For Immediate Release: February 8, 2024
Contact: Randy Tryon
(518) 537-6622
Germantown, NY – Friends of Clermont was awarded a $54,000 matching grant from the Environmental Protection Fund’s Park and Trail Partnership Grants program to restore a historic garden wall to enhance public access to the site. Friends of Clermont will have to raise an additional $6,000 in matching funds, for a total of $60,000.
The grant is one of 27 awards totaling $1.8 million for organizations dedicated to the stewardship and promotion of New York’s state parks and historic sites, trails, and public lands. The grants will be matched with private and local funding and will support projects to strengthen Friends groups and enhance public access and recreational opportunities.
Friends groups—nonprofit organizations often made up entirely of volunteers—are essential to the stewardship and promotion of our state park system. These dedicated groups raise private funds for capital projects, perform maintenance tasks, provide educational programming, and promote public use through hosting special events.
The Park and Trail Partnership Grants are administered by Parks & Trails New York, a statewide non-profit organization, in partnership with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation and the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Parks & Trails New York Executive Director Paul Steely White said, “Behind many of our favorite outdoor experiences–hikes, picnics with our family, bike rides–there is a hard-working local organization making that experience possible. These amazing grassroots organizations do so much with elbow grease, expertise, and volunteerism... but they also need the critical financial assistance our Park and Trail Partnership Grants provide. We are proud to work with OPHRP to ensure these groups, and the crucial work they do for our public lands, are supported in the benefit they provide for our communities. We are proud we've helped enable what literally amounts to billions of breathtaking experiences every year in our parks, greenway trails and other public lands.
This year’s cohort of PTPG grant recipients are all pursuing different projects– from trail restoration at Hook Mountain to the installation of an ADA kayak launch at Point au Roche– but they all add up to a healthier, happier New York just in time for the NYS Parks Centennial celebration.”
Friends of Clermont Board President Randy Tryon said, “We are so thankful to Parks & Trails New York for awarding us this much needed grant. It will help us continue our work to restore the walled garden and improve accessibility to the site for visitors.”
The Friends of Clermont is a not-for-profit organization created to support the work of New York State in conserving the living legacy of Clermont State Historic Site. They engage their varied users to explore the multifaceted assets of the site by broadening use, access, and enjoyment.
To view a list of all Round 9 awardees, please visit: https://www.ptny.org/our-work/support/park-trail-partnership-program/awardees
More information on Park and Trail Partnership Grants can be found at www.ptny.org or by calling 518-434-1583 x3.
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