hands hold plants in the foreground as a student looks on

Environment

Natural resources, sustainable energy and climate change

Building resiliency: Cornell Cooperative Extension’s environment and natural resources programs engage individuals and communities to sustain the quality and diversity of the natural assets in New York state.  Research-based education is focused on conserving and protecting the environment, boosting sustainable energy and mitigating climate change. 

To see what programs are offered in your area, visit or contact a local office.

Education

Fostering Mastery

CCE offers education for citizens to become Master Gardener Volunteers, Master Forest Owners, Master Naturalists and Master Composters, fostering a sense of ownership and understanding of the environment and natural world. 

a woman waters her garden with a hose

New York Sea Grant (NYSG)

New York Sea Grant (NYSG)

NYSG, a cooperative program of the State University of New York (SUNY) and Cornell University, promotes the informed stewardship of coastal resources. 

Learn more about NYSG
an orange gloved hand holds a mussel

Partner organizations and programs 

Programs throughout Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences partner with CCE educators on environment, natural resources, sustainable energy and climate change work. 

 

Stories

Two men drilling technology into the side of a house

News

NSF funding to help erase upstate NY’s digital divide
Cornell faculty will collaborate with community partners around New York – through Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) in each county – to set up networks based on low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology, a form of low-frequency radio....
  • Atkinson Center
  • Community and Regional Development Institute
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
People erecting biocontrol tents in wooded area

Multimedia

News

Bio control experiments aim to balance biodiversity
CCE Educators Sharon Bachman and Laura Bailey are partnering with Carrie Brown-Lima, director of the New York Invasive Species Research Institute, to control the invasive plant using biocontrol measures. In this episode, "Extension Out Loud"...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Environment
Dryden solar farm

News

Cornell launches New York solar farm study
Allison Chatrchyan and David Kay, senior research and extension associates in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Global Development, are studying solar leasing on farmland in New York to better understand the economic...
  • Community and Regional Development Institute
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Department of Global Development

News

NYC mayor appoints McComas to climate change panel

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed Cornell’s Katherine McComas, Ph.D. ’00, to the fourth New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), an independent group of 20 scientists who will synthesize climate study data and advise city...

  • Atkinson Center
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Department of Communication