For her lifelong involvement in helping protect the environment and agriculture, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) on Oct. 3 posthumously bestowed its highest honor -- the Friend of Extension Award -- on Margaret "Peggy" Rockefeller.
The award luncheon, held last Thursday at the Teviotdale Estate in Livingston, was the first of many events in the second annual Cornell Cooperative Extension Week, which extends through Saturday and celebrates extension's contribution to New York's economic vitality.
Before her death last spring, Rockefeller was a founding board
member of the American Farmland Trust, a national farmland preservation group.
She and her husband, David Rockefeller, former chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank,
had set aside nearly 2,000 acres of their Hudson
Valley farmland for perpetual protection. She also was involved in the
Columbia County Land Conservancy.
"Peggy certainly epitomized the values of cooperative extension," said William B. Lacy, director of Cornell Cooperative Extension. David Rockefeller accepted the extension award on his wife's behalf.
Peggy Rockefeller's consuming interests in conserving the environment were not confined to activities in New York. The Maine Times reported that a posthumously delivered message from Rockefeller created a poignant moment during a legislative debate on amending Maine's shore land zoning laws. Jill Goldthwait, a state senator, showed Rockefeller's faxed letter, which she sent just before her death, urging Maine's senate to resist changes in the zoning laws.
"I believe the integrity of these lands is essential," Rockefeller had written. "Please, please do not pass this amendment." The senate adjourned in her honor, according to the Maine Times, and the proposed changes subsequently were rejected.
In addition to the recognition luncheon, CCE associations throughout the state have sponsored educational activities to celebrate the week. For example, the Dutchess County CCE office has sponsored "Bringing Business Into Your Community: A workshop for Main Street retention, recruitment and enhancement." And tonight that office will present "Home Energy Conservation."
The CCE of Tompkins County held a "Money 2000" workshop to help state residents help themselves to reduce their debt by $2,000 by the year 2000.
Throughout New York City, CCE offices opened booths at the various farmers' markets showing the benefits of fresh fruits, vegetables and the importance of a good diet.
Friday, the New York City CCE will launch Youth-Net, an Internet project linking the Highbridge section of the South Bronx with the students and resources at Cornell's Ithaca campus and the rest of world. Youth-Net has received financial support from AT&T.