Ecological Justice is a core element of Open Buffalo’s mission. To understand the interdependence between all living things is a crucial step toward protecting the global climate and its delicate ecosystems to ensure that marginalized communities have uninhibited access to quality air, water, and food.
A core element of Open Buffalo’s mission is working within the framework of the ecological definition to advance knowledge and advocate for a more Just Community. To understand the interdependence between all living things is a crucial step toward protecting the global climate and its delicate ecosystems to ensure that marginalized communities have uninhibited access to quality air, water, and food.
Clean Mobility is all about using transportation that doesn't harm our environment. We're bringing new ideas and investments to Buffalo's East Side to create a cleaner, healthier neighborhood. We want to work together with everyone to make better ways of getting around that help our air, our streets, and our health.
Neighborhood Leadership Group (NLG): A team of people from our community who will work for 2.5 years to help the East Side. The NLG will talk with neighbors, share information, and create new ways to travel that are good for everyone. They will go to workshops, events, and group meetings to learn and share more.
Fill out our community survey and give feedback on the design of the center or help provide resources: https://forms.office.com/r/q3WmAp7fuT
Introducing our Ecological Justice Workshops: A transformative and engaging series designed to inspire action and foster a deeper understanding of environmental challenges, both locally and globally. Led by an experienced community advocate with a background in renewable energy technology and environmental design, these workshops will empower participants to become proactive agents of change within Buffalo and beyond.
Throughout the series, you'll explore vital topics such as ecological justice, climate change, and the unique implications these have for Buffalo. Learn from successful campaigns, the UN Sustainability Goals, and the concept of a Just Transition. Engage in dynamic e-activities, including EJ Jam, Climate Warrior, and Building a Better Buffalo, which will challenge you to think critically about environmental issues and their impact on Western New York.
Our workshop leader, born and raised in the Bronx, has over 8 years of community organizing and advocacy experience, and has collaborated with impactful organizations such as UB, Public Allies, ANHD, JCCA, The LP, and The Black Feminist Project. Join us in this exciting journey towards building equitable and ecologically sustainable urban communities.
Request An Eco Justice Workshop: https://forms.office.com/r/6PqTbbJ4Cq
Open Buffalo has taken a leadership role in bringing together a diverse set of partners known as the Crossroads Coalition to advance Western New York’s understanding and appreciation of energy democracy, food, racial, and economic justice. Through advocacy and community education, Crossroads drives initiatives that heal the planet, protect the environment, and uplift constituents who live on the front lines of environmental racism and our extractive, toxic economic legacy.
Open Buffalo, as a proud recipient of the Justice40 Accelerator, stands alongside communities on the frontlines of climate, environmental, and social injustices. These communities possess the insight and innovative solutions necessary to enact transformative, systemic change. Regrettably, historical structural racism and prevailing inequitable systems have created numerous obstacles for these communities to access the resources and capacity required to implement their visionary solutions.
The Justice40 Accelerator plays a vital role in bolstering climate and environmental justice organizations like Open Buffalo, by enhancing our capacity, fostering valuable partnerships, and preparing us to leverage government funding to bring community-driven solutions to life. Our proposal presents four robust strategies that promise to usher in a Just Transition for one of the most impoverished and racially segregated districts in our region:
To learn more, contact our Ecological Justice team at info@openbuffalo.org.
Take a look a the most recent work done to improve Ecological Justice in the Buffalo community.
In this role, Golden will spearhead Open Buffalo's contributions to the Clean Mobility Buffalo initiative, a coalition-based project funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). We are thrilled to welcome Golden, a longtime supporter of OB's ecological justice projects, to the team!
Open Buffalo is proud to help bring to the public a new data-mapping tool that will help our community develop a clearer picture of the problem of lead pipes delivering water to city homes.
The Open Buffalo Ecology Center is a 10-acre urban refuge that will be housed on Buffalo’s East Side. It will offer the ample green space, outdoor recreation, educational opportunities, and community-building spaces and activities intended to correct the financial and physical harms inflicted upon Black bodies amid decades of environmental racism, systematic disinvestment, and a worsening climate crisis.
Ecological Justice Coordinator Tendaji Ya'Ukuu sat down to discuss these projects and more with WBFO's "What's Next?" program.
A collective of buffalo organizations are looking to collaborate with community members to address clean mobility issues throughout the East Side of Buffalo.