Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland Counties

Signs of Sustainability

Habitat for Humanity partners with local first-time homebuyers to help them build or improve a place to call home! Recipients work alongside volunteers to build their home, and pay an affordable mortgage when its completed….These mortgage payments are then used to fund the construction of more Habitat homes! This helps strengthen the local economy and improve community connections. Want to help out? You can certainly help build, but theres also plenty of other ways to get involved. Do you identify as a woman and want to expand your handy skills while giving back to the community? Check out their Woman Build Program!

Second Wind Cottages

Signs of Sustainability

Second Wind Cottages houses and walks with people toward restored lives. They built cottages for homeless men in Newfield with a supportive environment- facilitating regular meetings with the men and also providing drug and alcohol counseling, GED assistance, Christian fellowship and support, life skills training, meals and social events such as movie nights with other residents and the larger community, laundry facilities, exercise equipment, and a food pantry! Our largest Climate Fund grant ever was given to Second Wind to pay for the insulation in all six of their first cottages in Newfield! Thanks to all those who offset their carbon emissions with us through Finger Lakes Climate Fund! Next on the agenda is a home for women in Dryden on donated land, which they hope to start building in Spring of 2021 – Donate here to help bring this dream to fruition!

Found in Ithaca: Antiques, Vintage, & Unusual Objects

Signs of Sustainability

Finding new homes for pre-loved goods 💗 Reopened! Go on in! Just 2 blocks from the Ithaca Wegmans, you’ll find….furniture from 19th c. formal to Mid-Century 🛏,, country primitive, cottage style and industrial pieces 🕰, Glass, china, pottery 🥣, estate/vintage jewelry 💍, ~ vintage clothing 🩱, art 🖼, ~ collectibles, books 📚, and more!🤩 Plus, they can deliver locally! 🚛

HOLT Architects

Signs of Sustainability

The designers of the Peggy Ryan Williams Center, Food Bank of the Southern Tier, their own NET-ZERO ENERGY OFFICE RENOVATION (read more about that here) and much, much more. HOLT Architects keep social, economic, and environmental sustainability at the forefront of all their designs and pride themselves on understanding their clients’ goals, so they can make them realities! Over on their Facebook page, they have a weekly series called ‘What Are We Thinking Wednesdays’, comprised of segments where the architects ponder how thoughtful design can benefit us as we navigate our changing world. To learn more about these folks, visit their website.

e2e Materials

Signs of Sustainability

e2e Materials, which stands for earth-to-earth, is based in Ithaca, New York, develops, designs, engineers, and innovates the next generation of furniture, cabinetry, and other wood-based products, that are smarter, stronger, and cheaper; made in the USA with uncompromised sustainability. e2e’s products use locally produced, annually renewable resources, including soy flour, and natural grass fibers, such as jute, flax, and kenaf. Additionally, e2e uses only a small fraction of the energy required for wood composites, saving billions of pounds of CO2. See the listing on our map for contact info!

Solar-Powered Complex Proposed in Lansing

News

A “net zero energy residential housing development” may be coming to the Village of Lansing in the near future if approved by the Planning Board. The housing complex would consist of 43 homes powered by solar energy and heat pumps, a project of The Solar Home Factory, a company based in Geneva. The houses would be clustered to preserve green space and minimize encroachment onto wetlands, and would be compliant with CLCPA [New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act]. Read more about this exciting plan here!

Neighbor to Neighbor

Signs of Sustainability

Neighbor to Neighbor (formerly Love Knows No Bounds) is a volunteer-run non-profit that collects and delivers good quality donated beds and furniture, and performs critical home repairs to ensure that our neighbors live in a safe, functional, and comfortable home. We are working toward a world in which the housing needs of the most vulnerable citizens in our community are at the forefront of people’s consciousness. Check out what they’re up to!

Penn Yan Public Library Installs Sustainable Transportation Resources

News

Two new low-carbon transport investments in Penn Yan this week: a horse shelter and a car charging station at the public library! Mennonite community members are frequent library users, and the new horse shelter will afford them additional convenience while accessing library resources. The new additions will join the existing bike rack and bike repair station, providing a diverse array of transportation assistance options for community members. Read more here.

Taitem Engineering and STREAM win NYSERDA Building Competition

News

Perdita Flats, a multifamily project in Ithaca, NY, has won $70,560 in NYSERDA’s Building’s of Excellence competition! A project of Taitem Engineering and STREAM Collaborative architecture + landscape architecture, the building design will demonstrate the viability of a ZERO ENERGY building for a multi-family development, AND will provide data on the building’s construction and operation to NYSERDA for sharing as part of its efforts to promote high-performing buildings in NYS. Congrats to them! Read more here.

Hotel Skyler

Signs of Sustainability

Looking for a place to stay in Syracuse? Choose LEED-Platinum certified – Hotel Skyler! This hotel has lights and heat/cooling systems that shut down when the guests leave the room. It also features geothermal heating and cooling systems, which utilize the steady temperature of the earth. Hotel Skyler also prioritizes incorporating regionally-produced and reclaimed materials and serves sustainably sourced wine, beer, and liquor!

Crystal City Creative Spaces

Signs of Sustainability

Crystal City | Creative Spaces is an exciting new “community-supported” property development company in Syracuse, New York. In short, this unique for profit (REIT) focuses on the adaptive re-use of older, ex-industrial properties in the greater Downtown area, creating adequate, affordable and efficient space for Syracuse’s “Creative Class”,“Greening” buildings, vacant lots and public spaces, jelping neighborhoods become more resilient, safe and community friendly; and creating new openings for economic development through Arts & Cultural activity.