
Plattsburgh Project for Understanding Place
Research
The PPUP project represents our spirit of curiosity for the place we live-- the Adirondacks of northern New York, and the Lake Champlain Basin of Vermont, New York and Quebec. We ask important questions about how residents and visitors, businesses and government interact to create this place and the social-ecological system that sustains it. We strive for validity, reliability and transferability. Our research agenda is localized and applied, and we aspire to contribute to ongoing conversations and decisions about the future of our home.
Outreach
As PPUP learns, we give back. As our team collects data and generates understanding about the place we live we create reports, posters, online materials, videos, podcasts and presentations about our findings. Our desire to foster and contribute to ongoing conversations about place reinforces the public and applied nature of our work. We enjoy presenting our work at local events such as local government meetings and planning events, press conferences, research conferences and workshops.
Community Building
PPUP does not only observe and report. We also strive to shape the future of this place. We host events that bring residents together, teach, foster conversations and build community. Our premier event is Late Night for the Planet at Olive Ridley's, Plattsburgh's first and only late night talk show about the environment. PPUP events are based on placemaking and placekeeping, and we hope to build place meaning and attachment among participants. Other events we host include place-based games and simulations, design charrettes, and reading circles, among others.
![]() IMG_9810Students learning about the intersections of faith and the environment from Monsignor Duprey at Plattsburgh's Saint Peter's Catholic Church. | ![]() IMG_4518.JPGStudents collect their personal waste for one week. Will we tip the scales at Clinton County Landfill? |
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![]() IMG_9807The balcony at Saint Peter's Catholic Church in Plattsburgh provides a fantastic place for contemplating the relationship between spirituality and the environment. | ![]() IMG_4536.JPGSean Lukas, of Casella Waste Systems at Clinton County Landfill, explaining how the landfill's methane gas power generation system works. |
![]() IMG_8298.JPGJames Graves of Full and By Farm describes the social-ecological system of his farm. | ![]() IMG_4525.JPGWhat's in here? Sorting recycling at the Clinton County Landfill. |
![]() IMG_9805Father Duprey describes the environmental ethics of Christianity at Saint Peter's Catholic Church. | ![]() IMG_8339.JPGCommunity Supported Agriculture is alive and well in the Champlain Valley. Here James Graves explains the CSA model used at Full and By Farm. |
![]() IMG_8295.JPGJames and his plow horse. The most important engine at Full and By Farm. | ![]() IMG_9816Students gather to hear from Monsignor Duprey about how his love for the natural world grounds his ministry. |
![]() IMG_9804Father Duprey describes the environmental themes and symbolism embedded in spiritual artwork at Saint Peter's Catholic Church. | ![]() IMG_9806Environmental ethics have deep roots in Christianity, as explained by Father Duprey. |
![]() IMG_9729Checking out where our waste goes with Sean Lukas, General Manager of the Clinton County Landfill and SUNY Plattsburgh Alum. | ![]() IMG_9755Students take in the scene at the bottom of a new waste cell. |
![]() IMG_9750A moment of recognition as students smell the accumulation of waste at Clinton County Landfill. | ![]() IMG_8706.JPGAfter collecting their waste for a week, students place it in the landfill where it will decompose and generate power in the landfill's waste to energy plant. |