NYSDEC recognizes Canandaigua and Gates through its Climate Smart Communities Program

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (WROC) — In 2009 the NYSDEC introduced its Climate Smart Communities program, designed to help communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resiliency to climate change, and get a foot in the door for the “green” economy.

The program offers two main levels of certifications for municipalities to earn, Bronze and Silver with a third Gold tier being developed. These different levels not only serve to recognize the work being done in these communities but also help them secure additional grant money for further projects related to climate resiliency and mitigation.

In our region, Gates was recently awarded the Bronze level, and Canandaigua earned the coveted Silver level, joining just 13 other communities across the state to do so. Other communities in the program also at the Bronze level include Monroe County, Brighton, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Pittsford, Sodus, and Geneva.

The program recently crossed over a new threshold too according to Mara Louise Shea, a Climate Policy Analyst in the Office of Climate Change at the NYSDEC.

“We are at 154 certified communities. And that is out of 1,585 municipalities in the state. […] We only recently celebrated getting to 100 certified communities. So to get to 150 just a few months later is really cool. “

Shea contributes some of the success of the program to New York State’s growing commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and building climate resiliency. Along with the fact that some communities might be seeing changes in long-term patterns related to the weather that may be the result of climate change.

“The Climate Act, New York State’s Climate Act, pledging to reach net zero emissions by 2050, is getting more visibility now in the news and communities are also starting to actually feel the impacts of climate change in their regions from shorter winters, less snow, more extreme heat events during the summertime, as well as flooding,” said Shea.

For Canandaigua, according to Shawna Bonshack the Assistant City Manager of the City of Canandaigua, they feel like a leader for the region having earned the silver designation.

“This is big, the jump from bronze, which we were thrilled to have, the jump from bronze to a silver designation is significant,” said Bonshack. “We feel that we’re a leader in climate smart actions. So we’re thrilled and we still have a lot of work to do.”

Examples of some of what Canandaigua has done to earn the Silver level include: changing lighting in municipal buildings and down Main Street to energy-efficient LEDs, a composting program to reduce residential waste, and adding more options for renewable energy.

“We have zero-emission vehicles on our fleet so we’ve got some new Ford Lightning zero-emission vehicles. We have all solar EV chargers we have other EV chargers [too],” said Bonshack.

An upcoming major project includes replacing the primary methods for heating and cooling some buildings owned by the city, with a grant they received in part due to their status as a Silver level city.

“One project that we’re actually working on right now via grant funding because we are a designated silver community is we’re replacing the HVAC system in our police department with heat pumps,” said Bonshack.

One of the main pillars of this program is involvement from the community. A sentiment echoed by both Shea and Bonshack.

“Our task force is made up of community members who are really passionate about the environment and we couldn’t have done it without them for sure,” said Bonshack.

“Our program is really driven by local volunteers, and residents, and people who are passionate about this work are often the ones who initiate climate smart communities efforts,” said Shea. “If you’re interested in getting your community more involved in climate work, you know, we really encourage folks to check out our website. Check out our resources, bring them to a town hall meeting or a village hall meeting, and say: ‘Hey, you know, this is something that we think is important and we want our municipal officials to do something about it.'”

For more information on the Climate Smart Communities program, how to get involved, and see what has been done in other you can find the program’s website here .

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