Image courtesy of Frost Valley YMCA
The Frost Valley YMCA promotes healthy living and social responsibility.
Naturalist and essayist John Burroughs grew up in the Catskills, and loved the mountains and fresh water that surrounded him at Slabsides, the Ulster County cabin he built in 1895. Even earlier, Ulster County has been at the forefront of defining the cultural value of protecting our landscapes and our natural resources. In recent years, the county has emerged as a clean energy leader, becoming the first carbon-neutral county government in New York State, supporting the deployment of renewable energy and building out a robust network of electric vehicle charging stations. The UC 2040 plan includes positioning businesses and the local workforce to invest in 21st-century green infrastructure, and developing centers of excellence in the research and development of clean energy and water technologies. These local businesses exemplify the aim of that plan.
Community Compost Company
The average household produces about eight pounds of food scraps a week. If it ends up in a landfill, it produces methane gas—not to mention the fuel expended to truck it there. In 2013, Eileen Banyra’s Community Compost Company (CCC) began collecting food scraps weekly from residential and business customers in Ulster County, and composting them in Kerhonkson to produce a certified organic compost that’s sold through Hudson Soil Company to garden centers, home gardeners, and landscapers. Ulster County is a good fit for CCC, showing environmental consciousness through mandates like 2019’s “Food Waste Prevention and Recovery Act,” which will remove food waste generated on an annual basis from the waste stream. And the women-owned CCC has been welcomed by residents and businesses alike, according to Director of Operations Molly Lindsay.
Highland Passive House
When celebrity interior designer Cathy Hobbs, ASID, relocated her business to Ulster County three years ago, she wanted it to be a dynamic resource for the area. Her vision coalesced into what will be the first Passive House Institute-certified, multi-use, passive warehouse in North America. The 12,500-square-foot building will be built using prefabricated passive panels; solar energy, along with other smart building materials, will steer the building toward a net-zero, carbon-neutral status. When finished in December 2022, it will house Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes—her BIPOC-owned real estate staging, styling, and furniture rental company—a social media content center, a production suite, a kitchen studio, and other amenities. Its Highland location will be an asset for new homebuyers and weekenders looking for furnishings, she says.
Watch the Highland Passive House sizzle reel:
Energy Conservation Services
In the push to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, an important fact is ignored: How to keep that heated or cooled air inside the building. A silver-dollar-sized hole can release 30 percent of the heat in a home, says Melinda McKnight, who owns Port Ewen’s Energy Conservation Services with her husband, Bill McKnight. The company works with homeowners and businesses to insulate and tighten up their buildings, and to improve the air quality inside them. Ulster County has been the McKnight family’s home for the past 300 years: “It’s important for me that I remain in the Hudson Valley,” Melinda McKnight says. “We go above and beyond to make a healthy place for our customers.”
Alfandre Architecture
Architect Rick Alfandre has dedicated his life to creating sustainable, healthy places for people to live, work, and play. His work is evident at the Emerson resort in Mount Tremper; Minnewaska Lodge in Gardiner; and the recent renovation of a former warehouse into the Town of New Paltz police and court building, which will use no fossil fuels except a backup generator. Alfandre’s own LEED-platinum, 5,400-square-foot office building in New Paltz costs just $32 per month to heat and cool. It was the first net-zero-energy building in the state. But his designs take more than just money into consideration. “It’s not just about driving energy costs down,” Alfandre says. “It’s clean water, dark night skies. I’m an environmentalist at heart. I made a commitment 40 years ago to protect the environment.”
Frost Valley YMCA
Frost Valley YMCA, a camping, environmental education, and conferencing center, has gained a reputation for promoting healthy living and social responsibility. In addition to a wide variety of onsite programming that includes summer camps, day camps, and family camps, the YMCA provides quality, child care programs for the local community through its day care in Claryville, its afterschool program at the Tri-Valley Elementary School in Grahamsville, and its Day Camp in Claryville. Programming pivoted during the pandemic to include a brand new Outdoor & Virtual Learning Center, and produce from the Y’s greenhouses and 515-acre educational farm was donated to feed schoolchildren. “Frost Valley’s long-term strategic plan not only drives the economics of our operation but also the aspiration to continually strive to best serve the community while minimizing our carbon footprint,” says Jerry Huncosky, CEO of Frost Valley YMCA. “Our commitment to environmental responsibility is evident in our goal to reduce carbon emissions and source more of our own food and energy.”
Image courtesy of Community Compost Company
Eileen Banyra saw food scraps being wasted, and started Community Compost Company to reduce landfill impacts.
The average household produces about eight pounds of food scraps a week. If it ends up in a landfill, it produces methane gas—not to mention the fuel expended to truck it there. In 2013, Eileen Banyra’s Community Compost Company (CCC) began collecting food scraps weekly from residential and business customers in Ulster County, and composting them in Kerhonkson to produce a certified organic compost that’s sold through Hudson Soil Company to garden centers, home gardeners, and landscapers. Ulster County is a good fit for CCC, showing environmental consciousness through mandates like 2019’s “Food Waste Prevention and Recovery Act,” which will remove food waste generated on an annual basis from the waste stream. And the women-owned CCC has been welcomed by residents and businesses alike, according to Director of Operations Molly Lindsay.
Image courtesy of Cathy Hobbs, ASID
Cathy Hobbs, ASID, is spearheading the first Passive House Institute-certified, multi-use, passive warehouse in North America.
When celebrity interior designer Cathy Hobbs, ASID, relocated her business to Ulster County three years ago, she wanted it to be a dynamic resource for the area. Her vision coalesced into what will be the first Passive House Institute-certified, multi-use, passive warehouse in North America. The 12,500-square-foot building will be built using prefabricated passive panels; solar energy, along with other smart building materials, will steer the building toward a net-zero, carbon-neutral status. When finished in December 2022, it will house Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes—her BIPOC-owned real estate staging, styling, and furniture rental company—a social media content center, a production suite, a kitchen studio, and other amenities. Its Highland location will be an asset for new homebuyers and weekenders looking for furnishings, she says.
Watch the Highland Passive House sizzle reel:
HIGHLAND PASSIVE HOUSE PROMO VIDEO from Cathy Hobbs on Vimeo.
Image courtesy of Energy Conservation Services
Energy Conservation Services insulates and tightens buildings to ensure efficient heating and cooling, as well as improving their air quality.
In the push to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, an important fact is ignored: How to keep that heated or cooled air inside the building. A silver-dollar-sized hole can release 30 percent of the heat in a home, says Melinda McKnight, who owns Port Ewen’s Energy Conservation Services with her husband, Bill McKnight. The company works with homeowners and businesses to insulate and tighten up their buildings, and to improve the air quality inside them. Ulster County has been the McKnight family’s home for the past 300 years: “It’s important for me that I remain in the Hudson Valley,” Melinda McKnight says. “We go above and beyond to make a healthy place for our customers.”
Image courtesy of Alfandre Architecture
Architect Rick Alfandre’s New Paltz office was the first net-zero-energy building in New York.
Architect Rick Alfandre has dedicated his life to creating sustainable, healthy places for people to live, work, and play. His work is evident at the Emerson resort in Mount Tremper; Minnewaska Lodge in Gardiner; and the recent renovation of a former warehouse into the Town of New Paltz police and court building, which will use no fossil fuels except a backup generator. Alfandre’s own LEED-platinum, 5,400-square-foot office building in New Paltz costs just $32 per month to heat and cool. It was the first net-zero-energy building in the state. But his designs take more than just money into consideration. “It’s not just about driving energy costs down,” Alfandre says. “It’s clean water, dark night skies. I’m an environmentalist at heart. I made a commitment 40 years ago to protect the environment.”
Image courtesy of Frost Valley YMCA
Within its programming that includes camps, child care, and a 515-acre educational farm, Frost Valley YMCA is committed to environmental responsibility.
Frost Valley YMCA, a camping, environmental education, and conferencing center, has gained a reputation for promoting healthy living and social responsibility. In addition to a wide variety of onsite programming that includes summer camps, day camps, and family camps, the YMCA provides quality, child care programs for the local community through its day care in Claryville, its afterschool program at the Tri-Valley Elementary School in Grahamsville, and its Day Camp in Claryville. Programming pivoted during the pandemic to include a brand new Outdoor & Virtual Learning Center, and produce from the Y’s greenhouses and 515-acre educational farm was donated to feed schoolchildren. “Frost Valley’s long-term strategic plan not only drives the economics of our operation but also the aspiration to continually strive to best serve the community while minimizing our carbon footprint,” says Jerry Huncosky, CEO of Frost Valley YMCA. “Our commitment to environmental responsibility is evident in our goal to reduce carbon emissions and source more of our own food and energy.”
