Decarbonization Lessons Learned — Yorktown100
By: Susan Buck and Robert DeAngelis
What does it take to run an effective decarbonization campaign? How can we find reasoned yet convincing opportunities to guide and impact both our municipalities and our neighbors? I think we are all grappling with these questions. Here are some things that we at Yorktown100 have done to increase our success over the last several years. We hope that these lessons learned are useful to other chapters of CURE100.
Don't go it alone; partner with other organizations and people
As an example, when we run our annual EV car show each summer, we partner with the local Lions Club, and piggyback on one of their Sunday concerts, which draws hundreds of people. The EV cars, trucks and motorcycles, and their owners provide a wonderful opportunity for dialogue with new local friends (see article from the Yorktown News, August 2024 in the lead image above).
We also participate in the annual Yorktown Fall Festival sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce, which draws thousands, enabling us to talk with many of our neighbors about ways they too can decarbonize. We look forward to building a strong relationship with the newly formed Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce in 2025 to expand our reach to surrounding towns and businesses, and to collaborate on climate efforts.
In our efforts to respond to the needs of students and educators for climate change education throughout New York state, several of our members have joined the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force (CRETF, an arm of the National Wildlife Federation) which has a great volunteer base and includes a student steering committee. In 2024, trips to Albany were organized for educators and students to lobby our State legislators in support of a comprehensive climate education bill.
Separately, working with students from the University of Buffalo, major revisions of the Carbon Tracker were developed and implemented by a team led by three volunteer developers – two from Croton100 and one from Yorktown100. As a result, the “Expert Consultant” feature of the Carbon Tracker was released on September 1, 2024.
Make it fun
Working with the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, Yorktown100 created Climate Change Bingo by building on a “Wheel of Misfortune” climate quiz created by Croton100. The event drew about 70 attendees to a local restaurant. Prizes were given to our ‘Climate Experts’ and everyone had a great time! Anyone is welcome to copy this Climate Change Bingo slide deck and customize it for their own purposes.
The Peekskill100 team also ran a successful Climate Change Bingo, based on the quiz and format Yorktown100 had already developed along with FCWC.
We also created a raffle for a $200 electric leaf blower. To qualify for a raffle ticket, a person
would spend a little time discussing with us how to reduce their carbon emissions. We also made earth-friendly games for the children with prizes. People are more likely to attend if there is fun and/or food!
Work with local school systems
In Yorktown, we calculated the emissions for the Yorktown Central School District (YCSD), and shared it with the Superintendent and Director of Facilities. We continue to attend meetings and offer advice and some criticism. Although no significant action has yet been taken, our next step is to get the science teachers to run the Carbon Tracker, and to ask their students to do the same, while discussing
with their parents. Research shows that students, especially young ones, have a significant impact in helping their parents understand the critical nature of climate change.
Work with local governments
Several members of Yorktown100 have been on the local Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Task Force for several years. Through our efforts, and supported by our superintendent at the time, we achieved bronze certification in the CSC program. That improved some of the Town’s procedures and actions, and yielded grants. It also caused improved awareness of our climate situation. More needs to be done, and we plan on working on relationships with the new administration.
Lead by example and share success stories
Members of Yorktown100 have taken steps to reduce their own personal household carbon footprints, such as signing up for community solar, rooftop solar, adopting heat pumps, and transitioning to electric cars.
We have shared newspaper articles (see for example Climate change in the classroom, Eco-quest to reduce Yorktown’s carbon footprint, Anatomy of a ‘green’ home in Yorktown and Anatomy of a green home, part 2) to show the route taken by different homeowners in our area to reduce their household emissions.
Take advantage of the CURE100 team and other climate warriors
There are many people in the CURE100 organization that have tremendous knowledge and experience. CURE100 also provides insurance for local events of its chapters. Don’t hesitate to reach out… please attend the monthly meetings to get to know the people and resources available… and subscribe to receive blogs like this one. Whether you are looking to make your chapter more effective, or start a new chapter, we can help!
The most important thing in achieving success is getting a strong and committed team. We are fortunate in Yorktown to have some wonderful volunteers. This is partially due to the fact that we have become known in the community through our consistent visibility over several years.
