Funding Futures:
SCAPE: Stewarding Claverack and Philmont’s Environment
Highlands: Together We Decide
Led by Anya Bonanno and a core team of volunteers from both Claverack and Philmont.
Photos by Luca Pearl Khosrova
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In February, 2026, the group hosted two events, one of which you see here. Folks gathered in the Churchtown Fire Hall.
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Ideas from the public were gathered.
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At the end of the event, an idea was drawn from the Idea Pot for a raffle basket with locally sourced goodies.
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Delicious food was shared.
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Folks brainstormed with neighbors.
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Anya gave an introduction about the SCAPE program.
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People got on the mic to share their ideas.
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An elected official moonlighted as a local trivia MC.
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There were even games to play!
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A good time was had by all.
Next, the team will put the ideas on a ballot and get out the vote, community-wide!
The results of the vote will be revealed in the spring. Then the real work begins: making a plan and organizing volunteers and funding.
Check the SCAPE website for details.
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Anya Bonanno
CLAVERACK / PHILMONT
Stewarding Claverack and Philmont's Environment (SCAPE)
Anya Bonanno works at the Philmont Public Library and is excited to help her community identify shared environmental priorities through the Funding Futures program. She moved to Philmont in 2021 and lives there with her daughter and husband, who grew up in northern Dutchess County. She holds a PhD in Environmental Anthropology and recently completed a research fellowship with the U.S. Forest Service through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.