New York, NY (May 25, 2022)— The Open Space Institute (OSI) today announced recipients of its 2022 Barnabas McHenry Hudson Valley Awards, honoring exceptional young leaders who are working to protect and enhance the Hudson River Valley. The projects of the four recipients aim to strengthen and improve communities in the region by improving local composting efforts, supporting historic preservation in the area, capturing the agricultural history of the Hudson Valley, and promote community engagement with a variety of area cultural resources.
As part of the OSI program, students partner with nonprofit organizations to develop projects that advance environmental conservation, environmental justice, historic preservation, the arts, and tourism in the Hudson Valley.
“The Open Space Institute is glad to support the projects of the four strong applicants,” said Kim Elliman, president and CEO of the Open Space Institute. Through their proactive involvement, these students are building relationships and becoming young leaders in their communities. These young people represent the bright future of the Hudson Valley and are adding to Barney McHenry’s amazing legacy of conservation leadership in the region.”
OSI established the McHenry Awards in 2007 to honor the extensive contributions of its Trustee Barnabas McHenry, a renowned, local environmental philanthropist and conservationist. The awards are funded by an endowment, raised by OSI, to provide paid internship opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students who partner with local organizations in the pursuit of research, leadership, and community involvement.
OSI’s McHenry Awards provide up to $5,000 to each graduate or undergraduate student to partner with regional nonprofits in the fields of environmental conservation, environmental justice, historic preservation, the arts, and tourism, with and additional $1,000 going to the partnering institution.
“OSI is proud to be able to provide these opportunities for area students to learn and engage with local nonprofits in a way that affords them terrific learning experiences, as they serve their local communities,” said Jessica Watson, director of the OSI McHenry program, who stressed the importance of providing financial resources to the recipients. “Not every student can afford to accept an unpaid internship with a community organization. OSI’s McHenry Award solves that problem by providing a source of funding to both the students and organization.”
The 2022 recipients of the McHenry Awards and their project descriptions are as follows: