About the Program

Mission & Vision

The Cornell Climate Stewards program’s vision is for New York State’s local communities to actively address the impacts of a changing environment continuously. The program’s mission is to train and empower New York State volunteers to support their local communities with this work.

Cornell Climate Stewards Training

The Cornell Climate Stewards Program is a 12-week training program for adults who want to volunteer in their community. After completing the training, volunteers agree to contribute 40 hours over one year to a local project to help advance their community’s goals, including within the NYS Climate Smart Communities Program.

Learn more specifics about the Curriculum and Volunteer Component.

Program Goals

Goals of the new Climate Stewards Training program include:

  • Increasing access to the most up-to-date land-grant university research, science, and best practices for local resilience through a Cornell Cooperative Extension course for adults in New York;
  • Establishing a network of volunteers committed to local action, who are empowered to develop and implement stewardship projects in their community;
  • Providing support to municipalities to achieve New York State resiliency goals.