Mount Pleasant NY Conservation Advisory Council-CAC

05/10/2024

Mark your calendar for Sunday, June 2: it's TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT DAY. Drop off donations at Briarcliff Manor Youth Center and "shop" for free items from 12-3pm. It's a wonderful way to reduce waste and share with our community.

11/26/2023

Films on Purpose and the Pleasantville Climate Smart Committee invite you to watch Bloomberg Originals’ Getting Warmer with actor and former White House aide Kal Penn who explores solutions to the climate crisis with a dose of humor and optimism. The screening will begin with the “Renovating the World” episode (24 min) followed by a panel and community discussion.

11/23/2023

Schedule some time at the end of this week to walk off the Thanksgiving meal (and make room for leftovers). The Hardscrabble Wilderness Area is a gem in our town, offering moderate trails through one of the most scenic landscapes in our area. Check out the link below for a 2-mile loop, and tag us in your photos when you go!

Good for a short day hike. Features include a marsh, forest, rock formations, stream, and gentle slopes.

11/21/2023

Thank you to these volunteers from Regeneron who helped us clear invasive brush and litter along the Saw Mill River! We are proud to partner with Groundwork Hudson Valley on these important clean-up projects. If your workplace, school, or group would like to schedule a clean-up project in the Town of Mount Pleasant, contact Groundwork HV at the link below.

https://www.groundworkhv.org/volunteer/

10/30/2023

Keep your jack-o-lanterns out of the landfill by composting them! Remove any decorations (including candle wax) from your pumpkin, clean out the seeds, and cut the pumpkin into smaller, hand-sized pieces. Mix the pumpkin pieces into your compost pile, adding some dead leaves to keep the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio healthy. Happy Halloween!

09/28/2023

See you at Mt. Pleasant Day! We’re excited to spend time with fellow residents talking about the work of the Mount Pleasant NY Conservation Advisory Council and sharing tips and tricks for homeowners, families, and neighbors to preserve and improve the natural resources in our town.

09/26/2023

Impervious surfaces, by which we mean hard surfaces like asphalt, make up 16% of Mount Pleasant’s land area and 25% of the Saw Mill River watershed’s land area. The County’s Stormwater Reconnaissance Plan notes that impervious surfaces are the single issue most responsible for increased flooding and recommends that strict limits be placed on the amount of impervious surfaces created. So does that mean we have to banish parking lots? No! Permeable surfaces like grass pavers and green infrastructure like streamside plantings, rain gardens, and bioswales can go a long way towards absorbing our Town’s stormwater.

You can learn more about impervious surfaces in the Town of Mount Pleasant’s Natural Resources Inventory, which has been funded in part by a grant from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund through the Hudson River Estuary Program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

09/22/2023

Join us next week at the Mt Pleasant Public Library's main branch in Pleasantville to talk about integrating solar systems in residential homes and government rebates on solar installation. Want to make sure we address a specific question or topic? Leave a comment below, and we’ll add it to the agenda.

For more information: https://mountpleasantlibrary.evanced.info/signup

08/29/2023

Curious about going solar? Join us at the main branch of the Mt Pleasant Public Library on Wednesday, September 27 for a panel discussion with solar contractors and Town of Mount Pleasant residents about installation and other details on this option for climate smart clean energy for your home.

08/21/2023

We are proud to announce that the Town of Mount Pleasant is now designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)! We’re pleased to see the town acknowledged for its high-impact clean energy actions, and now that we’re eligible for additional state-funded grants, we can take on even more ambitious clean energy projects.

08/17/2023

Did you know that compacted lawns can increase stormwater runoff? Consider replacing parts of your lawn with native shrubs and help reduce runoff pollution in our waterways and mitigate local flooding. It sure beats mowing and reseeding your lawn every year! Visit https://www.mtpleasantny.com/conservation-advisory-council to download the town’s Native Plant Resource Guide for more shrub ideas.

08/15/2023

Recreational sites, wetlands, infrastructure—all these spaces and other important environmental features exist in the Town of Mount Pleasant, often in overlapping layers. One way to take it all in is through our online Natural Resources Inventory map tool. Stay tuned for our public presentation and demonstration on how to use the tool coming this fall.