Our Organization
OCCA is a regional conservation organization addressing a broad spectrum of basic environmental concerns who promotes the appreciation and sustainable use of our region’s resources. OCCA implements crucial programs and projects to improve or protect Otsego County’s air, land, and water. Broad support from county residents enhances our ability to accomplish our mission.
Engaging our Communities in Responsible Stewardship
Recycling Day List
Recycling Day List
**Welcome to the OCCA Drive-Through Recycling Event!**
Join us on **Saturday, April 26th** for a convenient and eco-friendly way to recycle your items.
We invite you to participate in our Drive-Through Recycling event, which will be held at **Wilber Park** (located on Dave West Drive) in Milford.
**Event Details: **
**Date: ** Saturday, April 26th
**Location: ** Wilber Park, Dave West Drive, Milford
After you drop off your recycling, don’t miss the chance to visit the **Earth Festival** at the Milford School.
It’s a perfect opportunity to learn more about sustainability and enjoy a day of fun! Thank you for helping us protect our environment and promote recycling in our community. We look forward to seeing you there!
What we are collecting:
Shredding Truck
Textiles
Styrofoam
Sneakers through gotsneakers.com
Tennis Balls through recycleballs.org
Glasses through Cooperstown Lions Club
Oral Care Waste-Spent toothbrushes, floss containers, toothpaste tubes
Beekman 1802 Products
Hasbro Games
Gillette and Venus-Razors
Earth Festival 2025 & Drive-Through Recycling --All on one day!!!
**Welcome to the Earth Festival!**
**Join Us for Our 20th Anniversary Celebration!**
Join us for the Earth Festival, a family-friendly event dedicated to promoting conservation and sustainability. This year marks our twentieth anniversary, and we invite you to celebrate with us!
**Event Highlights: **
**Workshops: ** Engage in hands-on activities that inspire eco-friendly practices.
**Children's Area: ** Fun and educational activities designed for kids.
Plus, we will have fun sustainable crafts set up from 12 pm- 2 pm
** Repair Cafe **-11 am- 2 pm
Bring in a broken item for volunteer expert repair coaches to make small repairs and give advice on how to fix a variety of items. The repairs will be done free of charge, materials needed to fix items will be available to purchase.
**Drive-Through Drop-Off Recycling Event** Do you have hard-to-recycle items? Our Drive-Through Drop-Off recycling event offers a convenient way to dispose of them properly. By participating, you’ll help us keep thousands of pounds of waste out of landfills. Last year, we collected over 8,000 pounds, and we're excited to exceed that total in 2025!
**Join us in making a positive impact on our planet.
Together, we can create a greener future!** For more information, schedule, and updates, please visit our website. We can’t wait to see you there!
Click the button below for a list of our confirmed vendors and the workshop schedule!
Support our work in 2025!
In 2024, our main goal was to connect with more of you, and we did! Last year, thanks to your growing interest and support, more than 1800 people participated in our programs, a significant 53% increase from 2023.
Education is the cornerstone of all our activities. From nature walks and summer institutes for teachers to online programming and volunteer initiatives like invasive species removals and stream monitoring, we strive to empower our community with knowledge and skills, making each of you a capable steward of our environment.
Our goal is to build a community that understands how an ecosystem functions and actively fosters care and action for their environment. We value your participation in our various activities, from nature hikes to stream monitoring sessions, as your involvement makes our mission a collective effort.
Give today and help OCCA connect more Otsego County residents with their environment in 2025. We can't wait to host more programs, remove more invasive species, and lead more nature walks. Every dollar donated to this campaign directly invests in our environment and community.
Contribute Today:
Scan or Click on the QR code for online payment or mail checks to:
PO Box 931, Cooperstown, NY 13326
Become an OCCA Member in 2025!
Join Us in Shaping Otsego County's Future.
This fall, we're launching our revitalized membership program, and we need passionate individuals like you to lead the charge. Whether your interests lie in education, conservation, or advocacy, your contribution is vital to our mission.
Membership Benefits
Exclusive access to events and workshops throughout the year
Networking opportunities with conservation minded individuals
Regular updates on our projects and achievements
Quarterly Member Only Newsletter
For Questions about our new membership program call Assistant Director, Shelby MacLeish at 607-547-4488 or email at shelbym@occainfo.org
We look forward to you joining the OCCA Community!
OCCA is thrilled to announce the launch of our free online Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE) course. This course is part of the Chesapeake Bay Headwaters Education Ecosystem, a partnership between the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education & Training (B-WET) Program and OCCA. It is designed to foster environmental literacy in the headwaters region of Chesapeake Bay. While the course is focused on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, it is a valuable resource for any New York Teacher, home educator, or individual interested in enhancing their understanding of environmental issues and incorporating this knowledge into their work or life.
Click on the button below to learn more and enroll today!
Now Available
Online B-WET Course
Volunteer with OCCA!
Volunteers play a huge role in our work at OCCA. Click on the button below to learn more about our volunteer program, and subscribe to the Eco-bulletin to stay updated with volunteer projects.
Otsego County HABS Website
The site has information about what Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are, what to look out for when assessing if you should go in a body of water, and resource links to all of the local science happening here to understand HABs and help toward a long-term management solution.