CARMEL, NY – In one of his final acts as an Assemblyman, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne and representatives from Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Putnam County met to announce his office’s success in securing a state grant for $50,000 to help build a new Cornell Barn and Education Center at Tilly Foster Farm, a Putnam County Park. The $50,000 grant will support a greater fundraising effort by CCE for this new building. The new project promises to offer exciting agricultural and animal educational programs for residents, local youth. 

“This project has tremendous regional benefits supporting all Putnam County residents,” said County Executive Byrne. “The project aligns with the initial intent of the county’s acquisition of the park, providing both recreational and educational opportunities for young residents of the area to learn about agriculture, farming and caring for animals. I look forward to visiting our beautiful county park many more times in the future as this exciting new project moves forward.”

“We would like to extend Cornell’s deepest gratitude to County Executive Byrne and the New York State Assembly for this grant,” said Stefanie Hubert, Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County. “The grant has certainly boosted us over the $200,000 threshold that we needed to reach in order to build our desired space. We anticipate having a shovel in the ground by this April if everything goes as planned. We are very excited to begin this much anticipated project.”

“We are having a lot of fun with this project, and we are very excited to provide many different programs for our young people,” said Rodney Dow, Chair of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County. “As everyone on the other side of the county knows, I’m an avid beekeeper. I am very excited to be able to continue our beekeeping program here in our new space.”