Communities Get Help in Preventing Pollution

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Laura W. Nelson

Mark Coleman, senior program manager at the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute at RIT gives a presentation during the Genesee Valley Audubon Society's 2009 Sustainable Communities Summit. The society received a community grant award from the pollution prevention institute to assist in putting on the summit, which featured local environmental, political and community leaders discussing methods for improving sustainability in the region.

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute is now accepting applications for its 2009-2010 Community Grants Program.

The initiative is a unique effort that provides financial and technical assistance to non-profit organizations and local governments for projects leading to the implementation of practices and behaviors at the local level that improve the health, environmental quality and economic vitality of New York state communities.

“Our mission is to provide a statewide, comprehensive program of technology research, development and diffusion, and outreach with training and education aimed at making New York state more sustainable,” notes Anahita Williamson, director of the institute. “The Community Grants Program assists local communities looking to more directly address pollution and environmental quality in the state of New York and provides the financial and technical assistance necessary to make these goals a reality.”

Last year, the institute provided community grants to nine organizations across New York state. Past projects include workshops involving local procurement and green product certification, community outreach projects responding to community concerns and projects that provided education to elementary and middle school children regarding pollution prevention.

The 2009-2010 Community Grant award winners will be announced in December. For more information about the program and to download an application form, visit www.nysp2i.rit.edu/community_grants.html.

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute is housed at Rochester Institute of Technology and provides statewide, comprehensive and integrated programs in research, outreach and training and education aimed at making New York state more sustainable for workers, the public, the environment and the economy. The institute was created in 2008 through a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Additional partners include Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Clarkson University, State University of New York at Buffalo and New York’s 10 Regional Technology Development Centers.