Organizational Update

• Have you seen our 2016 Annual Report yet?  Check out the digital version here!

    4-H 

• Welcome to Juliana Quaresma, our new 4H Resource Educator!

• May 19 & 20: 2017 Equine and Dairy 101 at Morrisville State College

• The 4-H members from CCE Onondaga went through a series of events in the last 2 months. We had the County Public Presentation and the County Horse Communication events on March 25th with a little over 40 participants total: 27 youth competing plus volunteers and parents. The top 3 participants from the County events went on to the Regional Public Presentation and the Regional Horse Communication events in Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County. In the Regional event the youth had the opportunity to present and compete with other 4-H members from the Herkimer, Oneida, Madison, and Oswego Counties. One participant from Onondaga County won 2nd place in the Regional Public Presentation, qualifying for the State Public Presentation event, which will be called Communication Institute, to be held at Cornell University in June as a workshop with youth members from all New York State.

• The Regional Horse Communication Competition was held on April 26. Three youth from Onondaga County qualified to move on to the New York State Horse Communication Contest which will be held at Cornell University on May 13. The winners at the Senior Level from the State Horse Communication will be invited to attend the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Louisville, Kentucky. These series of events are great opportunities for the youth to learn and master their communication and public speaking skills. They learn about all the steps needed to organize information into an interesting and creative presentation, from the research process to the use of visual aids, tone of voice and body language. The 4-Hers work on their presentation with collaboration from their family members, 4-H leaders, 4-H educators, and other 4-H members. Such experience helps the youth build self-confidence, and prepares them for school presentations and community leadership.

Agriculture

• Going on now: Youth Tractor Safety Training!  The Hazardous Occupation in Agriculture Law requires youth ages 14 – 16 years must have at least 24 hours of tractor safety training. Onondaga County CCE is currently holding a tractor safety course to provide this training. Classes are Wednesday evenings through May, concluding with the certification exams on June 7^th. Classes will be held at various locations, including farms, equipment dealers and a fire department.

• Agricultural Literacy Week – Agricultural Literacy Week was held March 20^th – 24^th, 2017. There were several volunteers that read the book The Grapes Grow Sweet, by Lynne Tuft, to 74 second grade classrooms in 20 Onondaga County Elementary Schools, reaching 1,403 students! Ag Literacy Week is an opportunity for students to learn about agriculture, where food and fiber comes from and the people that produce it

 Environment

• CCE Onondaga is planting 100 spruce tree seedlings within the Skaneateles and Otisco Lake Watersheds in areas battling hemlock woolly adelgid. The seedlings will be part of a research project with Cornell University and CCE Onondaga to determine environmental suitability and deer browse conditions, as well as rehabilitation of forest cover in areas where hemlock woolly adelgid has reduced tree canopy. For more information please contact Roy Widrig at rlw294@cornell.edu.

• June16: Shorescaping: Landscaping For Water Quality Workshop 2017 Attendees will learn basic water quality best management practices for shorelines, stream courses and camp roads. For more information contact Roy Widrig. Registration Open Online.

• Clary Middle School Orchard installation will take place in May. Dwarf Fruit trees include: Plums, Cherries, Apricots, Mulberry and Serviceberry
   
• Syracuse Academy of Science Elementary School – Edible Garden installation is taking place April – May. Trees and shrubs include: dwarf mulberry trees, serviceberry shrubs and a variety of perennial pollinators.
   
• Learn more about how to protect yourself and your family against ticks this season

•  Local Farmers and Landowners Learn about Land Conservation Opportunities: Onondaga County farmland and woodland owners gathered in late March to learn about options for keeping their land a working landscape. Dan Welsch from Cornell FarmNet presented on FarmNet services to help families address the business and personal challenges of land and business succession planning. Finger Lakes Land Trust presented on land conservation tools, particularly the Farmland Protection Implementation Grant (FPIG) program. Heather Birdsall of Birdsall Beef in Cortland and Onondaga County spoke about her experience applying for the FPIG grant, and encouraged landowners and producers to start their pre-application process now to be prepared for the next round in 2018. This workshop was present by CCE Agriculture Educator, Melanie Palmer and Water Quality Educator, Roy Widrig.

• Welcome to Thomas Cross, new Environmental Team Leader, and Aaron Ross, new Urban Agriculture Educator working with the RAPP program through the Syracuse Refugee and Immigrant Self- Empowerment (RISE) Program

Master Gardeners

• May 20: Master Gardener Plant Sale!

• May 23: Climate Change And Your Garden

• June 7: Plant Natives Presentation

• Master Gardeners will be at the Regional Market every Saturday from 8am-Noon, come see us!

• Tis the Season...Interested in soil testing?  We can test pH here but tests for nutrient levels are sent to the Cornell Lab.  Find out more about the process and how to take a proper soil sample here

• Stay up to date with the Master Gardener Program & follow their Facebook page

Nutrition

• Welcome to Kathleen Bump, new Nutrition Team Leader, and Kirstin Lyons, new Nutrition Community Educator working with Onondaga County Youth

• Have you seen our bus wraps or heard our radio messages?

           

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• Let’s Get Cooking is a cookbook developed for all families in our community. Our goal is to provide healthy, tasty meal ideas to make cooking together quick, easy and healthy for everyone. You will find these recipes easy to prepare, low-cost, tasty and nutritious. We hope that you and your children will enjoy learning, cooking and eating together. Download it now!