The Kirkland Clinton Climate Smart Task Force, a volunteer community organization, spearheaded the efforts to obtain the DEC certification, “which supports local efforts to meet the economic, social, and environmental challenges posed by climate change.”
The village earned Bronze certification under the program and received a $10,000 grant under the Clean Energy Community Program for its climate-related work.
“Task force members and village staff worked hard to reach this goal, but we also want to acknowledge the invaluable help provided by Hamilton College staff and students,” said Alma Lowry, task force coordinator and Hamilton lecturer in environmental studies. “They were a critical part of our work. The Clinton High School LEAP Club was also very helpful with early public outreach.”
Hamilton students completed two key climate actions that helped Clinton earn its Climate Smart designation. The Municipal Greenhouse Gas Inventory was completed by Jason Kauppila ’22 as part of an independent study he conducted with Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Aaron Strong. Kauppila presented the study to the village board and mayor in May 2022.
The Climate Vulnerability Assessment was done by the fall 2020 Environmental Studies Climate Risk and Resilience class as the key final project in the course. This was a semester-long collaborative effort in which students hosted a community meeting and produced a vulnerability assessment for the village.
The students involved were Gabrielle Buck ’21, Lupita Cabanas ’21, James Carhart ’21, Andrew Court ’22, Ben Given ’22, Emory Goodwin ’22, Asha Grossberndt ’21, Amy Harf ’21, Jason Kauppila ’22, Francesca Lanni ’22, Nina Merz ’22, Eric Nahm ’21, Ravena Pernanand ’21, Nick Rutigliano ’22, Sean Storr ’22, Emma Stuart ’22, and Gab Venne ’22.
Prior to Lowry, Professor of Government Steve Orvis was the task force coordinator. Strong has been a member of the task force since 2020 when it was formed.
With this achievement, Clinton joins a small group of municipalities that are taking a leading role in meeting the challenges posed by climate change.
