2023 Annual Meeting - In Person! - Buckingham Pond Conservancy

We are thrilled to continue to do the work of advocating for the urban treasure that is Buckingham Pond, and we are pleased to report that with the help of volunteers, the City of Albany and Councilwoman Deb Zamer, your generous donations, and membership fees, we oversaw the completion of several projects:

Continued efforts to reduce invasive species and install native species, including garlic mustard removal near Rafts Way & Milner Avenue, and bittersweet vine removal on the North side of the pond.
Completed water quality testing through the Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program for the fifth year in a row!
Hosted annual Ice Cream Social and Ice Skating Party events, which gathered more than 200 visitors and neighbors to enjoy the pond.
Held successful Spring and Fall Cleanups, which brought together more than 40 volunteers to help keep the pond and park at its best.
Planted tulip bulbs in the parking circle (thanks once again to DGS, and City Gardener Jess Morgan for the bulbs).
Awarded County Legislative Grant of $2,375 for additional native plantings, thank you to County Legislator Gary Domalewicz for sponsoring our application, and to County Legislators Ray Joyce and Frank Commisso for supporting it.
Advocated successfully for clean-up and monitoring of the party pit by DGS and the Albany Police Department (thanks to our neighbor and member Sara Hart for her continued vigilance).
Implemented a new “Playground Steward” position to help monitor that our playground remains in good shape. Thanks to Al Lawrence for taking this on.
Worked toward the new and improved Buckingham Pond Conservancy website, which we hope to launch in the months following the annual meeting!
Applied for a NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation Green Innovation Grant Program to fund three projects around the pond in cooperation with Capitalize Albany, the Albany Water Department, and the Department of General Services, Though not funded in this award cycle, this application created a strong foundation for future grant applications.

We are proud of our 2022 accomplishments and are looking forward to 2023. And of course, we continue to foster strong relationships with City departments and the Pond’s neighbors. But we can’t do it without the support of the people who care about the pond. How can you help?

Get Informed / Get Connected – Join us at the Annual Meeting on Sunday 3/26, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church at 10 North Main Avenue Albany, New York 12203. Use these links to add the Annual Meeting to your calendar: Apple | Google | Office 365 | Outlook Web | Outlook | Yahoo
Or attend our next monthly Virtual Board Meeting on the fourth Monday of each month; please let us know at [email protected] if you would like to join, and we will send you the meeting link.
Share Your Skills / Join a Work Day / Join the Board – We can use all kinds of help and are particularly looking for people with skills in social media, ecology, landscape or environmental engineering, and grant writing. If you’d like to join the board, reach out to us no less than 15 days prior to the Annual Meeting. The slate of current Board Members whose terms expire in 2023 and are running for election will be listed on the Conservancy’s website. If you’re more comfortable around plants, we need your help planting and removing invasive species; consider volunteering for our work days.
Join or Renew – We hope that you believe in what we are doing and will support the Conservancy with a $25/person tax-deductible annual membership donation (or more if you can!). Our membership year runs April 1 to March 31, so if you are a current member, it’s time to renew. You can join or renew online or you can mail in a check to PO Box 8352 Albany, NY 12208.

As ever, your contributions of time and of money are the key to keeping Buckingham Pond thriving for generations to come.

If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected]. I look forward to working with you to help our pond.

Thanks for your continued support!

Gabi Sarhos
President

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