ProgramEarth
NYC skyline with Little Island and Lower Manhattan
Upcoming eventNYC · Oct 28, 2026NEW YORK. OUR ENVIRONMENT. OUR FUTURE.

NYC Environmental Agent-a-thon.

AI Agents helping Public Sector Agencies with Environmental Data. A hackathon for students. Real impact for New York.

Applications openSponsor commitments close Oct 1, 20261 dayIn-person · New York City
Sponsors
JPMorgan logoOpenAI logoFidelity logoCNCF logo

An afternoon where students, sponsors, and New York's environmental agencies ship real software together.

Sponsor this event →Apply as a student
By the numbers

An afternoon, sized to the challenge.

0+
hectares
protected across ProgramEarth's partner network.
0M
people
served by New York State environmental agencies.
0
day
of building, mentorship, and demos with agency partners.
How it works

Sponsors define. Students build. Agencies keep it running.

Step 01

Sponsors define the challenge.

You choose the environmental use case. We provide the context.

  • Provide APIs, AI tools, cloud credits, or environmental workflows.
  • We connect your technology to real public datasets and agency needs.
  • Your platform is used by future engineers building solutions for New York.
Step 02

Students build AI agents & systems.

Students from CUNY, SUNY, Columbia, and Cornell build prototypes using your tools.

  • AI agents for environmental risk management.
  • Water quality & watershed monitoring.
  • Large environmental database pipelines.
  • Geospatial, sensor, and remote sensing workflows.
  • Public-sector reporting and decision support systems.
Step 03

Projects continue with agency partners.

Top projects don't end on demo day. They continue in the real world.

  • Agency partners evaluate and adopt useful tools.
  • Open-source code, models, and workflows are retained by agencies.
  • Tools support environmental monitoring, compliance, and community resilience.
  • Students gain mentorship and pathways for future collaborations.
Project tracks

Three focus areas, one afternoon.

AI Agents

  • · Climate indicators
  • · Land-use changes
  • · Flood risk agents
  • · Wildfire risk agents
  • · Watershed degradation agents
  • · Erosion & sediment analysis agents

Data Visualization

  • · Public environmental dashboards
  • · Sensor feeds
  • · GIS & spatial analysis
  • · Real-time opportunity zones
  • · Environmental dashboards
  • · Interactive mapping

Open Source Architecture

  • · Reusable agent frameworks
  • · APIs & data pipelines
  • · Reference architectures for deployment
  • · Community-driven improvements
Why sponsor

Talent, trust, and real deliverables, from one afternoon.

The Agent-a-thon puts your engineers in the room with the next generation of AI and environmental talent, alongside the agencies already deploying that work at scale.

  • Access emerging AI and environmental engineering talent from top NY universities.

  • Brand alignment with New York State agencies and public-interest partners.

  • Working prototypes that continue with agency partners after the event.

What students will build

Working tools by 5pm, not slide decks.

Teams ship a functioning, agent-powered tool against a real environmental workflow in a single day, built on your APIs, SDKs, and datasets.

OpenNature Map, a student-built dashboard showing tribal consultation alerts for water basins, wildfire zones and transport corridors across a California map
Example buildOpenNature Map surfaces new consultation alerts, highway expansions, reservoir plans, fuel breaks, wind farms, against water basins, wildfire zones and transport corridors, then routes each one into a coordinated response for tribal and agency reviewers.

  • A demoable repo, same day

    Every team ships a working prototype and a public repository, not a concept deck. You leave with something you can run.

  • Built on your stack

    Sponsors define the challenge. Your API, SDK, or dataset becomes the reference implementation students learn on and keep using.

  • Validated by real users

    Agency and community partners sit with the teams, so the workflows are pressure-tested by the people who actually run them.

  • Output that keeps circulating

    Repos, demos, and badges travel with students to LinkedIn and their next roles, extending your reach well past the event.

Tier 3 sponsors get to issue custom badges.

Each custom badge links students back to your repository, helping more builders discover your tools, understand what you offer, and start building with them.

OpenEarth Hacks · AWS Strands for Sustainability badge
Students earn a LinkedIn-worthy badge on your tools
Past badge example
Built with
Strands
Issued by
ProgramEarth markProgramEarth
Agenda

October 28, 2026.

9:00 AMSetup + soundcheck
10:00 AMDoors open & networking
11:00 AMOpening keynote / panel
12:00 PMStewardship project overviews
12:30 PMBuild sprint / workshop
5:00 PMLightning demos + storytelling
6:00 PMNetworking + wrap-up
7:00 PMEvent concludes

Live captions, wheelchair accessible, quiet space, and livestream access provided.

In partnership with

Universities and State Agencies.

Academic partners
CUNY logoSUNY logoColumbia logoCornell logo
Agency partners
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation logo

October 28, 2026. New York City.

Whether you're bringing a team, a budget, or a challenge, get in touch and we'll route you to the right side of the room.

Event runs October 28, 2026 · Sponsor deadline October 1

Sponsor this event →Apply as a student

Building AI solutions for watersheds · Stronger communities · A better future

Sponsorship

Three ways to support the Agent-a-thon.

Tier 1
$750 – $2,500
  • Logo on website & materials.
  • LinkedIn mentions.
  • Event giveaways.
  • Event recap posts.
  • Sponsor listing.
  • Access to talent pipeline.
  • Reference architecture (basic).
Tier 2
$3,000 – $6,000
  • All Tier 1 benefits.
  • Co-branded swag.
  • Issue credentials for your tool (AWS Strands / AI Builder).
  • Access to reference architecture repo used for customers and organizations.
  • Enhanced visibility & mentions.
  • Mentor participation opportunities.
Tier 3
$6,500+
  • All Tier 1–2 benefits.
  • Branded recap video.
  • Impact metrics report.
  • Co-branded case study.
  • Advanced reference architecture.
  • We maintain reference architecture.
  • Strategic visibility & ecosystem collaboration.