hudsonia [ny]
2019 giving while living regional grant: $2,100

Hudsonia applied Woodard & Curran Foundation’s $2,100 grant to its Conservation of Urban Biodiversity program. Wetlands and shores in and around urban and urbanizing areas on the East Coast are very important for biological diversity including many rare species of wildlife and plants, as well as common species. Yet these greenspaces are under a high level of threat because of land use and sea level rise. These common and rare species are important for enjoyment, cultural significance, education, research, the maintenance of water, air, and soil quality, and in some cases food or medicine. Hudsonia conducts surveys and assessments of such environments and educates decision-makers and the public about conservation and stewardship of wetlands and other natural resources. Among the organisms they have been studying in this program are butterflies, clam shrimps, frogs, turtles, and wildflowers.

Among the challenges Hudsonia faces are gaining safe access to urban greenspaces at the right seasons, weather, and times of day, and convincing decision-makers that cities do indeed support habitats and species worth protecting. Among success stories are the finding of two rare butterflies (variegated fritillary and pipevine swallowtail), and a kind of clam shrimp not previously known between Massachusetts and South Carolina.

Thank you to Laura Tessier, from Woodard & Curran, Inc.’s Rye Brook, NY, office, who nominated Hudsonia for a Foundation Giving While Living Regional Grant.