Community sustainability refers to the ability of a community to utilize its resources to ensure that all present and future members can attain a high degree of health and well-being, economic security, and a say in shaping their future while maintaining the integrity of the ecological systems on which all life and production depends.
Sustainability depends on integrating the full range of resources and approaches to resolving issues with a focus that implies multi-disciplinary approaches, sound research and community engagement.
Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) is committed to sustainability through research, education, and outreach. CCE's expertise, long history of working with individuals, businesses and communities to achieve goals related to becoming more sustainable, and a statewide presence in 4-H youth development, agriculture, natural resources, family well-being, and community and economic vitality, makes us highly effective in fostering sustainability.
Cornell University has established the David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future to advance multidisciplinary research and to cultivate innovative collaborations to foster a sustainable future for all.
Visit sample CCE programs and resources that foster sustainability:
Agriculture | Family well-being | Community Vitality | Environment & Natural Resources | Nutrition & Health
Agriculture and Food Systems
Finger Lakes Sustainable Farming Center - collaborative effort between CCE of Ontario, Seneca and Yates counties that is devoted to the understanding and implementation of sustainable practices and programs for agriculture and communities in the Finger Lakes Regions.
Cornell Small Farms Program - fostering the sustainability of diverse, thriving small farms that contribute to food security, healthy rural communities and environmental preservation.
Cornell Farm-to-School - developing strategies to increase the amount of and appreciation for locally grown food served to New York's students.
Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (NECFE) - providing assistance to beginning and established food entrepreneurs to promote sustainable economic development in rural communities.
New York Sustainable Ag Quarterly - offering information regarding SARE's (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) funding opportunities and showcasing new approaches to enhancing sustainable agricultural development.
Recycling Ag Plastics Project - developing infrastructure and markets for waste film and rigid plastics from dairy, livestock and horticulture operations.
VineBalance: NYS Sustainable Viticulture Program - defining and promoting the use of sustainable growing practices on New York's 33,000 acres of vineyards. Collaboration between the wine/grape industry, CCE and NY Soil & Water Conservation Committee.
Children, Youth, and Families
Energy Savings in the Home - an interactive tool where home owners can learn how to lower energy costs while doing things that will also save the environment. (CCE Tompkins County)
Choose Health for You and Your World - 4-H initiative to help youth learn how sustainability efforts are good for both personal and world health. Examples: Eating locally grown fruits and vegetables helps meet the requirements for a healthy diet and reduces travel costs for producers.
Partners in Caregiving - sustaining the quality of life for older adults in nursing homes by enhancing communication and fostering partnerships between family members and nursing home staff. (CITRA)
Rust to Green New York State - a campus, CCE and community network and action research initiative that identifies and designs innovative ways to assist cities in the upstate NY rust-belt to realize their potential to become resilient places.
Green Choices: Economic Development and Planning - helping citizens and policy makers get information that can help them assess the choices being presented to them to build a green economy.
Community and Regional Development Institute (CaRDI) - serves as a portal to Cornell University's resources and expertise in community development and local governance, and provides outreach to community leaders, educators, elected officials and citizens interested in the vitality and sustainability of their communities.
Land Use Leadership Alliance Training - improving the understanding of and decisions about issues that influence the current state and future of New York landscapes as they involve residents, communities and the land that supports and connects them.
Agroforestry Resource Center (ARC) - providing leadership for the achievement of a sustainable balance between economic development and preservation of the forest dominated landscape in the Catskill Mountain/Hudson Valley Region. ARC serves as an educational resource for forest owners, farmers, policy makers and the general public to assist in making wise land use decisions and was created by CCE of Greene County.
North Country Regional Foods Initiative - understanding and documenting how local food businesses and activities benefit northern NY and identifying strategies for enhancing those benefits. Involves CCE Associations in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties and the Economic Development Administrative University Center at CaRDI.
Environment and Natural Resources
Biofuels and Renewable Energy Systems - highlighting the efforts within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) to develop renewable clean energy and economically sustainable systems to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.
ForestConnect - providing educational resources to help forest owners (families and private citizens) make decisions about the management of their property to ensure the sustainability of private forest land productivity and ecological function.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - developing sustainable ways to manage pests and help people to use methods that minimize environmental, health effects and costs.
Nutrition and Health
Food Decision-Making Program - enhancing the health and well-being of children and their families by supporting sustainable, just and equitable community food systems.
NYS Farmer's Market Nutrition Program - promoting the development of farmer's markets as a component of sustainable quality communities while enhancing the health of eligible, low-income, nutritionally at-risk residents with fresh fruits and vegetables and nutrition education.
Sustaining Local Food Systems in New York State - supporting and fostering relationships between producers, consumers and community developers to strengthen and sustain communities through the connections that are made.