Humanity is in the midst of a major wake-up as we recognize and confront the climate crisis.
Our mission: to speed up, scale up, jazz up and leverage progress against climate change, creating communities where people and nature thrive.
Problem Solving Partnerships
To build a common vision for the work to be done, SHV has coordinated the creation of a Regional Climate Action Road Map and Tool Kit. Involving over 90 experts and advocates, the Road Map identifies a series of key projects to remove barriers and lay the groundwork for a carbon-free, regenerative economy. SHV is now helping to activate these projects. Sustainable Hudson Valley has broad-based expertise on the range of climate change causes and solutions. We were early to recognize the “invisible opportunity” of dealing with refrigerant gases in heating and cooling equipment, which are many times more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. We co-founded New Yorkers for Cool Refrigerant Management, a unique and effective organization.
Kyle Conway, Teacher at Balmville Elementary School and First Vice President of NAACP Newburgh Highland Falls, teaching a learning session on environmental justice for Planting Power Newburgh participants.
Education and Inspiration
To educate, inspire and connect local leadership, each year we coordinate Hudson Valley Climate Solutions Week, a festival of ideas and a call to action that in 2023 produced over 60 community events, as well as media coverage, from Westchester County to Albany. We have also helped to form a local Climate Speakers Bureau, a newly formed resource to help municipalities and organizations find vetted experts to present on climate issues at virtual and in person events.
Community Programs
Hudson Valley Repair Café Demonstration, Live on the Today Show, at Rockefeller Center, April 2023. To see a recording of the segment, click here.
SHV helps people take action in their communities with programs that build a sense of self-reliance and confidence while achieving measurable results, like the Repair Café, Planting Power Newburgh, and our Clean Energy Outreach Program.
“Even though climate change is scary and overwhelming, I’ve found that working on it at the local level has been a joy. I’ve met the most wonderful people! We need that connection and direct action to feel engaged on a human level.”
Vanessa Bertozzi, Trustee, Village Board of Rhinebeck
Getting it Done: By the Numbers
Working with many community partners, SHV gets results.
Repair Cafes: 70 and counting. More than 3,769 items saved from the landfill in 2023.
Planting Power Newburgh: 2,000 pollinator plants and 48 fruit and shade trees planted by over 104 volunteers
Clean Power Guide: 100,000 readers in ten counties
Regional Climate Action Road Map and Tool Kit: leadership coalition representing 7 counties and the full spectrum of climate solutions