Annual Grant from NY State Helps Nonprofits with Trail Repair and Environmental Stewardship

Every year, nonprofits across New York State can apply for a grant for trail repairs and environmental stewardship. It’s called the “Park and Trail Partnership Grants Program” and is run by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and Parks & Trails New York. This year, $1.7 million was spread out across twenty-two organizations, many of them in the Catskills region. In the Finger Lakes, recipients include: Finger Lakes Trail Conference, Friends of Hamlin Beach State Park, and Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park. In Mid-Hudson, the winners were: Catskill 3500 Club, Palisades Park Conservancy, Friends of Philipse Manor Hall, Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct, and the Little Stony Point Citizens Association.

Michael Bongar and Lori Herpen of the Catskill 3500 Club in West Hurley told WJFF that their grant of almost $5,000 will be used for their trail stewardship project, which educates people on ethical environmental enjoyment. The “Leave No Trace” principles are a primary example of this, and the money helped pay for signage and staff to spread the word on best practices.

Stacey Lynch Adnams of the Stony Kill Foundation in Wappingers Falls recalled that their 2023 grant was used to restore part of their barnyard. In addition, Joanna Riesman is the Board Administrator for Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct. Their group applied in August 2024 and received around $40,000 in March 2025 for graffiti removal and community outreach. “The goals are to make people aware that the Friends exist and that we do a lot of work to educate the public on the history of the trail but also to keep the trail beautiful. One of the most evident frustrations for walkers is graffiti on these beautiful stone structures.” Riesman continued, “We worked for many years with New York state parks to develop a protocol for cleaning the graffiti without ruining the underlying stone and now that a method has been approved we can go ahead.”

Similarly, the Bannerman Castle Trust was a grant recipient from the 2023 cycle. Kelly Ellenwood applied for the grant on behalf of the organization and just submitted their rescope this week. That means that two years after winning the grant, they’re finally able to update the state about the specifics of how the money was used. Ellenwood says that the repairs ended up costing more than anticipated but the grant amount will stay the same. They were able to install wrought-iron rails on their two most popular trails and a grant match from other donors enabled them to do further repairs such as weeding and sign installation. Ellenwood spoke over video chat about the process over the last two years and the importance of the grant for Bannerman Castle.

Photo Credit: Bannerman Castle Pathway: Courtesy of BannermanCastle.org