Wednesday, July 1st
6:30-8:30 pm Bryant Park Grill
25 West 40th Street (5/6th Avenues)
Meet fellow industry professionals at our inaugural happy hour!Find out what’s going on around town in the green building movement as well as how to get involved in the YP Real Estate Group.
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Hudson River Park's Pier 40 Picnic House
(West Street/West Houston)
Learn more about the Rising Waters Project (discussed in this month’s conservation spotlight!) while enjoying wine, hor'douvres and a sunset tour of the Hudson River Park.
Join us for a row boat trip on the Bronx River in partnership with the Rocking the Boat program. Learn about the restoration of the river from the Bronx youth who are making it happen.
From her committee work to her efforts around the annual YP Benefit, Eliza Cooney's love for the environment and dedication to The Nature Conservancy’s mission is apparent in her work and her words.
Where does your passion for the environment stem from? Growing up in Maine, I absorbed a natural understanding of ecosystems and the way our actions directly affect our environment. There is a psychology of respect for the systems that sustain and dictate our lives – the protection of which is a community effort every day. That was my first lens, steeped in common sense.During high-school I moved to Mexico City. The poverty, population, air and water pollution were a stark contrast to rural life and framed environmental issues on a global scale for me.
How do your environmental interests inform your work and your every day choices?
In daily life I avoid plastic bags and dryers, use cloth napkins, and unplug appliances whenever possible. My work encourages best-practices (environmentally and socially) on a corporate scale. I feel it is critical that environmentalists, NGO's, policy makers and bottom-line businesses are all at the same table going forward and not isolated in their distinct missions. I learn to find common ground where most assume a null set. I use my work to inform and connect people and to initiate and affect change.
What are your favorite things to do with the YPG?
This month I visited ShelterIsland’s Mashomack Preserve and tried my hand at flyfishing in CT -- such fun on both counts!
What growth opportunities do you see for the YPG in the coming months?
Active membership is key. I hear and see a lot of enthusiasm around the city and the YPG is offering great exposure to events, places and people that I have not seen elsewhere. I hope that the group grows in number but most importantly in involvement. This is our world people, get out there!
Eliza works at Citigroup, furthering corporate responsibility to the environment and other social causes.
On May 14th, Design for a Living World opened to the public at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. This exhibit examines how sustainable design and consumer choices can save our planet.
The evening before the exhibit opened to the public, the Conservancy hosted a special preview reception featuring all 10 of the designers, ranging from Isaac Mizrahi to Maya Lin. Also in attendance were a number of YPG members, who enjoyed a private dinner with industrial designer Stephen Burks following the reception. For pictures from the preview reception click here.
Design for a Living World will remain at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum through 2009.
Conservation Spotlight: Protecting and Preparing in the Hudson Valley
The Rising Waters initiative is a collaborative effort to protect people and nature in the Hudson Valley from the threats associated with climate change. Recognizing that climate change is not only an environmental, but also a social, issue, this project examines how climate change will impact the Hudson Valley's rich biological and cultural heritage through a combination of environmental impacts and human responses to those impacts. For example, the usual response to floods is construction of levees and sea walls; but do we really want to see the majestic Hudson converted to a 153-mile long culvert lined with 20' sea walls?
From early 2008 through 2009 workshops and conferences were held with over 160 stakeholders to determine possible future scenarios for the HudsonValley as well as effective, science based approaches towards adapting to those changes. The culmination of this work can be found in the report ‘Rising Waters’, which outlines a series of recommendations for climate change adaptation in the Hudson Valley that will allow governments, communities and individuals in the region to prepare for the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
Click here to learn more about this project and download the report. Or join us on July 14 as we welcome Katie Dolan, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy's Eastern New York Chapter, who will be discussing this project!
Like the new format of our monthly newsletter? Have other ideas, comments, or questions about the content? Please let us know!
Get Involved!
By becoming a member of the YPG, you will not only be supporting the work of The Nature Conservancy, but will also receive special access to members-only activities and be invited to become a YP Committee member.
YP Committees in the areas of Conservation, Events, Development, and Membership & Media are directly involved in helping to plan our events and to expand our efforts. They are not only a great way to get involved, but can also help determine whether a position as a YP Board Member might be the next step.
For more information about the Real Estate Group please contact Joel Papo.
