 2030. It’s already…
(Tompkins Weekly, 1-11-23, by Dan Antonioli) At long last the SouthWorks site is moving forward with a sensible development plan to transform a massive, toxic eyesore into a creative mixed-use property that will serve the community in multiple ways. With all of the recent news about this project I have one basic question: how green will…
In October 2021, Sustainable Finger Lakes awarded the grassroots volunteer group Zero Waste Ithaca a Neighborhood Mini-Grant in support of their Bring Your Own Container (BYOC) initiative, a campaign inviting local restaurants and food vendors to offer customers the option of bringing their own reusable containers for take-out food. In November 2022, the Ithaca College…
An individual, tapping into a global project, can help a neighborhood. The organization Little Free Library coordinates an international network of citizen-made cabinets where anyone can take or leave books, improving equitable access to books while reducing the purchasing and disposal of books. Ithaca hosts a growing number of these Little Free Libraries (LFLs). In…
(Tompkins Weekly, 12-14-22, by Elizabeth Keokosky) Many of us who have gardens— and many who don’t — take gardens for granted. The common reasons are clear enough: fresh vegetables, saving money and being outdoors. Making a political statement is not particularly one of them, but now, I am beginning to realize more and more the…
(Tompkins Weekly, 11-23-22, by Cathleen Banford) Where do young people learn about social systems and how they interconnect and how to empower themselves to influence positive changes in their lives? While the political arena is often dripping with divisiveness and too many politicians out of touch and beholden to dark money, there are people living…
(Tompkins Weekly, 11-9-22, by Peter Bardaglio) Luis Aguirre-Torres’s recent decision to step down as the Ithaca city sustainability director came as a deep disappointment to many in Tompkins County. His plan to make the city carbon neutral by 2030 while making sure climate justice was central to this endeavor was ambitious and inspiring and embodied…