SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

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2 From the Paris Climate Summit to Governor Cuomo s Energy Plan to reduce carbon emissions in New York State by 80 percent by 2050, climate change mitigation and resilience has become a policy focus across all levels of government. However, turning ambitious policy goals into practice often requires a focus at the local level. The Sustainable Communities program brings together local leaders, social entrepreneurs and advocates from rural and urban communities across the region with sustainability experts and practitioners from around the world to develop and advance community-scale policy, practice and leadership strategies for climate change mitigation and resiliency. Global thinking can only do to the globe what a space satellite does to it: reduce it, make a bauble of it you want to see where you are, you will have to get out of your spaceship, out of your car, off your horse, and walk the ground The abstractions of sustainability can ruin the world just as surely as the abstractions of industrial economics. Wendell Berry

3 Our Objectives The Sustainable Communities program cultivates and supports community-led initiatives to enhance the health of local economic, social and ecological systems while contributing to global climate change mitigation and resiliency goals. Specifically, the program will: Facilitate partnerships and collaborative problem-solving within and between communities by: Bringing together local leaders and innovators from across the region to build capacity, strengthen social capital and build linkages between rural and urban communities. Working with a diverse group of experts and practitioners from around the world to provide new perspectives and a broader context for developing solutions to local issues. Learning from and contributing to global climate change and resiliency networks. Elevate and advance climate change issues and opportunities within local- and state-level decision making, public policy and economic development arenas by: Convening meetings and conferences to bring together thought-leaders, practitioners, advocates, decision makers and stakeholder groups. Stimulating debate and further investigation of key policy and market-based issues. Documenting and disseminating this work via appropriate communication channels. Cultivate and participate in innovative, community-scale projects, including: Assisting our community partners in identifying and implementing community scale projects. Making our own campus more sustainable through infrastructure improvements and operating practices.

4 Community Partners The Sustainable Communities Program works with urban and rural communities across New York State s Capital Region. Community-scale initiatives can be the most challenging to launch and maintain over the long term. There are several programs sponsored by state government that support regional and local-level sustainability efforts. However, these programs demand a level of municipal support, personnel and technical expertise that most community groups lack, creating an immediate hurdle to participation. Our program supports all types of community-scale sustainability initiatives. We partner directly with communities and provide them with a place to meet and collaborate, as well as access to technical assistance and outside expertise to provide new perspectives and spark innovation. Global Climate Change Mitigation & Resiliency Goals Community-Scale Strategies for Climate Change Mitigation & Resiliency Community Partners Sustainable Communities Staff Mentors & Experts

5 Hill & Mountain Farming Project The Hill & Mountain Farming Project is an initiative based in the Hilltown communities of the northern Catskill Mountains. We bring together farmers, food system advocates and resource conservation stakeholders with experts and practitioners from around the world to build a sustainable farming economy in the region. Approximately three million of farmland acres in New York State has been left idle or abandoned due to poor drainage, steep slope and changing economic conditions. This describes much of the land in communities in the northern Catskills. Historically an agricultural landscape, these challenges have rendered many of the region s farms unviable. The perceived disadvantages of hill and mountain farming perpetuate a viscous cycle; labeling land as marginal discourages investment in resources, knowledge and policies to support sustainable agriculture. The Hill & Mountain Farming Project will: redefine and assess these resources; expand the knowledge of hill and mountain farming systems; and support market development for the products and services created by these farms. Photo: Geoffrey Coelho Photography.

6 Helderberg Brewery Project New York State's craft beverage sector is emerging as a driver of local economic development in rural and urban communities across the state. The industry also has the potential to fuel the development of a diversified, value-added small grains system in the Northeast. However, significant investments in research, farmer training and infrastructure are needed to support continued growth of the movement as well as its distinct, place-based quality. We have partnered with the Capital Region s craft beverage community to address these needs. Though educational workshops, local supply chain and market development, and the operation of our own farm brewery, we support the development of a farm-toglass supply chain connecting farmers, malt houses and craft beverage producers across the region.

7 Sustainable Communities Pilot The Carey Institute has partnered with its own community, the hamlet of Rensselaerville, NY. Local residents and staff will co-design a sustainability framework that addresses the needs and goals of the local community. From this, a series of trainings, workshops and projects will be developed and implemented with support from program partners, mentors and experts from other communities around the world. The process will be documented and published as a replicable model that can be improved upon and shared with other community partners. Photo: Charles Burgess, Open Space Institute with aerial support from Lighthawk.

8 SPECIAL THANKS TO: Albany Convention Center & Visitors Bureau Empire State Development The Bender Family Foundation Hudson River Valley Greenway New World Foundation Local Economies Project The Town of Rensselaerville United States Department of Agriculture Workforce Development Institute

9 ABOUT US The Carey Institute for Global Good is dedicated to making a better world by contributing to a strong, educated and just society. Learn more at