Environmental Workshops being offered

Presented by Pheasants Forever

Montezuma Audubon Center

2295 New York 89, Savannah, NY 13146

Thursday, March 7th, 2013 6pm - 9pm

 and

A-ON-DO-WA-NUH Sportsmen’s Club

4716 River Rd, Leicester, NY 14481

Friday, March 8th, 2013 6pm - 9pm

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge

1101 Casey Road, Basom, NY 14013

Saturday, March 9th, 2013 2pm - 5pm

The workshops are FREE of charge and all are welcome to attend

Presentations will include the following topics…

• · Managing wildlife on Private Property
• · Food Plots, Native Warm Season Grass establishment, Pollinator Habitats
• · Wetland Development
• · Early Successional Forest
• · State and Federal cost share/incentive programs for landowners

Road Safety Fundamentals

For Highway and Public Works Officials

(Presented by the Cornell Local Roads Program – NY LTAP Center)

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Amsterdam, New York

Montgomery County

COURSE TOPICS

• Road safety basics
• Solving traffic safety problems
• Traffic control devices
• Roadways
• Performance evaluation
• Improving roadside safety
• Intersections, railroad grade crossings and driveways

Registration Fee: $50.00 per person

CLRP now accepts credit cards, call for more information.

Please mail, fax or email your completed form (attached) to CLRP

For more information, visit www.clrp.cornell.edu/workshops/workshops.htm

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $1.7 million to Cornell to enhance understanding of why adolescents are prone to taking risks.

The study, which will compare differences in the brains of teens and adults when faced with risky decisions, will be the first to use the Cornell MRI Facility, a new, state-of-the-art center for neuroscience and other fields of research in Martha Van Rensselaer Hall.

The project will bring together a team of economists, psychologists and neuroscientists to examine decision-making processes in adolescents and adults and shed light on competing theories about how the teen brain works.

Get Connected.  Get Answers.

(Covering Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington Counties)

For information and referral on community services, dial 2-1-1 and a trained call specialist will be able to assist you from 9:00AM–7:00PM (EST) seven days a week.

You may also visit http://www.211neny.org/ to search by keyword or agency name and view the Online Directory for United Way 211 Northeast Region.

NIFA Celebrates America Saves Week February 25-March 2

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2013 – As part of a government-wide collaboration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is celebrating America Saves Week, Feb. 25-March 2, to encourage all individuals to take action daily to improve their personal finances. To celebrate, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Cooperative Extension System (CES) are launching “2013 America Saves Challenge,” an online challenge for individuals and families to set a financial goal, make a plan and save automatically.

“The recent economic crisis has highlighted how essential it is that individuals – young and old – have the information, education and tools they need to make wise financial decisions in an increasingly complex U.S. and global financial system,” said Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director. “The Cooperative Extension System offers essential programs to individuals and families by delivering family and consumer economics programs. By partnering with Cooperative Extension, USDA is able to make tremendous contributions to individuals living in rural and urban America.”

NIFA recognizes the efforts of land-grant universities that offer personal finance, consumer sciences and family resource management curriculum. The CES provides personal financial programs and distributes educational materials to individuals and families in the Extension programs areas of: family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, agriculture and community development. Another accessible resource enabling individuals to obtain personal financial information is eXtension, a Cooperative Extension website at www.extension.org/personal_finance.

Products from Palatine Valley Dairy Cheese in Nelliston, Fariello’s Confectionery in Amsterdam, Rulison Honey Farms in the Town of Florida and Smith’s Orchard Bake Shop in Charlton are featured in the 2013 4-H spring product sale in Fulton and Montgomery Counties. Proceeds from the sale benefit 4-H Youth Development programming in the two-county region.  “All of the money realized from this annual sale remains in Fulton and Montgomery Counties to help make 4-H activities and programs available, affordable and accessible for local youth.  No dollars are sent to the state or national organization,” explains Linda Wegner, 4-H Youth Development Program Leader for Fulton and Montgomery Counties.  “The 4-H local food sale is a major fund-raising effort for 4-H members and local 4-H youth programming outreach.”

Ten selections of cheese products including gift boxes, single eight ounce bars of flavored cheddar, and cheese curd are offered in addition to eight varieties of fruit pies available in regular or sugar-free versions.  Solid dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate bunnies as well as milk chocolate quarter pound chocolate candy blocks and bunny tracks – chocolate covered raisins are also being sold. Two clover honey products are also offered as part of the food product selection for the 2013 sale.  All food products must be pre-ordered and paid for no later than March 6th.

CORBIN HILL FOOD PROJECT

INVITATION TO ATTEND

VEGETABLE FARM PRODUCER MEETING – 2013 SEASON

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15

2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

(RSVP TODAY!! – See Below!)

at

Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties

173 South Grand Street, Cobleskill, NY 12197

The Corbin Hill Food Project is entering its fourth year of working with farmers primarily in Schoharie County.  As we move towards serving 1,000 Shareholders in the South Bronx and Harlem this coming summer and winter season, we invite you to attend the vegetable farm producer briefing to learn about our mission and operation and decide if you would be interested in participating as a vegetable producer for the coming season.  Our invitation is extended to other producers beyond vegetable producers since we have expanded our shares to now include specialty add-on items ranging from cheeses to honey to maple syrup and lamb.  We are also interested in discussing with producers additional added-value items that we may consider including in our produce list.

Please RSVP by February 14.

E-mail:  info@corbinhillfarm.com 

Phone:  718-578-3610

If any questions about the meeting, please call Carey King directly at 828-713-5179.  The Corbin Hill Food Project is the nonprofit structure that will be conducting all the operations and services that were formerly being conducted by Corbin Hill Rd Farm, LLC.  It continues to have the same mission as the LLC, that of providing fresh produce to communities that need it most.

For the first time, anyone anywhere in the world with Internet access can participate in the 16th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) February 15-18. Participants simply watch birds at any location for at least 15 minutes, tally the numbers of each species they see, and report their tallies online at www.BirdCount.org. The GBBC is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon, with Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada.

This year, anyone visiting the GBBC website will be able to see bird observations pouring in from around the world and contribute their own tallies. Global participation will be made possible thanks to eBird, a real-time online checklist program that the Cornell Lab and Audubon are integrating into the GBBC for the first time this year. The GBBC is open to anyone of any skill level and welcomes bird observations from any location, including backyards, national parks, gardens, wetlands, and urban landscapes. The four-day count typically receives sightings from tens of thousands of people reporting more than 600 bird species in the United States and Canada alone.

"We're eager to see how many of the world's 10,240 bird species will be reported during the count this year," said Cornell Lab director John Fitzpatrick. "We're looking forward to this historic snapshot of birds that that will be reported from around the world. We need as many people as possible to help build the wealth of data that scientists need to track the health of bird populations through time."

Participants will be able to view what others are seeing on interactive maps and contribute their tallies for ongoing bird research and conservation efforts. For the first time, participants will also be able to upload their counts from the field using the eBird BirdLog app for Apple or Android smartphones. To celebrate the new global reach of the count, developers of the eBird BirdLog app are offering regional versions of the app for just 99 cents through February 18.

"This count is so much fun because anyone can take part, whether you are an expert, novice, or feeder watcher," said Gary Langham, Audubon’s Chief Scientist. "Invite new birders to join and share the experience. Once you get involved, you can continue with eBird year round."Participating is easy. To learn more about how to join the count, get bird ID tips, plus downloadable instructions, web buttons, and flyers, visit www.BirdCount.org. The count also includes a photo contest and a prize drawing for participants who enter at least one bird checklist online. Portions of the GBBC site are also now available in Spanish at www.ContandoAves.org.

2013 Central New York Dairy Day

Combating High Feed Costs

When:  Tuesday, March 12, 2013 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Where:  Otesaga Resort Hotel, 60 Lake Street, Cooperstown

Cost:  $30 per person (includes the best buffet lunch you will ever eat!)

Registration must be received in the office by Friday, March 8, 2013 at noon NO EXCEPTIONS.  Send your name, address, phone number, email,  and the number of people attending along with a check for $30/person payable to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Herkimer County to CCE Herkimer County, 56457 State Route 5, Herkimer, NY 13350

This program qualifies for 2 PAS Continuing Education Credits from the ARPAS office in Illinois.

There will be a trade show as well as various speakers.  Dr. Larry Chase, Cornell Dairy Science will talk about dealing with high feed costs, what is it costing and what can you do.  He will also speak on feeding liquid whey, where does it fit and can it lower your costs?  Dr. Rick Grant from the  Miner Institute will talk about Lowering the cost of production with feed efficiency and cow comfort.  Finally, there will be a producer panel- “My Experiences with Customers Feeding Whey”, with Harry Bristol of Lutz Feeds, and Brian Rapp, Rapp Dairy Nutrition.

American Red Cross Babysitting Training Available for Local Youth

Cornell Cooperative Extension in Fulton and Montgomery Counties will be hosting an American Red Cross Babysitting program for youth ages 11-15 years old on Wednesday, April 3rd from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.  The class will be held at the Shirley J. Luck Senior Citizen Center, 109 East Main Street in Johnstown, New York.  The American Red Cross Babysitter’s Training program will teach youth critical skills including how to supervise children and infants; basic child-care skills such as diapering, feeding and dressing; selecting safe, age-appropriate games and toys; identifying safety hazards and preventing injuries, caring for common injuries, and performing rescue breathing.

Youth will increase their skills and confidence in being competent babysitters by participating in this hands-on, educational training. The babysitting class is limited to the first 20 youth who register and pay the $60.00 class fee. The registration deadline is March 27^th.    

 Individuals interested in registering for this program must contact Cornell Cooperative Extension in Fulton and Montgomery Counties at 673-5525 ext. 122 or email smd69@cornell.edu. The registration form is available below.