Climate-Smart Grants go to Adirondack Farms, Businesses
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John F. Sheehan
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Climate-Smart Grants go to Adirondack Farms, Businesses
Grants Awarded to 23 Farmers & Entrepreneurs to Build Low-Carbon Economy
ELIZABETHTOWN, N.Y. -- The Adirondack Council and the Klipper Family Fund, working with a coalition of partner organizations, today celebrated Earth Day by awarding its second round of Cool Farms/Healthy Park micro-grants to 23 Adirondack farmers and small business owners.
The grants are designed to make local farms and small businesses more environmentally friendly while helping them to remain -- or become -- an important part of a sustainable Adirondack economy.
Among the winners were three businesses in Newcomb and another in nearby Indian Lake, where tens of thousands of acres of newly acquired state Forest Preserve is likely to attract new visitors. Other grants will help farmers purchase solar-powered fences, for example, or water livestock more efficiently without using fuel or disturbing streams. Others will grow crops that will capture and store carbon in the soil.
“We received twice as many applications as last year and I am happy to say we have more money to grant this year as well,” said William C. Janeway, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council. “In all, we awarded more than $27,000 to help with some really exciting projects. Many of the grants are for solar power projects, while others funded energy efficiency improvements and equipment to extend the length of the growing season. Business grants went to outfitters, tourist accommodations, a small internet provider and an ice cream shop.”
“Climate-smart Adirondack farms and businesses provide our communities with safe local food, jobs and tourism attractions while helping to combat global climate change and to protect Adirondack water, wildlife and wilderness,” said Courtney Klipper, co-founder of the Klipper Family Fund. “These Adirondack farmers and business owners are taking it upon themselves to be greener. We are thrilled to help them achieve that goal.”
“Sustainable local farms and businesses help everyone avoid burning huge amounts of fossil fuel to obtain the food, products and services we need every day,” said Nathaniel Klipper, the other co-founder of the Klipper Family Fund. Courtney and Nathaniel are part-time residents of Essex.
The 23 grants awarded by the Council’s Cool Farms/Health Park program were divided into 16 grants to local farms and seven grants to local businesses. In some cases, the grants covered the entire cost of the project, but in most cases, the grant supplemented other funds and grants.
Today’s awards include grants to farms (totaling $18,355.25):
- Craigardan, of Keene, $1,200 to build four solar-electric chargers to power electric fences;
- DaCy Meadow Farm, Westport, $1,500 to purchase, site, construct, and utilize a hydraulic ram pump (an energy-free watering system);
- Echo Farm, Essex, $1,500 for solar powered irrigation for vegetables and livestock;
- Essex Farm, Essex, $2,000 for carbon-sequestration via planting of four types of legumes;
- Essex Farm Institute, Essex, $1,500 to host first local Carbon Farming Symposium in 2017;
- Full & By Farm, Essex, $1,000 for maintenance and upgrades for horse-drawn farming equipment;
- Harris Family Farm, Westport, $1,000 to purchase horse-drawn hay wagon;
- Hub on the Hill, Essex, $1,000 for phase 2 of solar installation project (funded phase 1 in 2016);
- Juniper Hill Farm, Westport, $600 for the construction of 1,000-gallon steam autoclave for mushroom spawn sterilization;
- Oregano Flats Farm, Saranac, $1,055.25 for purchase of “phase-change material” to improve thermal mass for solar gain;
- Reber Rock Farm, Essex, $1,500 to weld a mechanical thumb to an for excavator bucket and to purchase a composting thermometer;
- Rehoboth Homestead, Peru, $1,500 to install a 10.44kw photovoltaic solar-power system;
- Tangleroot Farm, Essex, $1,000 to purchase and install a high tunnel (a 30'x100x passively heated growing space);
- Tim Rowland’s Farm, Jay, $1,000 to build solar-powered fencing/watering system, and tree planting along the Ausable River;
- Ben Wever Farm, of Willsboro, $500 toward secure bee-keeping equipment; and,
- Wildwork Farm, Keene Valley, $500 for a moveable greenhouse.
Small-business grants (totaling $8,799) went to:
- Adirondac Rafting Company, Indian Lake, $1,500 for insulation of doors;
- Adirondack Hotel, Long Lake, $1,500 to help replace inefficient windows; insulate dining room; convert building to LED lighting;
- Cloud-Splitter Outfitters, Newcomb, $1,500 for a solar power project;
- CV-Wireless Internet Provider, Essex, $1,000 to help expand internet access to more local farms;
- Hoot Owl Lodge, Newcomb, $1,299, for spray-foam insulation;
- Scoops Great Ice Cream & More, Newcomb, $500 to improve air conditioning efficiency; and,
- The Inn at Santanoni, Newcomb, $1,500 for energy efficient appliance and insulation updates.
The Council received 39 applications, or double the number received in the 2016 inaugural request for proposals. The Council received 30 applications from farms and nine from small businesses. Non-farm businesses were not eligible in 2016.
The Council supports the micro-grants through its Cool Farms/Healthy Park program in which the organization obtains carbon pollution allowances from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and works with donors to retire them -- unused. Every allowance retired prevents one ton of carbon emissions from Northeast power plants. Donated funds are reinvested in both farm grants that reduce the local carbon footprint, and in obtaining additional allowances.
Additional funding came from the Lookout Fund, and International Paper Co.
“International Paper is committed to supporting local communities and improving the quality of life for Adirondack residents,” IP’s Ticonderoga Mill Manager Jay Wilson said in January. “Helping local farms and business to succeed is part of that commitment.”
Grants were reviewed by the Council and a panel of partners that included individuals representing the American Farmland Trust, Open Space Institute, Adirondack North Country Association, the Adirondack Foundation and Cornell Cooperative Extension.
“The Adirondack Council thanks the Klipper Fund, Lookout Fund, International Papers, and other sponsors for their support, and the American Farmland Trust, Adirondack North Country Association, Open Space Institute, International Paper, the Adirondack Foundation, and Cornell Cooperative Extension, for input and advice,” said Mr. Janeway. “Together these partners and Adirondack farmers and small businesses are showing the world how we can live and work together, and protect what is special about the Adirondacks.
Founded in 1975, the Adirondack Council is a privately funded, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park.
The Council envisions an Adirondack Park comprised of core wilderness areas, surrounded by working forests and farms, and vibrant rural communities. The Council carries out its mission and vision through research, education, advocacy and legal action. Adirondack Council members live in all 50 United States.
