New Economy News | February 2024

Upcoming opportunities include:

February 25: “The Black Woods and Adirondack Exceptionalism” talk by Amy Godine at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall

February 25: “Reflections on African American History” talk by Connor Williams, hosted by John Brown Lives!, Lake Placid

February 27: Black History Film Festival presentations and films hosted by SUNY Adirondack and partners, Queensbury and Glens Falls

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.

ADI Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher speaks at ANCA's 2023 Annual Meeting in Lowville

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.
• 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.

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

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.

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!

• Village of Carthage completed Benchmarking - Advanced Reporting and earned a free energy audit
• Town of Constable completed a municipal fleet inventory
• Town of Dickinson completed a municipal fleet inventory
• Town of Jay completed a municipal fleet inventory
• Village of Saranac Lake completed a Community hydro campaign Tier 1
• Village of Speculator converted 100% of their decorative street lights to LED
• Village of Speculator updated their Benchmarking to earn a free energy audit
• Town of Tupper Lake nominated their closed town landfill for consideration as a Build Ready site
• Town of Tupper Lake competed Benchmarking - Advanced Reporting and earned a free energy audit
• Village of Tupper Lake converted 100% of their roadway street lights to LED
• Village of Tupper Lake converted 100% of their decorative street lights to LED
• Town of Westport nominated their closed town landfill for consideration as a Build Ready site
• Town of Westport purchased electric landscaping equipment for its highway department

Extra congratulations to those communities that are earning new CEC 3.0 grants:

• Town of Constable: $10,000
• Town of Jay: $10,000
• Town of Plattsburgh: $10,000
• Town of Tupper Lake: $10,000 
• Village of Saranac Lake: $5,000
• 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.

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.

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.

Contact the Center for Businesses in Transition at transitions@adirondack.org for more information about The Caboose or other North Country businesses for sale.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• North Country at Work: Making wooden ducks in Cranberry Lake, NCPR
• New York Farm to School Institute Seeks Applicants, Morning AgClips
• Defining rural America: The consequences of how we count, Center on Rural Innovation
• What’s In it for rural?, Brookings 
• They Didn’t Plan to Be at the Center of a Civil Rights Battle. Then the Fearless Fund Was Sued, Time
• Investing in Enterprises That Work for Everyone, Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Building the Ship to Sail: Now Is the Time for Rural Philanthropy to Collaborate to Win, Inside Philanthropy 
• Beyond the Ladder of Participation: A Trellis For Community Power, Laura Zabel, Executive Director of Springboard for the Arts
• “Exploring the Cooperative Economy” 2023 Report, International Cooperative Alliance  
• A new map identifies the best spots for solar projects in St. Lawrence County, NCPR
• Village of Saranac Lake goes 100% hydroelectric, Sun Community News