Cornell Climate Steward and Climate Action Innovator
Lynne Bailey, from the Town of Hurley in Ulster County, is a leader in climate proactivity. For Ms. Bailey, education is an essential element of fostering climate action. Through her work as a Cornell Climate Steward and member of a Climate Smart Communities Task Force, she developed projects to foster climate awareness among residents of all ages. Focusing on greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the climate system, she’s presented at venues including the Ulster County Fair and local community events, mentored a college intern, and developed Hurley’s Climate Smart website.
Ms. Bailey values the program’s forward-thinking approach to climate action. “Cornell Climate Stewards training provided me with essential resources for climate action science and planning and helped focus my work in the Town of Hurley.” As part of her commitment to climate change mitigation, she was a primary contributor to the Town of Hurley Community and Government Greenhouse Gas Inventories completed in 2022, which advanced Hurley’s progress towards receiving Bronze Certification from the CSC program in 2023. These inventories will help the Town of Hurley identify and implement greenhouse gas reduction initiatives, support climate change mitigation at large, and develop the town’s Climate Action Plan.
For Bailey, the time to act is now. Addressing climate change requires vast outreach in the form of public audiences and schools. Climate action requires a concerted effort from climate-conscious individuals to spread awareness. She notes that state and local governments hold a key role in this respect. Agencies must effectively communicate climate plans by highlighting the steps they are taking to address climate issues, provide financial support for residential adaptations, and find unique ways to involve constituents in the work. Bailey emphasizes that effective communication must come from multiple levels of society, as some actions require widespread, grassroots adoption to be effective.
In line with Bailey’s forward-thinking perspective on climate change, she highlights the importance of younger generations in advocating awareness of climate-related issues. By further engaging and educating younger individuals, she hopes widespread climate literacy and the implementation of climate mitigation efforts are achieved.
Bailey recognizes how critical the coming decade is in the fight against climate change. Her work in Hurley illustrates that, even though there is work to be done, local communities and motivated Stewards, are making progress. Much to Bailey’s intention, her work offers ideas and opportunities for similar strategies and initiatives to be replicated elsewhere across the country.
You can learn more about Lynne Bailey and the Town of Hurley’s work here.
Read the full story (again!) here: https://blogs.cornell.edu/cicssdev/files/2023/08/Lynne-Bailey.pdf
See the story on the Cornell Climate Stewards Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cornellclimatestewards