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RFP for Tree Nursery Incubation Program!

This is wonderful! I’d love to help your org if you were interested in applying!

WE NEED THIS IN NYS!

The Nature Conservancy in New York: Reforestation Demonstration Nursery Incubation Program Request for Proposals (RFP)

Email: ReforestNY@tnc.org

The Nature Conservancy in New York seeks proposals from nursery professionals to expand nursery capacity and enable reforestation efforts in New York state

New York’s reforestation goals are ambitious and require an exponential increase of native tree stock to be achieved. The Nature Conservancy in New York has launched a Reforestation Demonstration project to test methods to increase tree planting in New York state. The demonstration project is primarily focused in the northwestern and southern-tier regions. We are happy to announce that, as part of this program, TNC is offering a second round of Nursery Incubation Program funding to build on the success of the first round awarded through our January 2025 RFP. In the first round, TNC selected two nurseries in Western NY for the Incubation Program – Swiftwater: Organic Farmstead and Reserve and Native Forest Nursery NY. Both nurseries have begun scaling their operations by building capacity in nursery labor, improving seed collection and processing capabilities, and purchasing equipment and infrastructure to support operational activities. An official announcement will be shared soon on nature.org.

For this round, TNC will be awarding a total of $340,000 in Nursery Incubation Program funds to eligible entities. The number of awards will be determined in the evaluation process. Applicants can apply for an award amount not below $50,000 and not exceeding $340,000, the total amount of available funds. TNC intends to pair the awards with a multi-year advance procurement contract (APC) to build nursery capacity and enable further investments to meet future demand. The total value of the APC will vary by applicant and is in addition to the Incubation Program awarded funds.

TNC requests proposals from nursery professionals for the Incubation Program to increase native tree production capacity. As part of this program, TNC is interested in partnering with recipients to expand seed collection processes, invest in nursery infrastructure and workforce development, and improve coordination and logistics. The goal of this program is to show a measurable increase of native trees in the NY reforestation supply chain by investing in native tree nursery capacity. This award, paired with an APC, aims to increase the number of trees in the NY reforestation supply chain by up to 100,000 trees by 2029.

The award application process will consist of two selection rounds: a pre-proposal round and a full proposal round. A review committee will evaluate applications at both stages. All applicants will submit a pre-proposal (form linked here), which includes an Applicant questionnaire, employee resumes, and a statement of purpose. Note: Applicants who submitted pre-proposal applications for the January 2025 funding round are welcome to reapply. If reapplying, Applicants can reuse information (e.g., the statement of purpose) from their prior submission where the same or similar information is requested. Applicants can request a copy of their previous responses by reaching out to the RFP procurement contact.

After evaluating the pre-proposals, TNC will invite a select number of applicants to submit a full proposal, which will include a detailed business plan with optional accompanying narrative, description of stock provenance tracking processes, and references. Upon the completion of the full proposal stage, TNC will select one or more award recipients. More information on this process is in the remainder of this RFP.  Note: If applicants in the January 2025 RFP were selected to submit a full proposal, those applicants will have the option to modify the January 2025 full proposal materials for this submission.

The timeline for the RFP is found below. All activities are due on the provided date by 5pm EST. All RFP documents can be found in a public folder here.

Activity Date
RFP Release date October 2nd, 2025
Pre-proposal submission deadline October 22nd, 2025
Full Proposal Request notification October 29th, 2025
Full Proposal due November 19th, 2025
Final recipient selection notification December 5th, 2025
Project start January/February 2026
Project completion June 30th, 2029

All Applicant queries must be submitted to TNC’s local BU Procurement Contact through the email address ReforestNY@tnc.org. It is the Applicant’s responsibility to seek clarification if they do not fully understand elements of the application process.

Thank you for your interest in submitting an RFP to The Nature Conservancy NY’s Reforestation Demonstration Nursery Incubation Program.

Best,

Mandy St. Hilaire & the TNC NY Reforestation Team

Mandy St. Hilaire

Reforestation Manager, NY
mandy.sthilaire@tnc.org

518-576-7247

 

nature.org

 

 

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Carbon Harvest: Soil Restoration, Food Security & Negative Emissions in Global Agriculture Sept 25, registration link

CALS and Cornell Atkinson is sponsoring an event during NYC Climate Week.

If you are in NYC on September 25, register for the event: Carbon Harvest: Soil Restoration, Food Security & Negative Emissions in Global Agriculture.

Reducing human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is challenging, given economic and food security pressures, but emerging practices like biochar, soil remineralization, and organic soil carbon restoration offer major opportunities to reverse the trend.  This event will bring together practitioners, policymakers, and market innovators to explore how to put these solutions into action, at scale.  CALS’ own Yiqi Luo will be presenting on a panel talking about the best ways to Catalyze NYS Carbon Farming Future.

See information below, any questions feel free to contact Shaun Doherty (sjd254@cornell.edu) at Cornell Atkinson.

More event information:

Carbon Harvest: Soil Restoration, Food Security & Negative Emissions in Global Agriculture

  • Thursday, September 25 | 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
  • NYC, Cornell Tech – Verizon Executive Education Center (Livestream available)
  • Registration is required – see registration link

Share this invitation freely with your contacts and networks.

NYS fire prevention and building codes updated for Efficiency, Electrification, Energy Savings, Fire Safety, and Refrigerant GHGs.

From July 30, 2025 Urban Green Newsletter

New NYS Energy Code Approved

On Friday, the State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council unanimously voted to approve the next NYS Energy Conservation Construction Code. The motion includes a monumental step which makes New York the first state to require most new buildings to be all-electric. It also boosts energy efficiency with 18% more site energy savings than the 2020 code and will save households an average of $594 in annual utility bills. The new code will go into effect on December 31, 2025.

 

“2025 ECCCNYS” means the publication entitled “2025 Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York State” (publication date: July 2025) published by the International Code Council, Inc.

 

You can find all the July 2025 code revisions, here: https://dos.ny.gov/event/state-fire-prevention-and-building-code-council-meeting-july-2025?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=1b6cf91040-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_07_30_05_59&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_77e1c68116-1b6cf91040-441863773, such as

  • 2025 Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York State

  • 2025 Fire Code of New York State

  • 2025 Existing Building Code of New York State

    In 1978, the State Legislature added Article 11 to the Energy Law to provide for a comprehensive energy conservation construction code applicable to all public and private buildings in New York State (including buildings located in the City of New York). Article 11, consisting of sections 11-101 through 11-110 of the Energy Law, sets forth the process by which the State Energy Conservation Construction Code (“Energy Code”) is to be developed, maintained, administered, and enforced for the conservation of energy in buildings in New York State. Both State government and local governments are participants in this process.

    In 1981, the New York State Legislature enacted legislation directing the development and implementation of an integrated, Statewide building and fire prevention code. Prior to the adoption of this legislation, the decision as to whether to adopt and enforce a building and/or fire prevention code was left to the discretion of local governments in New York State. Many municipalities, primar- ily in the more developed and densely populated areas of the State, had adopted building and/or fire prevention codes. However, there were also many communities, mostly rural in nature, where no building or fire prevention code was in effect.

    In light of the perils posed by fire and inadequate building construction, the State Legislature adopted a new Article 18 of the Executive Law to provide for an integrated and comprehensive building and fire prevention code. Article 18, consisting of sections 370 through 383 of the Executive Law, sets forth the process by which the code is to be developed, maintained, administered, and enforced for the protection of all New Yorkers. Both State government and local governments are participants in this process. The code, called the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (“Uniform Code”), took effect January 1, 1984 and prescribed minimum standards for both fire prevention and building construction. It is applicable in every municipality of the State except the City of New York, which was permitted to retain its own code.

    Although the Uniform Code took effect in 1984, its antecedents are much older. Beginning in the late 1940’s, New York State began developing a code known as the State Building Construction Code, which provided standards for the construction of buildings and the installation of equipment therein. Developing and maintaining the State Building Construction Code eventually became the responsibility of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). In the 1960’s, DHCR began developing a second code, the State Building Conservation and Fire Prevention Code, to address fire safety practices in buildings. Both of these codes were applicable in a municipality only when affirmatively adopted by the governing body. The State Building Construction Code and the State Building Conservation and Fire Prevention Code were repealed effective January 1, 1984 when they were replaced by the Uniform Code.

    ddd

  • State Environmental Quality Review Act

    A summary of significant changes from the Uniform Code and Energy Code that coincides with the list in the Final Scope and the Regulatory Impact Statements
    (RIS) for the Uniform Code and Energy Code;
    o Uniform Code significant changes:

    •  Residential sprinklers
       Temporary use of buildings in emergencies
       Powered micromobility devices
       Inflatable amusement devices
       Coordinating pool and hot tub provisions with industry standards
      and specific provisions from the ICC’s International Swimming
      Pool and Spa Code
       NYS Department of Environmental Conservation flood provisions
       A2L refrigerant safety standards
       Mass timber
       Accessible building feature language updates, including updated
      reference and coordination with ICC A117.1 to the 2017 version
       Lithium batteries
       Energy storage systems
       Occupiable roofs
       Adult changing stations
       Shipping container construction
  • o Energy Code significant changes:
    •  Fossil-fuel equipment and building systems prohibition in new
      buildings (with corresponding provisions set forth in the Uniform
      Code)
       More restrictive building thermal envelope requirements
       Eight counties that were previously in Climate Zone 6 are now in
      Climate Zone 5
       Additional efficiency credits for new buildings and existing
      buildings following the prescriptive compliance path
       Limits on the use of electric resistance space heating
       Renewable energy for commercial buildings
       Thermal bridge mitigation and documentation of energy loss
      associated with thermal bridges in commercial buildings
       Increased minimum efficiency requirements for gas-fired water
      heaters, hot-water boilers, air conditioning, and refrigeration
      equipment as mandated by federal standards
       Increased equipment efficiency for elevators
       Energy recovery ventilation required for residential buildings in
      Climate Zone 6
       Separate electric metering for low-rise multi-family dwellings

I LOVE NY!

Go Team!

Forest Adaptation Workbook

The Forest Adaptation Workbook will generate information about potential climate change impacts for your general region, and you’ll be asked to use your own judgment and expertise to consider how broad impacts might play out on your particular property. Then you’ll think critically about your property goals and objectives and decide if they are still robust to potential climate change. Next, the Workbook will help you brainstorm and evaluate a list of custom actions that can help adapt to expected conditions, and you’ll finish the process by developing a monitoring plan to determine if your actions were effective.

These resources were designed for the Midwest and Northeast U.S.

  • It is a joint product of USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science
  • https://adaptationworkbook.org/about

Browse Menus of Adaptation Strategies and Approaches, by topic:

Forest Strategies and Approaches

Developed for forested ecosystems, with focus on forest management and planning.

Urban Forest Health Strategies and Approaches

Developed for communities working in urban ecosystems. This version is supplemental to the 2016 version of the Urban Forest Strategies and Approaches menu, found here.

Forested Watershed Strategies and Approaches 

Developed for water resources management; with focus on hydrology, vegetation management, landscape planning, and infrastructure.

Forest carbon Management Strategies and Approaches 

Designed to help natural resource professionals devise actions that can maintain existing carbon stocks or enhance sequestration capacity while providing co-benefits for other sustainable resource management objectives.

Non-forested Wetland Conservation and Management Strategies and Approaches

Developed for non-forested wetland conservation and management.

Recreation Strategies and Approaches 

Developed to help managers manage recreation experiences, and the infrastructure that supports it in a number of ways.

Agriculture Strategies and Approaches

Developed to assist agricultural producers, specialists, and technical service providers.

Wildlife Management Strategies and Approaches

Developed to assist wildlife managers.

 

To Explore the Tool, Go here: https://adaptationworkbook.org/

Considering taking a 7-week guided online trainings using your own real-world project!

To find supporting publications visit the Climate Change Response Framework (forestadaptation.org).

See real-world examples of how natural resources professionals, land managers, and landowners have used the Adaptation Workbook to consider climate change in their management at ForestAdaptation.org/demos.

Find real-world examples of how farmers and producers have used the Agriculture Adaptation Workbook on the USDA Climate Hubs website.

Anonymous survey about recent shifts in federal funding for scientific research

Survey from the New York Academy of Science

  • This 6-minute survey will help us better understand how recent changes to U.S. federal funding for scientific research may be affecting individuals across sectors, disciplines, and geographies.
  • We will share the aggregated results with our community, aiming to illuminate the broader impact of these funding changes.
  • Your responses will also shape how The New York Academy of Sciences prioritizes future programming and support initiatives.
  • All submissions are anonymous.
  • Link to the survey, here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L3TM2YH?utm_source=nyas&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=&utm_content=survey

 

March 2025, Fossil Fuels account for less than 50% of electricity generation! Go Team!

I am beyond excited to share the following graph.

(To note, after posting I realize this includes nuclear).

https://ember-energy.org/latest-updates/fossil-fuels-fall-below-50-of-us-electricity-for-the-first-month-on-record/

Note, March is a special month and called a ‘shoulder season‘. The following bullets are taken directly from this Canary website:

  • Milder temperatures mean people use less energy to heat and cool their homes, so power demand tends to contract.
  • That has historically made shoulder seasons — the fall version runs from September to November — a good time to take fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants offline for maintenance.
  • Meanwhile, wind production peaks in the spring, and solar production comes more alive with the longer days of stronger sun. Last month, solar and wind alone met over 24% of overall U.S. power demand.

But the signs point to our shared success of generating our own local, contemporary electricity and not relying on a trust fund of fossilized energy!

Taken directly from the EMBER website:

  • The milestone is the result of a long term decline of fossil generation in the US power sector, with wind and solar growing substantially over the last decade. Ten years ago, in March 2015, fossil generation still provided 65% of US electricity generation. Wind and solar generation stood at just 5.7%. Since then, the share of wind and solar power has more than quadrupled.
  • Solar power is set to account for more than half of new generating capacity installed in the US in 2025, with more than a third of new solar panels going to Texas. Solar’s rise has been extraordinary. Ten years ago, in March 2015, solar power accounted for just 1% of US electricity generation. By March 2025, this had grown to 9.2%.
  • Last month Ember published a special report, US Electricity 2025, on the changes and trends in the US power sector last year. It found that solar was the fastest and largest growing source of electricity in the US in 2024. Wind and solar power combined rose to a record 17% of the US electricity mix in 2024, overtaking coal for the first time which accounted for 15%.

 

 

 

NY: Apply for NRCS funding to implement projects: Due March 11

NRCS New York Announces Second FY25 Application Batching Date for Conservation Program
Funding

February 11, 2025

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) New York announces Tuesday, March 11th, as the second date for Farm Bill funding applications submitted for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 funding through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), EQIP Initiatives including the Great Lakes Restoration Programs (GLRI), National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI), Working Lands for Wildlife Golden- Winged Warbler, and Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA).

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

CSP helps farmers and forest landowners expand their conservation activities and take their conservation to the next level. Through CSP, agricultural producers and forest landowners earn payments for actively managing, maintaining, and expanding conservation activities like cover crops, forest stand improvement, tree and shrub establishment and pollinator and beneficial insect habitat – all while maintaining active agricultural or forest production on their land. CSP also encourages the adoption of new technologies and new management techniques such as precision nutrient management, improved grazing systems, and new soil amendments to improve water quality. New York will use ACT NOW for all CSP ranking pools in FY25. ACT NOW allows NRCS to expedite application approval and contract obligation in a designated ranking pool when an eligible application meets or exceeds a state determined minimum ranking score.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

EQIP helps farmers and forest landowners integrate conservation into working lands. EQIP offers financial and technical assistance to eligible landowners and agricultural producers to implement practices which address resource concerns, including soil health, water quality and habitat degradation. Focus areas include cropland, pastureland, forestland, farmstead and wildlife. Examples of practices implemented include cover crops, reduced tillage, high and low tunnels, pasture management, early successional forest habitat, forest stand improvement and manure storage facilities. Many practices now have cost scenarios for small farms so that the specialized costs needed for these operations can be better managed. New York will use ACT NOW for the High Tunnel and Conservation Planning Activity ranking pools in FY25. ACT NOW allows NRCS to expedite application approval and contract obligation in a designated ranking pool when an eligible application meets or exceeds a state determined minimum ranking score.

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)

GLRI helps NRCS accelerate conservation efforts on private lands located in targeted watersheds affecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Through GLRI, NRCS-NY works with farmers and landowners to protect watersheds and shorelines from non-point source pollution.

National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI)

NWQI allows NRCS to target on-farm conservation investments and water quality monitoring to improve impaired watersheds. NRCS-NY is currently focused on using NWQI to enhance watersheds of the Cohocton River.

Golden- Winged Warbler (GWWA)

The Golden-Winged Warbler is a migratory songbird that depends on early successional, young forest habitat for breeding and nesting. This habitat has declined as forests have aged. Landowners are assisting this at-risk bird by voluntarily improving the health and diversity of their forests.

How to Apply:

Submit applications at your local NRCS Service Center. All applications are competitive and are ranked based on national, state and locally identified resource priorities and overall benefit to the environment. Applications accepted after March 11, 2025, will be considered in the next batching period.

Reforestation Demonstration Nursery Incubation Grant (pre-proposals due Feb 7)

The Nature Conservancy in New York: Reforestation Demonstration Nursery Incubation Grant Request for Proposals (RFP)

 

Business Unit (BU) Procurement Contact: Mandy St. Hilaire

Email: ReforestNY@tnc.org

 

The Nature Conservancy in New York seeks proposals from nursery professionals to expand nursery capacity and enable reforestation efforts in New York state

 

New York’s reforestation goals are ambitious and require an exponential increase of native tree stock to be achieved. The Nature Conservancy in New York has launched a Reforestation Demonstration project to test methods to increase tree planting in New York state, particularly in the northwestern and southern-tier regions. As part of this demonstration, TNC will be awarding a total of $300,000 in Nursery Incubation Grant funding to eligible entities that can supply native tree stock to New York. The number of grants awarded will be determined in the evaluation process. Applicants can apply for an award amount not below $50,000 and not exceeding $300,000, the total amount of available funds. TNC will pair the award(s) with a multi-year advance procurement contract to build nursery capacity and enable further investments to meet future demand.

 

TNC requests proposals from nursery professionals for this incubation grant project to increase native tree production capacity. As part of this grant, TNC is interested in partnering with recipients to improve seed collection processes, invest in nursery infrastructure and workforce development, and improve coordination and logistics. The goal of this grant is to increase native trees in the NY reforestation supply chain by investing in native tree nursery capacity. This grant, paired with an advance procurement contract, aims to increase the number of trees in the NY reforestation supply chain by up to 100,000 trees by 2028.

 

The award application process will consist of two selection rounds: a pre-proposal round and a full proposal round. A review committee will evaluate applications at both stages. All applicants will submit a pre-proposal including an Applicant questionnaire, employee resumes, and a statement of purpose. Pre-proposals must be submitted via this form by 5:00 PM ET on February 7th, 2025. After evaluating the pre-proposals, TNC will invite a small number of applicants to submit a full proposal, which will include a detailed business plan, description of stock provenance tracking processes, and references. TNC will send requests for full proposals by February 14th, 2025, and full proposals will be due by March 14th, 2025. Upon the completion of the full proposal stage, TNC will select one or more award recipients for a project start in June 2025. More information on this process is in the remainder of the attached RFP. All RFP documents can be found in a public folder here.

 

All Applicant queries must be submitted to TNC’s local BU Procurement Contact through the email address ReforestNY@tnc.org. It is the Applicant’s responsibility to seek clarification if they do not fully understand elements of the application process.

 

 

Cornell Alum buys Electric Snowblower as a result of the Decarbonizing Energy Expo!

John Whitney’s decision to get an electric snowblower after attending the Cornell Cooperative Extension Decarbonizing Energy Expo on November 20!

 

From Shovels to Snowblower: Our Battery-Powered Snow Clearing Transition

by John Whitney, A&LS Class of 1982

After 39 years of shoveling snow in the lake effect snow belt of Erie County, New York, my wife and I decided the time was right to add a snowblower to our snow-clearing arsenal.  Part of our reluctance was due to a brief experience with an old gasoline-powered snowblower that neighbors gave us in the late 1980s. Hard to start. Hard to keep running. Loud. Smokey. Smelly. Heavy but still underpowered for our snow conditions. Nowhere near as good at clearing as our shovels.  While we appreciated the neighbors’ intentions, it wasn’t worth the time and effort.  So we passed it on and stuck with shovels.

But we’re not as young as we used to be and, importantly, battery-powered equipment technology and availability have advanced rapidly.  We’d begun replacing corded electric tools for rechargeable battery-powered tools.  While I don’t love string trimmers, when our last gas-powered trimmer died, we replaced it with a battery-powered unit. What a difference! Plus, after years of using various gas-powered hedge trimmers, I now use my drive head with a rented, long-pole hedge trimmer unit. I’d had experience renting the full battery-operated unit which was cleaner, quieter, and just as good or better than the gasoline-powered units I had historically rented after giving up on trying to keep my own sharp and running. I’ll probably stick with renting the hedge trimmer attachment since it is nice to have it sharp and ready to go and the rental store is close by.

Back to the snowblower, though. I never really minded the physical activity associated with shoveling but it did take a lot of time and some of the Buffalo-area snowstorms have been challenging to keep up with.  I had been looking at some of the battery-powered options in local hardware stores and reading about them online. Central New York Farm Supply out of Cortland brought a Kress unit to the Energy Expo in Cornell’s Ag Quad on November 20th.  Kress, a German brand, is new to the North American market. It seemed well-made and had better power ratings than similarly sized equipment. I was intrigued! Especially with the “$500 pre-season discount.”

The winter of 2024/2025 started with a couple of big dumps of snow.  We shoveled and shoveled. In one of the shovelings, my wife said with a gasp, “You know, there’s blood dripping down your face.”  I said I thought it was just a runny nose. While it was just a minor nosebleed, after cleaning up, I said I thought it might be time to consider getting a battery-powered snow blower.  I confessed to having been looking around and I showed her pictures of the one I had seen in Ithaca. We talked about it some more and explored the Kress company web page and Facebook page. She had been a frequent shoveler over the years, too.  With her CPA office in our home, she would “take breaks,” to clear the driveway during the day while I was at work away from the house.  She wasn’t opposed to the snowblower idea.

So… after checking to see if the Kress unit was available locally (it wasn’t), and being pleasantly surprised that the pre-season discount was still in place and a unit was still available in Cortland, we put a deposit on it and made arrangements to pick it up. Arrangements included renting a hybrid SUV since it wouldn’t fit in our Toyota Prius without leaving the hatch up. The long trip between Cortland and East Aurora with the hatch open with uncertain weather conditions didn’t seem like a good idea.

We got it home with the hope that, like carrying an umbrella when rain is in the forecast, it might hold off further big snowstorms for much of the winter.  The Lake Effect snow machine hasn’t yet shut down, though.  And it might not, even with Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes starting to develop some ice cover.  Shovels still have their place but we’ve learned it’s worth getting the snowblower out even if the accumulation is only an inch or two. It’s faster and physically easier than shoveling. Batteries hold their charge well and recharge quickly when that is needed. With deeper snow and the nighttime running lights on, starting with a full charge, I can still finish the entire driveway and walkway in a single charge cycle. That amount of shoveling used to take a couple of hours.  It’s down to 30-45 minutes including dropping the batteries into the charging unit, following the operating manual recommendation to brush the snow off the unit after use, and clearing the front steps – which still requires use of shovels.

We’ve only had it for a month. In my personal experience, battery-powered is the way to go.  Next on the wish list is battery-powered lawn mowing equipment, along with a reduction in how much of the yard needs to be mowed. That’s something else my spouse and I are discussing.

John was a natural resources major who split his time between the Natural Resources and Agronomy Departments during his time at Cornell.  He was (is!) a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, Zeta Chapter.  He started a 40-year career with the USDA Soil Conservation Service, which later became the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), while a student at Cornell working summers in Allegany, Columbia and Schoharie Counties. After graduating in 1982, he continued his career in Livingston, Ontario, and Erie & Wyoming Counties. He retired from NRCS in January 2019 and worked part-time for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County from August 2019 until again retiring in December of 2024. John & his wife, Laura (Binghamton University, 1980), have lived in East Aurora since 1986.  jrw44@cornell.edu or whitneyjohnr@gmail.com. https://www.facebook.com/johnrwhitney

 

 

New Year Thanks to Next Generation Farming!

Well,  the De-Carbonizing Energy Expo was back on November 20, and I’m just now getting to blog about it!

To start, I wish to thank the undergraduates who came out to help us set up at 7am! They are part of the Alpha Gamma Rho Zeta Chapter Fraternity! The Agricultural Discipline Fraternity on Campus! Special Thanks to John Whitney (also part of Alpha Gamma Rho Zeta, CALS Animal and Life Sciences class of 1982) CCE-Erie who retired in December. Intergenerational Cornelians making the first De-Carbonizing Energy Expo happen on campus!

Crisp Apple Thanks in the photo to:

  • Erik Verdehem – ’25
  • Avery Pound – ’25
  • Austin Bares – ’26
  • Aidan Ainsle – ’25
  • Tommy Fenwick – ’25
  • John Whitney – ’82

Community Appreciation Also to:

  • Andy Turner and Cooperative Extension for financial and other support
  • Eveline Ferretti and the Mann Library Support Team for the space and resources for the indoor exhibitors!
  • Julie Parsons and the Grounds Team that managed all the outdoor exhibitor needs!
  • Julie Bazen – Cornell Career Services for supporting events for Green Jobs!
  • Western NY Program Work Team (including members from CCE-Erie, CCE-Livingston, CCE-Niagara & CCE-Tompkins that enthusiastically joined in bring AgEnergyNY support) for Spearheading this!
  • Ellie Dodd and the Entire University Events Team for helping us make it all happen safely!
  • CCE InService Team, especially Sarah Muzio and Keith Tidball (Natural Resource Track)
  • CALS Soil and Crop Sciences, Amy Collins, Cheyenne Cotton, and a special shout out to Sue Hoskins and SIPS Craig Cramer

 

Weatherizing Homes – CCE-Niagara!

Inside the TinyHouse -CCE-Tompkins!

Our fearless landscaping member -CCE-Livingston!

Watch our November 19 “Electrify NY” Panel for Annual CCE InService