Announcements

2020 Conference on the Environment

After a very strong start by the Westchester County 2020 Conference on the Environment planning committee, it was unhappily decided that they could not predict conditions this fall due to the virus, and have decided to cancel this year’s conference. The planners of the conference have requested to sponsor the conference next year in Westchester, and will meet this fall to decide whether or not to hold the conference in the spring or fall of 2021.

NYSACC’s Board of Directors has contacted the NYSDEC about holding a remote meeting this fall, similar to the very successful one held in October, 2019. DEC is reviewing this option very seriously, and we’ll have more information in our next newsletter. There is a strong desire on NYSACC’s part to have a statewide meeting this year, especially under the severe impact to CAC’s from the pandemic, as well as the increasing effects of climate change on our environment.

NYSACC is Looking for Contributors to NYSACC News

We would like to get articles about what your CAC’s/CB’s are doing, opinion pieces, environmental cartoons (especially related to CAC/CB activities), links to organizations that would be of interest to our members, suggestions to how better to serve you, questions about your local issues, and any other matters that could be added to our newsletter. Please contact nysaccofficemanager@gmail.com with you input.

NYSACC Wants to Form ELLAs Throughout NYS

When the Environmental Leaders Learning Alliance (ELLA) was founded at Teatown Lake Reservation Nature Preserve and Education Center in 2007, the founders anticipated taking their program statewide.   Alas, that never happened.  However, NYSACC, in discussions with ELLA, would like to assist in fulfilling that goal.  We are looking for grants to assist in this effort.  But more importantly, we are looking for organizations, similar to Teatown, that would be interested in creating their own ELLA in their local region.  As county Environmental Management Councils have been in decline due to funding issues, there is a missing element in the original NYSDEC concept for local environmental assistance to municipalities.  ELLA can fill that gap by providing a regional forum for CACs/CBs.  It’s a success story years in the making.  Teatown’s ELLA would act as a resource to other groups to get their ELLAs started.  If you know of a nature educational center in your area (check out this resource list) that might be interested, please email nysaccofficemanager@gmail.com with contact information.

CAC Project Awards and the Margery Sachs Award

NYSACC presents annual awards to CAC’s to recognize exceptional projects that have had a lasting and significant positive impact on the natural environment in their municipalities. This link will bring you to our website for further information on how you can apply (https://nysacc.org/awards).

In addition, we also present annually our most prestigious award, the Margery Sachs Award, to the one individual who exemplifies the attributes of the award’s namesake.   Margery, one of the founding members of NYSACC in 1971, was not only the chair of the Pound Ridge Conservation Board for many years, but provided the first land donation to the Mianus River Preserve, the Nature Conservancy’s first project. This award celebrates a person’s lifetime achievement in environmental preservation, and is given to a leader in their community, who has shown a consistent ability to get the needed things done. Anyone can nominate an applicant, and while there’s no application form, a narrative as to why this person should receive this award is required.

This year, if NYSACC holds their annual meeting as part of the NYSDEC update, the awards will be presented at this event. If there is no update, the awards will be presented as part of our Fall Newsletter.

NYSACC Social Media and Chat Room

NYSACC is looking to create a means of communicating more frequently with its members than just the newsletters and its annual conference. If you can volunteer to start a social media platform, or provide us with a “chat” platform, where members can discuss issues of mutual interest, we want to hear from you. Please contact nysaccofficemanager@gmail.com.

NYSACC Dues

We have consistently kept our membership dues low, as we know even modest sums can be difficult if you have no or a limited budget.  And with the pandemic, we also know how much more difficult it will be for any of us to get funding from their municipality. This puts NYSACC into a serious position. We depend on your dues to fund our operations. So, if you haven’t already sent in your 2020 dues, and you can afford to do so, please join NYSACC this year. Simply go to this link for the membership form: https://nysacc.org/wp-uploads/NYSACC-Membership-Form-2.pdf. Thank you.