New Economy News | February 2024 | |
Celebrating Black History & North Country Diversity | |
With the month of February quickly coming to a close, we hope you have had a chance to reflect, learn and celebrate during this Black History Month. There have been a number of events across the region to honor the history and living legacy of our region's Black community members. | |
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Increasing Equity & Inclusion
Since 2019, the Adirondack Diversity Initiative (ADI) has been providing community-based education and outreach to empower North Country residents to build a more welcoming and inclusive region. ADI provides tools, resources and support for those seeking to advance equity and justice in their own communities.
Learn more about ADI's history and ongoing efforts to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in a recent Watertown Daily News article. Read ADI Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher's response to the display of a Confederate flag in local parade in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
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ADI Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher speaks at ANCA's 2023 Annual Meeting in Lowville | |
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How You Can Help Do the Work
Upset by persistent symbols and acts of racism, inequity and oppression in your community? Want to actively challenge injustice and support anti-racist efforts? There are many small ways you can help do this Work:
- Check out ADI's website for a resources designed to build awareness and empower us as Advocates and Allies.
- Follow ADI on Facebook, Instagram and X to engage in regional events and conversations around DEIB issues.
- ADI offers "Do the Work Thursdays" by posting weekly tips and resources to help you engage more deeply in racial equity and justice in your community. Check in on ADI and ANCA’s Facebook pages every Thursday for your weekly motivation.
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Sign up for ADI's newsletter for updates about programs, learning opportunties and more
For more inspiration, read last month's What's Up North blog — "Quoting King: the Time is Always Right to Do What is Right" — where ADI's Melanie Reding explores how Dr. Martin Luther King's words can empower each of us to make positive change in our own communities.
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We Are All in This Together
Talking Rivers' We Are All in This Together Symposium kicks off next week. The symposium, co-sponsored by ADI, is a series of three virtual events that explore how we can expand the conception of environmental stewardship beyond the human and unravel the historical roots of the climate crisis. Join us for one or all of these free evening presentations:
- De-structuring Ownership: Wed, February 28
- The Spirits of Nature: Tuesday, March 19
- Who Looks After the Water: Tuesday, April 9
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Bring in the Spring with Adirondack Buyer Days | |
Trade Show Welcomes Vendors & Buyers
ANCA's Adirondack Buyer Days trade show is just one month away — and a perfect time for retail shops to stock their shelves for the coming season. The show is still accepting vendor applications and buyer registrations, but spots are filling fast. Sign up now for this annual gathering of artisan makers and retailers from across the Northeast.
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Here are a few of the creative entrepreneurs who attended last year's show. We are excited to welcome new and returning vendors and buyers to Saratoga Springs in a few weeks! | |
Pictured at 2023 Adirondack Buyer Days: Almost Local, Adirondack Etching, Retro Sorrento, Adirondack Mountain Coffee, Cohn's Candle Bar, Mata, The Spicy Shark, A Sense of Wonder Studio | |
Become a Clean Energy Community
Find out how your community can benefit from $25 million in new funding now available under NYSERDA's Clean Energy Communities Round 3.0. The program recognizes local clean energy leadership, provides match-free grants, helps reduce municipal energy use, lowers costs, and offers additional support for projects located in disadvantaged communities.
Join the Tug Hill Commission, ANCA, Mohawk Valley Economic Development District, and Central NY Regional Planning & Development Board to learn more:
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Nancy Bernstein and Carlie Leary, two of ANCA's CEC Coordinators, supported the City of Plattsburgh Highway Department in securing funding for two new EV pickup trucks. | |
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CEC Congratulations
Congrats to the following communities who are earning credit toward clean energy project grants through NYSERDA's Clean Energy Communities Program while saving money and greenhouse gas emissions!
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Village of Carthage completed Benchmarking - Advanced Reporting and earned a free energy audit
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Town of Constable completed a municipal fleet inventory
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Town of Dickinson completed a municipal fleet inventory
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Town of Jay completed a municipal fleet inventory
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Village of Saranac Lake completed a Community hydro campaign Tier 1
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Village of Speculator converted 100% of their decorative street lights to LED
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Village of Speculator updated their Benchmarking to earn a free energy audit
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Town of Tupper Lake nominated their closed town landfill for consideration as a Build Ready site
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Town of Tupper Lake competed Benchmarking - Advanced Reporting and earned a free energy audit
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Village of Tupper Lake converted 100% of their roadway street lights to LED
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Village of Tupper Lake converted 100% of their decorative street lights to LED
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Town of Westport nominated their closed town landfill for consideration as a Build Ready site
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Town of Westport purchased electric landscaping equipment for its highway department
Extra congratulations to those communities that are earning new CEC 3.0 grants:
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Town of Constable: $10,000
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Town of Jay: $10,000
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Town of Plattsburgh: $10,000
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Town of Tupper Lake: $10,000
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Village of Saranac Lake: $5,000
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Village of Tupper Lake: $10,000
Learn how your community can earn funding for clean energy projects through the CEC program. Contact ANCA's Energy Circuit Riders today at energy@adirondack.org.
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High Impact Actions
Municipalities throughout the North Country are completing high impact clean energy actions and earning grants toward energy- and cost-saving project. Visit NYSERDA's interactive map or scorecard to see where your community stands.
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Growing Partnerships, Transforming Food Systems | |
Food Justice Summit
The Adirondack Food System Network hosts the 6th annual Food Justice Summit, themed “Stronger Together." Supported by 15 regional organizations committed to building a strong and equitable food system in the North Country, the summit will explore a number of issues related to food justice and food system resilience.
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What: Food Justice Summit
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When: Thursday, February 29, 2024
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Where: The Wild Center, Tupper Lake, N.Y.
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Seeking Farmers Market Manager
ANCA welcomes applicants for our High Peaks Farmers' Market Manager position. This part-time seasonal staff member is active March through December, managing markets in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. If you are highly organized and tech savvy, enjoy customer interaction, have strong communication skills and love our farmers' markets, please apply by Sunday, February 25. Learn more on our job opportunities page.
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Good News from Compost for Good!
Compost for Good (CfG), in partnership with AdkAction and Clarkson University hired four Compost Liaisons to support community composting and food scrap hauling businesses in the North Country. The liaisons conduct educational campaigns in North Elba, Canton, Potsdam and Malone to increase awareness about food waste and the benefits of composting.
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The campaigns will support four regional compost manufacturer and food scrap hauling businesses including North Country Compost, Blue Line Compost, Placid Earth, Whitten Family Farm and the Cook Family Farm. If you are interested in diverting your food scraps or other organic materials to a local composter, reach out and we will connect you with some resources. | |
Got Food Scraps?
Compost for Good is seeking North Country municipalities and public authorities interested in food scrap reduction and/or composting initiatives with the potential for partnership with local private entities. CfG will be aggregating interested parties into one comprehensive proposal for grant funds.
Compost for Farms
ANCA recently was awarded a small eduction grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to help educate farmers in the Champlain Basin on best practices for compost application. Many thanks to the LCBP for your support!
Questions about CfG programming and local composting opportunities can be directed to ANCA's Organics Recycling Coordinator Jen Perry at jperry@adirondack.org.
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Center for Businesses in Transition | |
Featured Business for Sale: The Caboose in Inlet, New York
Started in 2019, The Caboose is now a warm welcome to the Central Adirondacks where guests come for their annual paninis and experiences at a real caboose on Main Street in a small Central Adirondack town. Open annually from Memorial Day to Columbus Day, The Caboose is a destination for the thousands of summer residences and visitors to Inlet every spring, summer and fall. The Cabin “Behind The Caboose” is rented daily in spring and fall, weekly in summer and seasonally in winter. Learn more!
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Business Transition Fellowship
This month, the Northeast Transition Initiative (NETI) Fellowship Kickoff Retreat brought together partners and its inaugural cohort of fellows in Andover, MA to share their experiences and to learn how we can work together to create economic opportunities, preserve small businesses and jobs, and fill wealth gaps in our communities. ANCA is honored to be among the core partners to host and coordinate this fellowship. NETI aims to provide wealth building opportunities for workers and reduce the racial wealth gap through business ownership.
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Clean Energy
Conference
When: May 20-21, 2024
Where: Clayton, NY
ANCA's gathering of stakeholders, community leaders and government agencies invested in our region's clean energy future for the benefit of local communities, businesses and residents. Registration opens March 1st!
Learn more.
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ANCA Annual Meeting
When: July 26, 2024
Where: Ticonderoga, NY
We are excited to engage with our amazing partners and constituents in the Ticonderoga area. Stay tuned for more information about our Annual Meeting, but mark your calendar now!
Stay tuned.
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Bike the Barns
When: September 21, 2024
Where: Champlain Valley
ANCA's annual farm-by-bike recreational road cycling tour that highlights the rich agricultural movement of the North Country.
Registration is open! Early bird rate until April 1.
Learn more.
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Will the Revolution Be Funded?
When: March 6, 2024
Where: Virtual
Join the New Economy Coalition as it launches the Solidarity Economy Funding Library — a resource co-created with solidarity economy movement leaders and allies across the country
Learn more.
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Inspire & Ignite Women in Business Conference
When: March 7, 2024
Where: Paul Smiths, NY
Join the Saranac Lake Area Chamber for a day of networking, learning and empowerment with interactive workshops and panel discussions led by successful women in business.
Learn more.
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Cooperative Summit
When: May 4, 2024
Where: Syracuse, NY
Explore how the cooperative model works to save legacy businesses, provide for social and racial equity, and create resilient communities through democratic ownership.
Learn more.
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ICYMI: News from Around the Region | |
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North Country at Work: Making wooden ducks in Cranberry Lake, NCPR
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New York Farm to School Institute Seeks Applicants, Morning AgClips
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Defining rural America: The consequences of how we count, Center on Rural Innovation
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What’s In it for rural?, Brookings
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They Didn’t Plan to Be at the Center of a Civil Rights Battle. Then the Fearless Fund Was Sued, Time
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Investing in Enterprises That Work for Everyone, Stanford Social Innovation Review
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Building the Ship to Sail: Now Is the Time for Rural Philanthropy to Collaborate to Win, Inside Philanthropy
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Beyond the Ladder of Participation: A Trellis For Community Power, Laura Zabel, Executive Director of Springboard for the Arts
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“Exploring the Cooperative Economy” 2023 Report, International Cooperative Alliance
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A new map identifies the best spots for solar projects in St. Lawrence County, NCPR
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Village of Saranac Lake goes 100% hydroelectric, Sun Community News
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Visit our jobs page for openings with member and partner organizations and regional nonprofits:
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Clean Energy Communications Coordinator: ANCA
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Director: Rebecca V. Sheard Literacy Center, SUNY Potsdam
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Program Manager: Adirondack Food System Network
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Conservation Internship: Adirondack Council
Have an opening you want to promote? Send a web link to jobs@adirondack.org.
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Build a Resilient Regional Economy
ANCA members are growing the region's New Economy by building strong, resilient and equitable systems for local food, clean energy and small businesses. Become an ANCA member today.
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