Help us keep bringing you the Adirondack information you value.
Email
Twitter
RSS
Facebook 
Registration is now open for the Stay-In-stitute for Climate Change Education, a virtual conference for educators across the country. Hosted in partnership with Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Climate Program Office, and The Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program. From July 22-24, the three-day training will provide educators with skills, tools and resources to teach climate change concepts and empower students in all subject areas.
Posts Tagged ‘Climate Change’
Registration Open for Climate Change Education Virtual Conference
Wild Center hosts climate change summit for teachers
The Wild Center is planning a virtual “Stay-In-stitute” for Climate Change Education.
Scheduled for July 22-24, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., the institute aims to bring together both middle and high school teachers from across the country and from a variety of disciplines, to engage in an active exploration of climate change, and the best educational practices related to it.
Micro-grant awards focus on farmers coping with COVID, climate change
The Adirondack Council awarded 10 micro-grants totaling over $32,000 to local farmers. According to a press release, the grants are an effort to address the greatest short-term and long-term threats to public health and the Adirondack Park: COVID-19 and climate change.
“COVID-19 and climate change each have the potential to devastate Adirondack communities,” says Adirondack Council Conservation Associate Jackie Bowen, the coordinator of the grant program alongside the Essex Farm Institute. In some cases, farms/food producers need to prepare more serve-at-home meals…others need equipment and funding to protect and sustain their employees who work in urban farmers markets.
‘Zoom a Scientist’ – Learn Enviornmental Science from Home
The Lake Champlain Sea Grant team is hosting an interactive webinar series focused on watershed and aquatic science called “Zoom a Scientist.”
For one hour starting at noon every Tuesday and Friday, scientists give viewers a virtual tour of the Lake Champlain watershed and showcase their research. Scientists from the University of Vermont Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, SUNY Plattsburgh, Lake Champlain Research Institute, and other organizations present on content is geared towards middle school and high school students, but all ages are welcome.
See below for the schedule. If you are looking for content geared specifically towards kids, an At-Home-Creativity section is offered by the Lake Champlain Committee, and is stocked with information and resources to keep them entertained and informed.
DEC Accepting Applications for Environmental Awards
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced they are now accepting applications for the 17th annual Environmental Excellence Awards program. The Environmental Excellence Awards recognize businesses, institutions, municipalities, and organizations for outstanding commitments to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and economic viability. » Continue Reading.
Viewpoint: Require APA To Track Climate Data, Trends
How has the Adirondack Park Agency fared under Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2020 executive budget proposals? The question hasn’t received any media attention for obvious reasons. It’s a mini state agency, budget-wise.
With a proposed operating budget of $5 million – just .004 percent of the proposed state budget of $137 billion – APA hardly raises fiscal eyebrows. Budgeted for 54 full time staff, APA employs .03 percent of all state employees.
Yet, the Adirondack Park comprises one-fifth the acreage of New York State. It’s constitutionally protected wild lands are honored as a National Landmark and International Biosphere Reserve. It’s subject to one of the country’s earliest and largest regional land use planning laws. But the Park has just one legislatively authorized planning agency, the APA, congruent with all six-million acres. » Continue Reading.
DEC Releases Draft New York State Forest Action Plan
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of the draft New York State Forest Action Plan for public review and comment. The State Forest Action Plan is a 10-year strategic plan for DEC and New York’s forestry community that provides long‐term, comprehensive, and coordinated strategies for addressing the challenges facing New York’s forests today. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Council Reviews Gov’s Budget Plans
The Adirondack Council applauded Gov. Andrew Cuomo for proposing State Budget funding that will combat climate change, protect clean water and preserve Wilderness, build more resilient trails and make the park more welcoming place for all state residents.
On top of the newly announced $3-billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act proposal, the Governor’s plan adds another $500 million investment in clean water project funding, in addition to the $500 million previously announced for this year’s budget. » Continue Reading.
State Legislature EnCon Committee Chairs Talk Priorities
The following essay was authored by Assemblyman Steven Englebright and State Senator Todd Kaminsky.
The 2019 legislative session was a great one for New York’s environment. As the chairs of the Environmental Conservation Committees in both houses, we were pleased to talk with Adirondack residents and visitors about the session in late September when we came to the park to discuss next year’s agenda.
The Adirondacks aren’t just New York’s largest park, they are a national treasure and a shining example of long-term conservation that serves as a model for the world. » Continue Reading.
Youth Climate Program Receives DEC Excellence Award
The Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program has been recognized by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as a winner of a 2019 New York Environmental Excellence Award.
The Wild Center was named one of four innovation and sustainability leaders across New York State at the 16th annual awards celebration, held on Tuesday, November 14th. » Continue Reading.
$4M Available for Green, Clean Energy in Schools
Four million dollars is available under the P-12 Schools: Green and Clean Energy Solutions program to reduce energy use and assist with the conversion to carbon free energy solutions for schools serving Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12 students.
The program supports the State’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050 and the Green New Deal, considered by some to be the most aggressive climate and clean energy program in the nation. » Continue Reading.
State Forest Preserve Use Plans Ignore Climate Change
Noah Shaw, former general counsel for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), contributed to the drafting of New York State’s groundbreaking 2019 climate legislation. This September, he wrote an op-ed in the Adirondack Explorer, “What New York’s Bold Climate Law Means for the Adirondacks.”
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 “outlines a so-called ‘carbon offset’ program as a counter-weight to the 15 percent of emissions that may remain after all our other emissions-reducing actions are taken,” he wrote. “These will likely come from hard-to-clean-up activities like aviation, agriculture, shipping and heavy industry. New York’s most valuable carbon offset resource, also known as a ‘sink,’ is its forestland. This is good news for the Adirondack Forest Preserve.” » Continue Reading.
Exploring Adirondack Climate Change Impacts
On the whole, processes that contribute to the accelerated climate change we are currently experiencing are a threat to the Adirondack Park, our national security, and the world’s human security.
Here are a few stories about the impacts Climate Change is having on the Adirondack Park.
Climate Change Impacting Adirondack Boreal Birds
Two new scientific studies recently released by Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (PSC AWI) and Shingle Shanty Preserve and Research Station (SSPRS) have detected continuing patterns of decline in boreal birds in the Adirondacks.
The authors examined avian community changes in lowland boreal habitats and the impacts that temperature and precipitation have on long-term occupancy patterns of boreal birds. Both peer-reviewed papers were recently published in the scientific journal PLoS One. The studies build on more than a decade of monitoring boreal bird populations in lowland boreal habitat. » Continue Reading.
Wild Center Awarded Grant For Climate Change Education Space
The Wild Center has been awarded a grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to create an exhibition space that helps re-frame how science museums present and interpret climate change.
Set to open June 2021, the exhibit titled Solutions: Voices from the Frontlines of Climate Change is expected to present practical, regionally-relevant climate solutions that illustrate the opportunity of climate resilience to The Wild Center’s 100,000+ yearly visitors. » Continue Reading.
Latest Adirondack News
- Cuomo advises protesters to get tested
- Whiteface Club and Resort returns to service
- No Island Chapel services this summer
- Wanted: Doctors who love mountains
- County DMVs could reopen in Phase 3
- Tick disease with COVID-19 symptoms on the rise
- DEC: ADK Rails/Trails project will be finished by 2023
- Lake George Steamboat Co. readies to open
- Police charge local man for alleged threat to shoot protesters
- Restaurants OKed to open to outdoor dining
Latest Adirondack News
- Cuomo advises protesters to get tested
- Whiteface Club and Resort returns to service
- No Island Chapel services this summer
- Wanted: Doctors who love mountains
- County DMVs could reopen in Phase 3
- Tick disease with COVID-19 symptoms on the rise
- DEC: ADK Rails/Trails project will be finished by 2023
- Lake George Steamboat Co. readies to open
- Police charge local man for alleged threat to shoot protesters
- Restaurants OKed to open to outdoor dining
The Adirondack Almanack
The Adirondack Almanack's contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region.
General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor Melissa Hart.
To advertise on the Adirondack Almanack, or to receive information on rates and design, please click here. 
Recent Almanack Comments