MCC Daily Tribune

SUNY Timbuctoo Climate Science and Careers Summer Institute

In its Second Year, SUNY ESF’s Institute Provides an Educational Path for NYC High School Students to Environmental Science Careers

48 Students Immersed in the Adirondacks Throughout Three Two-Week Sessions in July and August

Lake Placid, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr., Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, Chair of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus, and members of the Adirondack Council Wednesday joined New York City high school students for the Timbuctoo Climate Science and Careers Summer Institute. Created by SUNY ESF, the summer program provides an educational path for NYC students to environmental science careers.

“SUNY ESF’s program opens the door to the Adirondacks for New York City students—connecting them to the natural beauty within this 132-year-old state park, allowing them to experience its stillness and grandeur, all while inspiring students to pursue future careers in sustainability and environmental justice,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “Under the direction of Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State will be a leader on climate action and create more opportunities for students to immerse themselves in nature, which can help them develop a stronger connection to the natural world around them. I would like to thank our legislative partners from the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus for their continued support of this incredible program that is truly transformative and will greatly impact these students for years to come.”

The Institute launched in July of 2023 thanks to New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie, Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, and the significant efforts of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus. The Caucus worked closely with advocates such as Aaron Mair, director of the Adirondack Council’s “Forever Adirondacks,” to establish the opportunity for high school students in partnership with the City University of New York’s Medgar Evers College (MEC). Chancellor King visited the first-ever cohort of the Institute in Brooklyn at the Newtown Creek Alliance in July of 2023.

The program consists of three two-week sessions, which offer students classroom and field experiences in the Adirondacks, Brooklyn, Kingston, and SUNY ESF’s main campus in Syracuse. Today, students visited the John Brown Farm in Lake Placid where they engaged in discussions about the history of Timbuctoo, abolitionists such as John Brown and Harriett Tubman, and the Civil Rights movement in the Adirondacks. Chancellor King was joined in Lake Placid by BPHA Caucus Chair Solages, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Special Assistant for Energy & Climate Change Chloe Hanna, members of the Adirondack Council, and members of the SUNY ESF community.

New York’s Adirondack Park was a cradle of the early civil rights movement, dating back to the mid-1800s. Timbuctoo, which sits outside of Lake Placid, was the site of an early Black suffrage settlement, one of eight known settlements in the Adirondacks that enabled 3,000 Black men to meet the property requirements granting them the right to vote in New York. This history of opportunity at Timbuctoo is honored and celebrated by creating a modern Timbuctoo pipeline to empowerment. The Timbuctoo pipeline will connect youth to opportunities at the intersection of climate science and green careers, preparing them for the threats and opportunities of the 21st century.

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry President Joanie Mahoney said, “We are grateful to Chancellor King and members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus for spending time today with Timbuctoo program students. Their presence sends a powerful message of support and enthusiasm for the next generation of climate leaders. Thanks to the continued support of Governor Hochul, the New York State Legislature, and our partners at the Adirondack Council, we’re thrilled to introduce this cohort of high school students to careers that will address the challenges of global climate change. Through a blend of immersive lessons in science, environmental justice, and history, the Timbuctoo program helps students imagine how they will ‘Improve Our World.’”

Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, Chair of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus said, “I’m glad to be joined by students from across the five boroughs to take part in the Timbuctoo Climate and Science Institute. It is important to provide young New Yorkers with the opportunity to celebrate the strides made in abolitionism right here in our state. This is why there’s a profound need for the Timbuctoo pipeline, which give young New Yorkers the chance to learn about the impact of this movement while discovering career opportunities that revolve around the future of environmental conservation. I look forward to the Caucus’ continued work with New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. and SUNY ESF for many summers to come.”

Executive Director of the Adirondack Council Raul J. Aguirre said, “The Timbuctoo Climate and Careers Institute represents the best of New York – collaboration to enrich the lives of young people and improve the future of the Adirondack Park. Creating an upstate-downstate connection that highlights not only the incredible Adirondacks but shows the next generation of leaders that the environment can also offer a potential career path is incredibly important to our collective future. The Adirondack Council has worked with a wide variety of partners to make the new Timbuctoo meaningful to all New Yorkers, and we look forward to what Timbuctoo students will achieve.”

The Adirondack Park is positioned to play a vital role in Governor Kathy Hochul’s efforts to combat the effects of climate change, which is having a significant impact on the ecosystems of the park. The immersive Timbuctoo Institute introduces students from urban areas to climate science while addressing issues of environmental and social justice through the lens of climate change.

About SUNY ESF
The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is dedicated to the study of the environment, developing renewable technologies, and building a sustainable and resilient future through design, policy, and management of the environment and natural resources. Members of the College community share a passion for protecting the health of the planet and a deep commitment to the rigorous application of science to improve the way humans interact with the world. The College offers academic programs ranging from the associate of applied science to the Doctor of Philosophy. ESF students live, study, and do research on the main campus in Syracuse, NY, and on 25,000 acres of field stations in a variety of ecosystems across the state.

About The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95% of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.

Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
08/01/2024