Community Outreach

The Environmental Cooperative is dedicated to fostering engagement in the natural world through events, learning opportunities, volunteering, and collaborations with local and regional organizations.

A group of children sitting on a blanket outdoors on a sunny raise their hands while an instructor holds up a large map. — Teaching about watersheds at Malcolm X Park, City of Poughkeepsie.

The Environmental Cooperative is an active member of the Fall Kill Watershed Coalition a group of people and organizations working to protect and enhance the Fall Kill Watershed, improve stream health, and address community concerns. The Fall Kill Watershed Coalition is part of Scenic Hudson’s Northside Collaborative.

We play an active role in the Revive College Hill Park Coalition, a community group raising awareness about this park on the northside of the City of Poughkeepsie. The Coalition holds multiple park clean-ups, plantings, and garden maintenance days each year. For more information email: revivecollegehill@gmail.com.

Learn more about the organizations we work with on our affiliates page.

Workshops & Events

The Environmental Cooperative hosts various workshops and events for the greater Poughkeepsie community throughout the year. Please see our calendar for information and registration links for upcoming workshops and events.

Native Plant Propagation Program

The Preserve at Vassar’s Native Plant Propagaion Program (NPPP) is focused on collecting and growing locally sourced, native seed for restoration, amplification, and dissemination purposes. The goals of our program are to create a stock of locally adapted native plants, amplify the availability of local, native seed in the Hudson Valley, and to engage in seed-based outreach efforts. The Environmental Cooperative supports this work by engaging local partners in the installation of pollinator gardens and plantings and supporting outreach about the importance of native plants to local biodiversity.

Bee Campus

Vassar College Campus is a certified Bee Campus, committed to creating pollinator-friendly habitats. We have created resources about local native plants to help educate the Vassar community and Poughkeepsie residents about beneficial plants for the area.

What is it? Solidago, commonly called Golden Rod, flowers on the preserve in the late fall. Photo: Ellie Opdahl

Tree Campus USA

Vassar College, home to 230 tree species, has been a certified Tree Campus since 2012. As a Tree Campus, Vassar is dedicated to managing all campus trees, integrating the campus with the surrounding city to promote urban forests, and engaging students in campus and community forestry work.

More information about Tree Campus USA can be found here.