Healthy Habitats Initiative

Our Healthy Habitats Initiative focuses on how individuals can create an environment in their backyard and neighborhood that supports nature and balances our needs with those of other living things. We work to support local efforts that increase the beauty of our surroundings and bring more people outdoors, creating healthier lifestyles, while also sustaining a habitat in which plants and animals can thrive.

Natural Resources Inventory

The City of Poughkeepsie Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) provides baseline information on natural resources including parks, tributaries to the Hudson, the Poughkeepsie waterfront and city trees.

Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) for Poughkeepsie

PDFs of individual sections:

• NRI 0 Executive Summary
• NRI 1 Introduction
• NRI 2 Geology and Soils
• NRI 3 Water Resources
• NRI 4 Botanical Communities and Habitats
• NRI 5 Land Use
• NRI 6 Recreational Resources
• NRI 7 Historical Resources
• NRI 8 Climate Change
• NRI Apdx A Significant Habitats
• NRI Apdx B Ash Tree Assessment
• NRI Apdx C College Hill Park Invasive Species Survey
• NRI Apdx D Poughkeepsie Scenic Resource Inventory [5 MB]
• NRI Apdx E Map Metadata
• NRI Apdx F Species of Conservation Concern
• NRI Apdx G Poughkeepsie Zoning Map
• NRI Apdx H Climate Smart Resilience Planning
• NRI Apdx I Fall Kill Intermunicipal Agreement

This project was 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.

Mapping Emerald Ash Borer in the City of Poughkeepsie

Emerald Ash Borer Information

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.

• Local Native Plant List
• Local Native Plant Suppliers
• IPM Plan

Pollinator Pathways

The Town of Poughkeepsie is working towards becoming a Pollinator Pathway. Poughkeepsie is working to establish pollinator-friendly habitats and food sources for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinating insects and wildlife along a series of continuous corridors.

You can learn about creating pollinator habitats by checking out the Environmental Cooperative’s Pollinator Pathway padlet (Password: PollinatorPathway2021) and by reading more about the Town of Poughkeepsie’s Pollinator Pathway project.

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.