Open House

Mark your calendar on November 16th from 5:30-7:30 pm for an open house. Food and drinks will be served.

We will provide visuals and overview of our victory garden to break ground in Spring 2024. We are creating the region's first public, interactive victory garden on the former Tonawanda coke site. We vanquished Tonawanda Coke! Now it’s time to celebrate. We could not have done all of this without the support of the community. Come and give us your input.

A Sneak Peek : Our Community Victory Garden

We fought long and hard, but we finally won. It took 16 long years to beat Tonawanda Coke, but we did it. Today our work is not completely done. We have a vision to create something polar opposite to what Tonawanda Coke signified in our community. Its time for nature to take back industry, and greenery and gardens to replace polluted air, water and soil. This will be accomplished by planting one garden at a time starting with our Community Victory Garden. Here is a sneak peek at what our garden will look like:

Isnt it awesome? Here’s another view.

and another:

The garden will be located on the River Road bike path across from where Tonawanda Coke once stood. Our garden will…

• unite area families

• enhance quality of life

• provide environmental education and therapeutic learning opportunities

• commemorate the historic significance to the community

• reduce air and water pollution

We are excited to break ground on the garden in spring 2024 as spring symbolizes rebirth and renewal. It is the perfect time for the community to heal and appreciate the gorgeous Niagara River’s ecology, including migrating monarch butterflies and the endangered Karner blue butterfly.

However, we can’t do this alone. We have raised some funding to date from our corporate friends because they believe in this project. OSC Charitable Foundation, Honeywell, and the Town of Tonawanda have all made significant contributions. We ask you to join them and become a member of our Victory Circle. Will you help? No contribution is too big or too small. So far, we’ve raised $130,000, and our target is $300,000. We’ve got a ways to go, but have the confidence we can do it with the community’s help.

Join us on August 24th to see for yourself what the Garden will look like.

Our Soil Story, Part 2

After we extracted the surface soil from many nearby properties, we sent the samples to a local EPA certified laboratory, called Eurofins. We found many of the same chemicals as our friends did in Birmingham, Al. The class of chemicals we found are called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). PAH’s are very toxic substances and many cause cancer. The first thing we did was to share the results with the homeowners. After we got their approval to share their data (deidentified, meaning addresses and names were removed), we shared the data with the scientists at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), the EPA, and then the media. We held a press conference, and called on the NYS DEC and EPA to take action. We wanted a thorough investigation. These results were very similar as our friends in N. Birmingham, and they had their soil remediated. We thought, what is good for them must be good for us here in Tonawanda. We were wrong. The EPA and DEC did nothing. We were angry and felt like giving up, but we didn’t give up.

Citizen Scientists extract soil from a garden.

In the meantime, Tonawanda Coke was in a long court battle over breaking many environmental laws in US District Court. Using the data obtained from our soil testing, we submitted a project proposal to the judge on the case, Hon. William Skretny.  When the official sentence was finally delivered on March 19, 2014, Tonawanda Coke Corporation was ordered to fund our soil study in the amount of $711,000. (update). The remainder of the sentence included an $11 million Health Study also funded by TCC, $12.5 million in company fines, and a 1 year and 1 day prison term for Mark Kamholz, TCC’s environmental manager. 

This was the first time in history a federal Judge ordered community service projects as a term of probation against a company.  Additionally, the sentence included one of the largest fines ever levied in a federally prosecuted environmental case.

Citizen Science allowed us to finally secure the funding we needed to conduct our own soil study. A big win for our community and for citizen science.

Spring 2023 Updates

Hello, citizen scientists! Citizen Science Community Resources has been busy lately, and we have lots of news to share with you this spring:

Have you heard about our upcoming dance party fundraiser? It’s only a week away, and tickets are available now on Facebook! The fundraiser will be from 6 PM to 8 PM on Thursday, May 25th. Water and snacks will be provided. The earlier you buy tickets, the easier it will be to accommodate everyone, so claim your spots now! 

Members of the CSCR Board recently met with Joe Emminger to discuss plans for our largest project yet: a Community Victory Garden situated on the bike trail next to where Tonawanda Coke once stood. The meeting went fantastically and we look forward to working with them in the future. For further information on the Community Victory Garden, keep an eye on our social media or stop by our office for informational materials (perhaps during our fundraiser!) We also showed off our new tiered donation system; if you or someone you know is interested in supporting our project financially, let us know by emailing us at info@csresources.org.

As always, our EnviroBucket is available for purchase. Spring is the perfect time to get your soil tested! Sampling and testing soil from your yard will allow you to rest easy as you play outside all season long. Check out your options here.

CSCR’s EnviroBucket

Are you interested in volunteering for CSCR? We’re looking for people to table at farmers markets this spring and summer. Immerse yourself in everything our local markets have to offer while meeting people, answering questions about environmental safety, and handing out informational materials. Table alone or with a friend, in the morning or afternoon, at one market or another; we’ll accommodate you! Additionally, high schoolers and college students are encouraged to reach out to us about internships over the summer. Our internships allow students to gain experience with environmental activism in a friendly and open environment. Contact us through phone, email, or Facebook to learn more.

We hope you’re all staying safe out there and enjoying this beautiful weather!

In Service,

Citizen Science Community Resources, Inc.

Job Posting: Marketing and Communications Specialist

Job Posting: Marketing and Communications Specialist

Reports to: CSCR's Director, Jackie James

Summary:

Our organization is looking for an enthusiastic Marketing and Communications specialist. In this

collaborative, entry-level role, you will get a chance to learn important skills and gain professional

experience by working on our Community Victory Garden (CVG) project. Our ideal candidate has

experience with common graphic design software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Illustrator, and

InDesign) for creating marketing materials. Additionally, graphic design skills to produce high-quality

content for social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook is a plus.

Work Schedule:

The ideal number of weekly hours is 8-10. The specialist can complete their hours at the CSCR office or

remotely. We ask that the specialist work from the CSCR office for one day per week for 3-4 hours. The

job may require occasional evening/weekend events

Duties and Responsibilities

• Create brochures and other marketing materials

• Assist with social media and email campaigns

• Produce website and social media content

Other responsibilities:

• Community organizing

• Operations and administrative tasks as necessary

Requirements and Qualifications

• Prior job experience a plus

• Graphic Design Software and other content creation tools experience.

• Be knowledgeable, enthusiastic, organized and an independent worker.

Our Hiring Process:

Send resume to jackie@csresources.org. Must be submitted by October 1, 2022

We estimate this position to start October 10, 2022

Compensation: $17/Hr.

Community Engagement and Gardening Intern

Job Title: Community Engagement and Gardening Intern

Reports to: CSCR’s Board Chair, Jackie James

Responsibilities:

• Work on CSCR's Healthy Soils, Healthy Gardens, Healthy Communities Project.

• Educate community on why its important to test soil, and sign residents up

• Train residents how to use EnviroBucket soil sampling tool kit

• Plant Seedlings and distribute to community

• Other responsibilities: Fulfill EnviroBucket orders, EnviroBucket customer service, Operations and administrative work, Event coordination and advocacy, Social media posting

Qualifications:

• Experience in working with a team of residents, and professionals.

• Gardening Experience

• Be knowledgeable, enthusiastic, organized and an independent worker

• Community organizing experience preferred

Our Hiring Process: Send resume to jackie@csresources.org. Must be submitted by January 21, 2022 We estimate this position is approx. 5 hours a week from mid February- mid May 2022

Compensation: $15/hr

Meet CSCR's Interns

Serena Uhl, CSCR’s Environmental Health Promotions Intern

My name is Serena Uhl, and I’m an intern here at Citizen Science Community Resources. I’m currently a fourth-year Health Promotion student at Daemen College. I found CSCR through a different organization who introduced me to Jackie James and she welcomed me aboard! I am an Environmental Health/Business Administration Intern, which means I help out around here with creating educational and marketing materials, maintaining social media accounts, hosting webinars, maintaining various databases, and now, writing blog posts. I have a very diverse role here at CSCR and have been acquiring lots of different experiences as well as knowledge throughout my internship. CSCR is big on advocating for a community’s right to have clean air, clean soil, and a safe and healthy environment around them.

I’ve always been an advocate for having a healthy and safe environment, and here at CSCR I get to do that every day. I worked at a garden center for five years, so I have a background in digging around in the soil and planting. I’ve also always been interested in air pollution. I knew that there was air pollution around us every day but honestly never thought too much into soil contamination specifically until I got here, where I am fully involved in the soil contamination problems that are in our world today. Now I have the chance to educate others about soil contamination, why it’s harmful for our health, and how we can fix the problem. With my degree in Health Promotion, I want to spend my life advocating for others’ health and making communities healthier and safer, and that is something CSCR has helped me learn as an intern that I will take with me for the rest of my career. 

Mike Rosenberg, CSCR’s Environmental Health Intern

My name is Michael Rosenberg and I am an intern at Citizen Science Community Resources while working on a Master of Public Health degree through the University at Albany. I am also a physician assistant and former paramedic. I learned about CSCR through my wife, who also interned here for her MPH and shared with me the impressive history of the organization. I had been vaguely aware of the closure of Tonawanda Coke due to heavy benzene emissions years before, but didn’t know how the effort was spearheaded by Jackie James and a group of concerned citizens who had used citizen science to learn about the potential causes of the health issues plaguing their communities. The mission of CSCR to empower communities by providing the tools to fight for public health and environmental justice was something I wanted to be a part of.

I grew up nearby in Lackawanna, NY, a city which has a long industrial history and exemplifies the term “rust belt”.  My grandfather worked at Bethlehem Steel, once one of the world’s largest steel plants but shuttered when I was young. It is now a Superfund site. My father told me that growing up he could smell the smoke from their home miles away, and that when it snowed it would often be soot or pink colored. I heard stories about how the communities near the steel plant now had many health problems, and was always cautioned about playing in the creek and fields near my house because they weren’t clean.  These experiences in my youth made me very conscious of environmental health issues later in life, and my coursework at Albany made me think more about how pollution can impact communities.

At CSCR I have been engaged in a number of projects, many related to the launch of our Envirobucket Soil Sampling Test Kit. I have worked on revising some of the documentation included with the Toolkit and in the development of soil testing technical guidance. I created a presentation regarding soil contamination and testing and the features of the Envirobucket that was given during a webinar with Public Lab, for which we received excellent participation and feedback. One of my main accomplishments so far has been the development of a comprehensive resource document outlining the soil contaminant screening guidelines for all 50 states, with links to all the relevant state agencies and policy documents.  As we receive more soil testing results in the coming months, I will also be working on the uploading of data to FieldScope, an online interactive citizen science platform with mapping resources to enhance research into environmental issues such as soil contamination. My time at CSCR so far has been rewarding, and I have learned more about soil testing and environmental health policies than I ever thought I would. I’m looking forward to participating in more community engagement projects and educational activities as we get further into the spring and summer months.

A Glance of What is Left at Tonawanda Coke Corp.: Impressions from CSCR's 2019 Intern

On the way there (Riverview Innovation and Technology) to meet up with our group, a few of us almost missed the turn off of River Road – we were watching for the Tonawanda Coke sign, which has been taken down.  Before going onto the grounds, we were provided with rubber boots, hard hats, and glasses – all safety precautions as this is still a contaminated area.  Everyone boarded a bus which drove us through the property, with two stops where we were able to disembark and look around in a cordoned off area.  After a safety briefing, our guides explained the various buildings and what purpose they served while TCC was still in operation. 

The site looked bleak and empty, it was very difficult to imagine that just a year ago this facility was in operation, spewing benzene into the air of this community.  The first area we stopped at had piles of coal and coke which were sold by TCC before the facility closed.  These products are relatively inert according to our guide, and will be taken off site by the buyer in the coming months.  We all boarded the bus again and drove past the coke oven, which is now crumbling.  The next place we stopped, we were told, is one of the most contaminated areas in the entire facility.  Glancing around, this is easy to believe.  We were surrounded by pipes missing insulation, decrepit buildings, and pools of dark, still water.  There was also a distinct, unpleasant odor in the air at this stop. 

While in some ways this was a grave reminder of how much work it takes to hold a company accountable for their pollution, it also brought home just how far the Tonawanda and Grand Island communities have come.  Tonawanda Coke will never poison their air ever again.  The current plan for this site, after remediation of the toxins that were left by Tonawanda Coke, is to redevelop it into a data center.  It is refreshing to imagine this site as something new and different, something that brings benefit to this community after so many years of harm.  It is important to remember that this was all made possible by just a few community members, who went out with buckets to track down the source of this pollution and fight to protect their community.  Before leaving the facility, the original bucket brigade was able to take a picture in front of the stacks (see below). Through their efforts, Tonawanda Coke has finally stopped polluting the air they breathe!

The Tonawanda “Bucket Brigade” (formerly known as the Clean Air Coalition of WNY) from L-R Tim Logsdon, Adele Henderson, Jackie James, Bob Hirsch

Lastly, while the air in Tonawanda is now clean, CSCR is currently focusing on contaminants that may have migrated off site and settled in the soil of nearby backyards.  If you are interested in testing your soil for toxins– give us a call, send an email, or reach out to us on Facebook. 

Liz Reilly

CSCR Intern

What's in your backyard?

Now that Tonawanda Coke has been shut down, residents need to know about the mess they left behind. Do you wonder if your soil is safe to garden or for children to play in your backyard? We are looking for community partners in two neighborhoods (Eastern Grand Island and Holmes elementary school areas) that we believe could have been significantly impacted. Learn how to sample your own soil using our newly developed Citizens Toolkit. We'll teach you how to collect meaningful data and become a Citizen Scientist!

Come visit us to learn more about what we do or sign up!

Tuesdays July 16th and 30th, 1PM - 4PM

Thursdays July 18th and 25th, 4:30PM - 6:30PM

3200 Elmwood Ave, Room 210 (in the Philip Sheridan Bld. )

Kenmore, NY 14217

Snacks and refreshments will be served

This opportunity includes FREE training and soil testing for five residents, so sign up soon! If you can't make one of our open sessions, feel free to contact us at info@csresources.org or 716-873-6191.

March 6, 2019 Joint Press Release with Elected Officials

Statement from Grand Island, Town and City of Tonawanda and Citizen Science Community Resource regarding Tonawanda Coke Community Projects and Future Action

The Supervisor of the Town of Grand Island, Nathan McMurray, the Supervisor of the Town of Tonawanda, Joseph Emminger and the Mayor of the City of Tonawanda, Rick Davis along with Phil Haberstro and other members from Citizen Science Community Resources are raising public awareness regarding the management of the Tonawanda Coke community service projects and monies today.

Sixteen years ago, several citizens now calling themselves Citizen Science Community Resources with the support of a grass roots effort, started a movement that led to ground-breaking criminal actions and community service projects totally $12.2 million against Tonawanda Coke. Those projects (funds), however, have not gone back to Citizen Science Community Resources or directly to the community. To this point, nearly all of the funds have been used for University at Buffalo led studies, leaving out all other stakeholders.

Mayor Davis says, “For years, before sentencing, this was a community collaboration. Since the judge has ruled, we seem to have lost the community collaboration with this project. That needs to change ASAP.”

Supervisor McMurray says, “We can’t leave out the folks that started this. When no one else was paying attention, Citizens Science Community Resources was out there with buckets measuring air quality. They were first line of defense. We can’t leave them out.  This is important. Last year Erie County ranked near the bottom among all counties according to of the Robert Woods Johnson study on health. We need more.

Phil Haberstro adds, “This is not a new news story, in fact it is about the oldest civic story in American history. We the people are requesting Judge Skretny to return control of the community service projects and fine money to the communities that fought this fight for 16 years.”

We are asking residents to write to Judge Skretny and make their voices heard regarding this injustice.

Hon. William M. Skretny

United States District Judge for the Western District of New York

c/o Andrew W. Moeller, Esq.

2 Niagara Square

Buffalo, New York 14202

Our Response re: UB Tonawanda Coke Soil Study and Results

The results as reported by University at Buffalo Research Foundation (UB-RF) and Dr. Gardella today mark the first time that our community has been privileged to this information. We’ve expressed a number of concerns to UB-RF and Dr. Gardella in the past regarding the project, one of which is that the soil study does not conform to the original intent ordered by Judge Skretny (the WNY US District Court Judge presiding over the 2014 sentencing of Tonawanda Coke Corp.).  As we understand, the community was to be an equal partner on the project. The truth is, our voices have been stifled and pushed out of the process; a project that the community started, wrote and persisted with for 15 years!

Additionally, we started this project because folks wanted to find out if they can eat vegetables in their garden and if their children are safe to play in their backyard. The UB study does not address these concerns because no testing was performed in these high exposure areas. This needs to happen.

Furthermore, and after consultation with our technical advisor, Dr. Shaun Crawford, PhD., we have a number of concerns on the current and on going work being performed by Dr. Gardella. We are in support of Supervisor’s Emminger and McMurray and Mayor Davis’s May 7th, 2018 letter withdrawing their support for the study until which time the plans and results are reviewed and certified by an independent, and mutually agreed upon, qualified third party person or agency.  It is our understanding that indeed an independent review by an engineering firm, hired by the Town of Tonawanda, found to contain certain deficiencies which give us cause for concern in the UB study. As suggested by Dr. Crawford and until we can resolve the nature of deficiencies identified, we cannot confirm acceptance of the UB soil study results.

Lastly, and most importantly regarding the current work, the community needs to see the raw data. This is our community and we have a right to this information. Without such, we, in consult with Dr. Crawford, are unable to make any logical conclusions. We wish to defer any further comments until such time.

In solidarity,

CSCR 2019 Board of Directors