Fifth Round of Park and Trail Partnership Grant Awards Announced

Parks & Trails New York is excited to share the fifth round of Park and Trail Partnership Grant awardees . After months of delays due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we are happy to make known the 29 groups that will receive funding to strengthen their organizations and augment public access and recreational opportunities at state parks, historic sites and public lands across New York.

This current round of funding provides $900,000 to organizations for capital projects, maintenance, educational programming, and promotion of public green space through special events. The grants, made possible through funding from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), are awarded through a competitive application process administered by Parks & Trails New York and our partners at the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Since its inception in 2015, the Park & Trails Partnership grants have provided more than $2.7 million to grassroots organizations across the state.

Awardees are as diverse as the Empire State itself. They are located in all corners of the state and represent the wide variety of grassroots groups that protect our outdoor places and champion a multitude of initiatives that enhance the visitor experience. For a full list of this years’ recipients, visit our website.

Perhaps it was Governor Cuomo who said it best, "The grants announced will help bolster efforts to keep New York's open spaces beautiful and pristine at a time when more New Yorkers than ever are turning to nature for refuge and relaxation. New York is thankful for this dedicated group of volunteers, which provide invaluable support to our park system by devoting their time to help make improvements that all of us can enjoy."

To read the Governors full press release announcing the 2019-2020 announcement, follow this link.

Parks & Trails New York will be sharing many of the awarded projects on social media in the coming weeks, so follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to learn more about the important work being done by Friends. We are looking forward to seeing the exciting projects come to life and encourage you to not only follow their progress with us, but visit the parks, historic sites and public lands in person as part of your next road trip.