(Tompkins Weekly, 8-10-2, by Peter Bardaglio) As it has since 2009, the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative (TCCPI) recently issued its annual report on member activities in 2021 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the transition to clean energy. A coalition of activists leaders and concerned citizens, TCCPI meets monthly to discuss and share…
As the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated unequal access to food across the nation, communities have worked to address this long-term problem. Tompkins and Cortland Counties now host many urban and rural food sharing cabinets, maintained and stocked by locals and coordinated by mutual aid networks. Only a few of those sites are equipped with refrigerators or…
(Tompkins Weekly, 7-27-22, by Katie Hallas) The Tompkins County Food System Plan: A Roadmap for our Food Future — presented to the County Legislature on July 19 — was enthusiastically supported with all 13 legislators present voting unanimously to accept the plan. The draft plan is available at tompkinsfoodfuture.org/theplan, and community members are encouraged to…
(Tompkins Weekly, 7-13-2022, by Rebecca Cutter) Seed Travels is a movement that began 16 years ago when a group of Maya Achi farmers traveled from Guatemala to the Southwest to share the story of the amaranth seed. In May, Julian Vasquez Chun, Maya Achi farmer and agroecology program coordinator for The Garden’s Edge, traveled to…
(Tompkins Weekly, 6-22-22, By JoAnn Kowalski) Finger Lakes ReUse (FLR) has received the 19th annual Richard B. Fischer Environmental Conservation Award for 2021. The award was established in 2003 by the Town of Ithaca Conservation Board to honor Fischer for his significant efforts to preserve important environmental resources in the town of Ithaca. Members of…
Individuals and small groups can start projects that make a big difference in their community, but some ideas need to be tested before gaining widespread support. In April 2022, Sustainable Finger Lakes (formerly Sustainable Tompkins) awarded $2,475 in seven Neighborhood Mini-Grants to individuals and small organizations in Tompkins County, for new initiatives with the potential…
Making a community bicycle-friendly requires education as well as infrastructure, and learning one skill can make a big difference in a person’s ability to reliably travel by bicycle. In summer 2021, Ithaca resident Claire Dehm addressed this need with a free “Women at the Wheel” workshop series funded by a Neighborhood Mini-Grant from Sustainable Tompkins.…
We were glad to attend this great gathering on November 18th to dedicate the first bike repair station in downtown Ithaca – funded by our Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program!! Biking brings business to downtowns and providing this kind of infrastructure enables all sorts of residents to own and use their bikes regularly. Our team was glad…
Tools and materials to start a permanent program of instruction in machine sewing at A Place to Stay, their transitional supportive residence for homeless and recovering women in Ithaca.
Three “Women at the Wheel” bicycle repair workshops at the Ithaca Farmers Market pavilion in summer 2021, open to women and non-binary residents of Tompkins County.
Partial costs of purchasing a self-serve bicycle repair station in downtown Ithaca, equipped with tools, an air pump, and a stand.
An interactive observation board beside Six Mile Creek in Titus Triangle Park, to be used by park visitors to record observations of the creek and its wildlife, local cultural stories, and other messages that build environmental awareness and community connections.
Tompkins County contains a wealth of trails, but some have fallen into disrepair and disuse without the care they need. A wooded trail in the Town of Dryden, between the Varna Community Center and the adjacent Hillside Acres Mobile Home Park, went many years without maintenance and became overgrown to the point of near-impassability. In…
Effective local action to address climate change requires a populace to understand the complex science and social dimensions of this global threat. To this end, the Ithaca-based Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) created The Teacher-Friendly Guide™ to Climate Change and is engaged in an ongoing effort to distribute it to all high school science teachers in the United States, countering…
Sometimes a small investment can have a large impact on an organization or business’s operations, raising efficiency while reducing environmental impacts. The Family Reading Partnership, a Danby-based organization devoted to distributing children’s books throughout Tompkins County, has long taken its recyclables to the Tompkins County Recycling and Solid Waste Center, a 14-mile round trip made by…