Black History Month 2025
Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History designates a theme for Black History Month. This year’s theme highlights and celebrates the potent impact of African Americans and Labor. According to the association’s website, the theme for 2025 —
...focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds free and unfree, skilled and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people. Indeed, work is at the very center of much of Black history and culture. Be it the traditional agricultural labor of enslaved Africans that fed Low Country colonies, debates among Black educators on the importance of vocational training, self-help strategies and entrepreneurship in Black communities, or organized labor’s role in fighting both economic and social injustice, Black people’s work has been transformational throughout the U.S., Africa, and the Diaspora.
At the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) these same ideals are shared by our diverse workforce, who bring knowledge, skills, and passion to work each and every day. DEC is also looking to the agency’s future and working to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards by supporting interactive partnerships with educational programs to engage Black youth. In addition to the daily connections established by DEC’s environmental educators and outreach staff across the state and the agency, examples of successful partnerships include ongoing work with the Westchester County-based youth organization Environmental Leaders of Color and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Timbuctoo Climate Science and Careers Summer Institute. DEC is investing in these impactful programs and providing opportunities for staff to both educate and learn from future--and in some cases, current–environmental justice advocates and clean energy economy entrepreneurs and innovators who are advancing conservation in their communities and across the state.
Environmental Leaders of Color (ELOC)
ELOC provides educational programming to incubate the next generation of environmental advocates, entrepreneurs, and innovators in underserved communities. Although Westchester County communities are often featured in stories featuring severe storms and flooding that are battering the nation with greater frequency and intensity, statistics show high school students in the areas of the county most impacted by climate change aren’t taking the necessary STEM or environmental courses recommended under New York State education guidelines.
This means that not only are students graduating without the skills they need to compete for new opportunities in the emerging green energy sector–these communities aren’t producing enough home-grown leaders to spearhead local grassroots efforts to shine a light on the impact of climate change. To address these complementary needs, ELOC partners with community-based organizations throughout Westchester County each summer and enrolls dozens of underserved high schoolers in the Student Summer Energy and Environment Program for Teens.
DEC is working with ELOC to administer $200,000 in State funding to support the organization that is inspiring the next generation of conservationists, which will have far-reaching benefits as these future leaders apply their knowledge and experiences, within and beyond Westchester’s borders.
Timbuctoo Institute
During the summers of 2023 and 2024, the Adirondack Park hosted the Timbuctoo Climate Science and Careers Summer Institute, a new initiative with a goal of diversifying professional natural resource-focused fields by introducing teens to academic and professional careers related to climate science. The initiative is designed to examine the intersection of climate science and environmental and social justice, while also exploring New York State, from Brooklyn to the Mid-Hudson Valley to Syracuse and the Adirondacks.
High school students from across New York City joined DEC and other leaders and faculty in the environmental, natural resource, public policy, and social justice fields to help educate mid-level high school students about climate-related careers before they decide what to study or where to attend college. Timbuctoo’s mission is built on the legacy of renowned abolitionists including Gerrit Smith, John Brown, Frederick Douglass, and Henry Highland, who worked to recruit Black New Yorkers to the Timbuctoo settlement in the mid-1800s. The rich history and exciting promise of Timbuctoo is featured in the February/March 2025 edition of The Conservationist magazine. To read digital versions of The Conservationist or find out how to subscribe, visit the Conservationist Magazine webpage.
To learn more about DEC, visit DEC's website, @NYSDEC on Social Media, and DEC's Podcast webpage.