NEW YORK – The Open Space Institute Thursday announced recipients of its 2023 Malcolm Gordon Charitable Fund grants. OSI awarded a total of $68,000 to 10 Hudson River Valley organizations to fund environmental education projects and programs that engage local communities, inspire the next generation of environmental stewards, support access to fresh food, and make nature and the outdoors more available and welcoming to all people.
For the past three years, OSI’s Malcolm Gordon Charitable Fund has responded to shifting needs by providing support for equity-focused projects and programs that serve the communities of Newburgh, Beacon, and Peekskill.
Competitive awards of from $5,000 to $15,000 are granted based on need and project scope.
Since the fund’s creation in 1994, OSI has committed more than $1 million to 54 grantees.
The 2023 recipients of the Malcolm Gordon Charitable Fund Awards are as follows:
- Newburgh Urban Farm and Food Initiative was awarded $11,000 for a project to engage San Miguel Academy youth in the design, building, and care of a fruit tree guild at Downing Park Urban Farm in Newburgh.
- Outdoor Promise was awarded $10,000 for its “REP Nature Leaders” project which teaches outdoor education, professional development, and leadership skills to young adults between the ages of 19-26.
- Land to Learn was awarded $8,000 for its “Radical Roots Youth Leadership” project. The program is a partnership with Our Core, a Newburgh-based non-profit, and Green Teen, a program in Beacon, and will provide paid summer apprenticeships to teens interested in gardening and outdoor education.
- Arm-of-the-Sea was awarded $6,500 for its “How the Forest Sings to the Stream” theater project. Arm of the Sea is a theater company that uses masks and puppets inspired by the Hudson River Bioregion to host theatrical productions that educate communities in Newburgh, Beacon, Kingston, and Poughkeepsie.
- Black Rock Forest was awarded $6,500 for its “Helping Hands” program which provides hands-on opportunities for city of Newburgh high school students to learn about nature by studying safe wildlife crossroads.
- Ecological Citizen’s Project was awarded $6,500 for its “Regenerative Communities in Peekskill and Newburgh” project.
- The Bannerman Castle Trust was awarded $5,000 for its school field trip program. Bannerman Castle Trust will provide free field trips to the Hudson River Island to middle school students in Newburgh, Beacon, and Peekskill.
- Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was awarded $5,000 for its “2023 Young Women at the Helm” project. Hudson River Sloop Clearwater offers a Youth Empowerment Program to teens in New York City and the Hudson Valley.
- Stony Kill Foundation was awarded $5,000 for its “Strengthening Outdoor Accessibility at Stony Kill Farm” project to develop and host a series of free, accessible outdoor programs for visitors with disabilities.
- Wild Earth was awarded $5,000 for its “Nature Connection & Experiential Education” which offers mentoring and outdoors experiential programming to K-12 students in Kingston. Wild Earth is a non-profit located along the Shawangunk Ridge that runs nature-based programs for children, teens, families, and adults.
