SCAPE community ballot results are in!

SCAPE, “Stewarding Claverack and Philmont’s Environment” recently collected votes from Claverack and Philmont community members on nine focal areas for our shared environment. SCAPE mailed 2600 ballots to available Claverack postal routes and PO boxes, with additional outreach to get out the vote at the Claverack and Philmont libraries, special events, through municipal and non-profit e-blasts, and volunteer canvassing. Our goal was to collect 260 responses (1/10th of mailed ballots). Excluding duplicates, we received 311 ballots. 

The nine focal ballot areas were based on a synthesis of ideas from over 100 interview and questionnaire responses collected by volunteers in fall 2025. On the ballot, each voter was invited to rank their top three choices among the nine. To analyze people’s priorities, we weighted first, second, and third choice votes on each ballot - top choice votes received 3 points, second choice votes received 2 points, and third place votes received 1 point. Points were tallied for each of the nine priority areas to formulate final rankings. 

Ballot areas ranked 1 (top) to 9 (lowest):

1. ACCESS & CONNECTIVITY. Improve public access to the outdoors. Potential projects: create safe biking & walking paths & connect to other municipalities; create more & improved walking trail networks including on old rail beds; improve safety on Rte 217; add sidewalks where there aren’t any; fix Philmont's trestle bridge & improve The Essig Trail; facilitate public walking access on farmlands; create a local advocacy group to bring the Harlem Valley Rail Trail through Philmont/Claverack; create more trails for motorized recreation; preserve unpaved rural roads & public access to creeks; conduct a traffic study; improve trails at Won Dharma Center.

2. HABITAT PROTECTION & PROMOTION. Preserve/enhance wildlife habitats. Potential Projects: establish more nature preserves; create safe wildlife crossings on 217; promote ecosystem restoration on private lands, including adopting a "homegrown national parks" model with workshops & a learning site; plant more native tree species to prevent erosion & restore habitat; monitor & restore Summit Lake; create more pollinator gardens on public land; protect Forest Lake with a conservation easement; remove invasive species along roads & in common spaces e.g. at Won Dharma Center; reduce noise & light pollution through zoning & lightbulb exchange programs; conserve land around Summit Lake for wildlife through a Village & Land Conservancy partnership; preserve woodlands & creeks; identify locations for solar that are not on open space.

3. FARM SUPPORT. Assist local farms & underserved farmers. Potential Projects: improve viability of local farms & promote soil regeneration; establish a farmland protection plan & preserve farmland with land conservancies as well as regulating solar farm locations; support farms to convert to organic and/or sustainable models & encourage more new farms; support farmland succession between generations; steward programs to help farm workers own cooperative farms.

4. COMMUNITY BUILDING. [*NOTE: This area received the second-most top choice votes] Enhance opportunities for social interaction & connection to nature. Potential Projects: establish more community spaces, such as a senior center & community centers near the Town Park & at Churchtown Fire Hall; offer regular social gatherings, including annual community days & youth dance & ice-skating parties; expand events that connect people to nature, such as community environment volunteer days, regular plant swaps & repair cafes, a family nature day where kids learn about stewardship with fun contests, & events that teach kids about hunting & fishing.

5. COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY. Promote food security & expand affordable food access. Potential Projects: establish community food gardens & greenhouses so more can grow their own food; plant fruit trees on public land for community use; allow hens in Philmont; municipal composting to reduce waste & boost garden soil fertility.

6. PUBLIC PARKS & RECREATION. Enhance public enjoyment of the outdoors. Potential Projects: install more public benches & picnic tables; improve the Town Park with more shaded areas, a splash pad for cooling & installing outdoor exercise equipment; improve the Philmont Community Center & park area by Summit Lake; improve Summit Lake for multi-use recreation by dredging, stocking, & creating a swimming area; establish more public parks throughout the Town including at the old Town garage site on the Agawamuck Creek that connects to High Falls Conservation area; reintroduce a memorial tree planting program in the Village & hamlets.

7. CLIMATE RESILIENCY. Further Climate Smart Committee work by promoting local climate mitigation & resilience. Potential Projects: install efficient EV charging stations throughout Claverack; incentivize households to adopt green building methods & transition to clean energy; establish public micro-hydro energy; lower emissions through expanded public transportation to Hudson; install solar roofs over parking areas & shade shelters.

8. MUNICIPAL CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCILS. Standing committee of volunteers advising municipal boards to steward & solve problems in natural areas by focusing on land use & care. Potential Projects: preserve open space; protect small-town/rural character; balance conservation & community needs, e.g. housing; match hunters & landowners to control deer populations; create partnerships between DPW & ecological landscape professionals to promote ecological management of public spaces & road care; require public notice of aerial pesticide spraying; ordinances to restore & protect Summit Lake & high-priority sites; initiate real estate transfer tax to fund open space preservation; create a sustainable financial plan for projects; pursue municipal & land trust protection of multi-use land for conservation & public access; reduce noise & light pollution through zoning & lightbulb exchange; enforce codes on vacant buildings to prevent vermin & deterioration; ensure public spaces are part of new development; limit development of storage units, multi-unit housing & data centers; encourage building on existing sites; reduce truck traffic.

9. STEWARDSHIP EDUCATION. Foster public awareness & capacity for stewardship by offering educational opportunities & resources for all ages. Potential Projects: expand ecology resources & education at local libraries; create an ecological management workshop series for landscape professionals; post signage & markers showing potential landscape changes; collaborate with schools to expand ecology education; offer public education about deer overpopulation & ecological property management; establish scholarships for & improve communication about new hunter training opportunities; build awareness of the cost-saving value of composting; provide hands-on foraging education; teach traditional artisan trades that use local products (e.g., wood); expand job training programs so people can stay here.

What do these results mean?

Each ballot area already represents strong community support from the earlier listening campaign: an area would not have appeared on the ballot if many people did not think it was important. For those ballot areas that ranked highly, we interpret these results as evidence that the community feels these are the most urgently needed areas to address.

What’s next? 

SCAPE is formally concluding with the end of Partners’ for Climate Action’s Funding Futures Phase 1 program on June 30th. To wrap-up, we will be sharing out the results of the vote, preparing a report for the municipal boards, residents, and community stakeholders, reaching out to individuals who expressed interest getting involved to foster connections to other individuals and organizations with similar interests, and compiling potential resources for projects emerging from or gathering momentum from the SCAPE process. 

An important question is what do these results mean to you? Are you inspired to begin or join a new group or project based on this ballot? Are there ways you could support existing organizations and projects that align with Claverack and Philmont community priorities? Do you see opportunities to advocate for advancing ballot priorities with local boards, committees, and potential partners? If your answer is “yes!,” please reach out to (yourideas.scape@gmail.com) or the Philmont or Claverack Climate Smart taskforces so we can help connect you and discuss possible next steps. 

One resource is a possible follow-up grant. Partners for Climate Action, the organization that funded SCAPE, is now offering a next step planning grant to groups within the six communities that completed Funding Futures Phase 1 (including Claverack/Philmont). This grant is called “Funding Futures: Gameplan” and is intended to support eligible projects related to the SCAPE listening campaign and ballot. Funding can be used for new projects or as add-ons to existing projects. “Gameplan” is geared toward developing a detailed action plan to implement the project, including defining financial mechanisms, accessing technical and legal expertise, and refining project roles. We encourage you to review the RFP and reach out to SCAPE if interested so we can connect you. 

Finally, we want to express gratitude to the hundreds of people who participated in SCAPE’s process this year, to the Town of Claverack and Village of Philmont board members and staff for their support throughout, to our fiscal sponsor, Claverack Free Library’s staff and board, to the Claverack and Philmont Climate Smart Community taskforces, to the non-profit organizations, committees, and local businesses that came out to the SummerSCAPE picnic to share about their great work, to the over a dozen local businesses that supported and donated to SCAPE events, to our original 17 application support letter writers, and to Partners for Climate Action for facilitating and funding this program in support of our community defining its own environmental priorities.