<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[CSClaverack]]></title><description><![CDATA[CSClaverack]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:43:28 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[The Joys of Burning Meadows]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Jeff Kiplinger When we bought our house on nine acres in 2013, we decided to open up some of the scrubby woodland and began a long process of learning how to increase biodiversity on the land.  We wanted more diversity of native plants and trees, fewer invasive plants, and habitat for birds and insects.  Instinctively – without much reasoning about why this was important – we cleared and left some areas open as “meadows”.  We have three areas we call meadows, ranging from 1/8 acre to just...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/the-joys-of-burning-meadows</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d7f976646a4e908b71dd9c</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:14:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_28b839924d0e4e1d88fe434c36ef2814~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Practical Solution For Our County’s Housing Crisis]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Al Bellenchia Firstly, I want to invite everyone to Columbia-Greene Habitat for Humanity’s upcoming Community Celebration on May 2nd at our new ReStore location in Livingston, which marks the beginning of the next chapter for our organization. Everyone is welcome to come learn more about our vision and plans, how to support Habitat, meet our team, and tour a prototype home being built on-site that reflects our new direction: modern, energy-efficient homes designed to be safe, sustainable,...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/a-practical-solution-for-our-county-s-housing-crisis</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d6f6e10b7119100dff54b4</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:58:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_df5f4080d8d24a3392eb7f455fc3cd31~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_619,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Claverack Moves Forward on Renewable Energy and Efficiency]]></title><description><![CDATA[By, Climate Smart Claverack Committee Since Claverack Climate Smart’s inception in 2020, improving energy efficiency of town operations has been a central aspect of our mission. In March the town board took a major step by contracting with Centrica, an energy management design and engineering company, to conduct a feasibility analysis of a full energy improvement project for the town garage. This will include:  A ground mounted solar array, which will offset energy demands of the town garage...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/claverack-moves-forward-on-renewable-energy-and-efficiency</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d6f57b89f9e676eca2555c</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:43:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_ede7879940444585aa14a105ca7ae19a~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_799,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[SCAPE Ballots are Live!]]></title><description><![CDATA[The final phase of the SCAPE project is here! We are now collecting votes on ideas submitted by community members over the past six months. To facilitate voting, we have grouped the more than 100 ideas we received into nine options, or focal areas. The descriptions of each option include the specific ideas suggested by community members during our listening campaign. These ideas were submitted by folks with different backgrounds and perspectives, and show a range of visions for our...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/scape-ballots-are-live</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d6f45d0b7119100dff4f47</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:37:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_6259d53b904142a1adccd3da6a0b2511~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[2026 Taghkanic Talks Schedule Set]]></title><description><![CDATA[Upon the heels of the very successful beaver talk in January, the Climate Smart and Conservation Advisory Committee of Taghkanic has announced the remainder of the 2026 line up for the Taghkanic Talks series . Tim Kennelty, Taghkanic Talks  organizer for 2026, says “Following up on our popular Forests in Your Backyard program in 2025, we are excited to announce the new 2026 theme for the Taghkanic Talks, The Plants and Animals in Your Backyard . In addition to the talk on beavers in January,...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/2026-taghkanic-talks-schedule-set</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69855ed62764679ea70f39a2</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 03:31:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_f83589fe81054dbf96c57e71f6a44088~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review of Bill McKibben’s Here Comes the Sun]]></title><description><![CDATA[By John Bradley Bill McKibben is an American environmental writer, journalist and organizer. In 1989 he published his first book, The End of Nature , which elaborated on global warming and climate change and became an environmental classic. His latest book, Here Comes the   Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization  is a timely report card analyzing the global effort to slow and then reverse global warming and its increasingly devastating effects.  He documents...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/review-of-bill-mckibben-s-here-comes-the-sun</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69855c11e14322a9a910460d</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 03:21:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_6c1c26fe1cf54b17b22afe6cff9bad09~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_686,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Deep Winter Garden Reflection: Stop Digging and Start Observing]]></title><description><![CDATA[by E. Aliperti  If you are like me, your Spring garden is a year long cycle involving a lot of planning. I’m heavily informed by research and observations I’ve made over the past twenty years in various gardens that I’ve had a hand in creating. I keep a journal with things that stand out and review it in the winter as part of my spring routine. I noted that last year, I invested in 28 potted native trees and shrubs , placing them strategically around my property. This spring, I’ll plant close...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/deep-winter-garden-reflection-stop-digging-and-start-observing</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6985568c96663872685d5b9c</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 02:58:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_612a7265479a44f798e60f6671160df8~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_617,h_300,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fighting the Endless Winter Blues]]></title><description><![CDATA[by Tim Kennelty It feels like we’ve already lived through many months of winter.  I guess it’s the feeling we get when we’re holed up in our cozy dens evading the early snow and frigid temperatures while trying to avert our eyes as the world around us gets crazier and more dangerous.  A friend of mine recently wrote to me that all she wanted to do was escape to her garden. While that doesn’t make a lot of practical sense at this time of year, my gardening soul completely gets it. The good...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/fighting-the-endless-winter-blues</link><guid isPermaLink="false">698532d3e14322a9a90fe2bc</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:21:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_f2bcfefeef384ca5ad12435613b31920~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Update on SCAPE Project]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Anya Bonanno, Funding Futures Fellow &#38; SCAPE Coordinator Claverack and Philmont are participating in Partners for Climate Action’s Funding Futures program, which provides training and funding support for communities to implement a year-long listening campaign. The goal of the listening campaign is to identify our community’s top ecological goals and funding mechanisms that could support them. We have named our project “ SCAPE ,” short for “Stewarding Claverack and Philmont’s Environment.”...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/update-on-scape-project</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69852eab96663872685cfbba</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:03:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_71f4b31f4ce047dfa68d9767493ef975~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[One Thousand Pounds of Plastic Diverted from Landfills]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Sarah Katan Congratulations to the Claverack Free Library for collecting one thousand pounds of plastic film packaging and recycling with the NexTrex Recycling Challenge rather than letting it go to landfills. Once again, the residents of Claverack and surrounding towns have proven that reducing their environmental impact is important. Collected at the Library, the plastic is weighed and submitted to a local collection center and then utilized by the NexTrex company to make Trex decking....]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/one-thousand-pounds-of-plastic-diverted-from-landfills</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68f0538160ceb7e0d1fe6a5d</guid><pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 02:10:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_4816b488c81e4a7f892037f5403785e4~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_596,h_682,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Save the Date – Saturday, November 15]]></title><description><![CDATA[Taghkanic Talks presents Not all Forests are Created Equal: A Closer Look at Our Forest Habitats and Their Biodiversity by Claudia Knab-Vispo, Conrad Vispo, (Co-Authors) and their colleague, Kyle Bradford.   The authors of the recently published Field Guide, From the Hudson to the Taconics: An Ecological and Cultural Field Guide to the Habitats of Columbia County, New York will demonstrate how to use the Field Guide as a tool to:    Recognize various habitats in Columbia County including...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/save-the-date-saturday-november-15</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68ef0bc3fba3cd71b3ca388b</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 02:49:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_4dd9179b5c1f484c89811f1544dada3f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[THE GRATEFUL GARDENER]]></title><description><![CDATA[by Tim Kennelty It’s Fall: Time to Plant Native Perennials Hi, I’m Tim Kennelty. I live in the Town of Taghkanic. I’m a Master Gardener and trained as a Master Naturalist and Master Forest Owner through Cornell Cooperative Extension. This is my inaugural column where I hope to regularly share some tidbits on nature and gardening with links to relevant episodes of Nature Calls , a podcast that I co-hosted, as well as more detailed information and articles if you want to take a deeper dive on...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/the-grateful-gardener</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68ef09edfba3cd71b3ca365c</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 02:43:47 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_996692ee08fe42429936027b3ba23413~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Double Feature: Tallamy Walk &#38; Talk]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Katy Flammia Dr. Doug Tallamy , acclaimed author and native plant advocate, gave a lecture at the Columbia Greene Community College and led a couple of field walks at Arthur’s Point Farm in Ghent in September. ( Arthur’s Point Farm  was a sponsor of the event and wonderful local resources for plants and trees.  New Leaf Tree Service  was another sponsor and great source for ecologically minded tree care and tree and meadow planting.) On the walks, Tallamy spoke about many of the native...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/double-feature-tallamy-walk-talk</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68ef060fa71bf0378378adce</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 02:31:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_9d1a2a493f55475fa7b8b4b6966d0041~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Grant Awarded to Initiate SCAPE Project]]></title><description><![CDATA[Claverack &#38; Philmont Residents: In the next 5-10 years, decisions affecting the environment/landscape of our communities are going to come up, and there are many outside pressures that could influence what happens. We want to make sure that the people who live here are heard first. To this end, a group of community volunteers, including many from our Climate Smart taskforces, are undertaking a year-long, non-partisan listening project called Stewarding Claverack and Philmont's Environment ,...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/grant-awarded-to-initiate-scape-project</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68ef00857e7b272d1ee6c012</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 02:17:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_c83bb5b6db20436ca9a5eab6b72073f2~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Nature &#38; Small Family Agriculture Is a Gift to Us]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Brenda Shufelt A small portion of the field across from the Barn at Miller’s Crossing, photo by author Liquid Gold in a bottle, sold...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/when-nature-small-family-agriculture-is-a-gift-to-us</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68a374e953cbbb01ad8e011c</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Aug 2025 18:53:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_cf2d25d1f0ab455ab1ede13a1ab772a3~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Annual Repair Cafe Continues Positive Community Impact]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Sarah Katan On a beautiful Saturday morning, the Claverack Free Library hosted their annual Repair Cafe. In anticipation of the day, I...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/annual-repair-cafe-continues-positive-community-impact</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68a37057054d02f5f63aec31</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Aug 2025 18:36:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_d1de029d3a0b416aa45a682dd60d5573~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Recycling at the Claverack Free Library]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Paula Ptaszek &#38; Sarah Katan Libraries are more than a beautiful place to discover new literary adventures. They are a hub of...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/recycling-at-the-claverack-free-library</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68576f3e1b565fd305949961</guid><pubDate>Sun, 22 Jun 2025 02:57:42 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Taghkanic Community Forest Kickoff!]]></title><description><![CDATA[Saturday, May 17th, was a big day in Taghkanic! Area residents planted more than 1200 trees in the soon-to-be formally established...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/taghkanic-community-forest-kickoff</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68576ce601c622a34dcd576b</guid><pubDate>Sun, 22 Jun 2025 02:45:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_209388c3c1574e1bab723907163b96c8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Local Farms Selling Native Plants]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Katy Flammia Not only can you get delicious farm-raised food, but you can fill your garden with eco-restorative plants that will...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/local-farms-selling-native-plants</link><guid isPermaLink="false">685769a6179fee421c31dea3</guid><pubDate>Sun, 22 Jun 2025 02:31:29 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[NET-ZERO TWO STEP   ]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Tom Paino Even with my credentials as sustainable architect, I knew designing my and my partner’s home to the agreed-upon program of...]]></description><link>https://www.climatesmartclaverack.com/post/net-zero-two-step</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6857672d179fee421c31d4d0</guid><pubDate>Sun, 22 Jun 2025 02:20:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8cc7a5_baacc518a5ae45d6bcafc17dccbfbdce~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>victoria masters</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>