October & November Calendar Items at CCE-Tompkins

Making Ends Meet
Wednesday, October 24, 6:00-8:00pm
at Cooperative Extension Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca NY
This FREE workshop will cover how to set financial goals, track spending, get the most for your money and ways to reduce energy bills. All participants will receive a free assortment of money management tools. Class size is limited; advance registration is required. Call  (607) 272-2292 to reserve a seat, or ask for Helen Ranck or email hkr24@cornell.edu for more information.

Learn to Burn: Heating with Wood Workshop
Thursday, October 25, 6:00-8:00 pm
at Cooperative Extension Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca NY
If you now heat with firewood or pellets, or if you’re interested in moving over to this renewable energy source, this seminar is for you. Come learn about buying and drying firewood, best burn practices, proper maintenance of wood stoves, and an overview of the latest high-efficiency technology now available. Fee: $10/person, scholarships available. Everyone is entered for a chance to win a moisture meter! For more information, contact Guillermo Metz at607-272-2292, x185 or gm52@cornell.edu.

Bow-Making Weekend
Friday, Oct. 26 – Sunday, Oct. 28 (Fri 5:30-9pm, Sat & Sun 9am-6pm)
at 4-H Acres (418 Lower Creek Road, Ithaca)
Build a traditional bow with your own hands.  Experienced bowyers Justin Sutera and Sean Cornell will guide you through the process, from finding and harvesting the tree to staining, finishing, and shooting. The bow you create is yours for years of hunting or target shooting. The connection you create with the land and the knowledge you obtain is yours for a lifetime.   NOTE: this workshop will be physically strenuous and the information complete. The information covered will include bow limb design, bow performance, wood types, storage and curing techniques, and much more. Please bring a notebook and pencil. We also suggest leather work gloves. Cost: $150 – $200 self-determined sliding scale. For more information or to sign up, contact Primitive Pursuits at primitivepursuitscamp@gmail.com  or call (607) 272-2292, ext.195 or 198.

Compost with Confidence: Winter Composting
Saturday, October 27, 11:00am-12:00PM
at the NEW Compost Demonstration site, Ithaca Farmers’ Market, 545 Third Street, Ithaca
Master Composter volunteers from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County provide information and hands-on demonstrations on how to set-up and manage a successful composting system. Each class covers composting basics in addition to rotating topics.  This session addresses how to extend the composting season well into the cold months and the preparations necessary to ensure successful composting over the winter. Questions? Contact Mila Fournier at (607) 272-2292 or ymf5@cornell.edu.

PS: It Works! /Professional Communication Skills Workshop
Tuesday & Wednesday October 30 & 31, 9:00am-4:30pm
at Cooperative Extension Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca NY
This two-day communications skills workshop will help prepare professionals to use and reinforce the 5 communications skills with their clients and daily in their own lives, to conduct the Parenting Skills Workshop Series and Parenting Skills for Literacy Series, and to make referrals to the parenting skills workshop series. Past participants include: parenting educators, DSS personnel, social workers, teachers, child care providers, mental health professionals, alcohol & drug rehab  counselors, coaches and other people who work with people! The $150 registration fee covers the 2 day training, lunch, snack, & Parenting Skills Workshop Series manual. Preregistration is required. For more information, visitccetompkins.org or call Anna at (607) 272-2292.

Fall Worm Composting Class
Saturday November 3, 10:00am-12:00pm
at Cooperative Extension Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca NY
Vote for worms! at this election day “vermicomposting” workshop!  Learn all you need to know to set up and maintain a worm composting bin.  Everyone leaves with a starter bin and worms. Children are welcome with an accompanying adult. Fee: $10/family (sliding scale). Register early at (607) 272-2292. Space is limited! Contact Adam Michaelides atacm1@cornell.edu with questions.

Hydrilla Update: 2012 Treatment, Monitoring & Successes
Wednesday, November 7, 6:30pm reception, 7:00-8:45pm presentation
at Borg-Warner Room, Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E. State Street, Ithaca
This public information session will provide an overview of hydrilla control efforts in 2012, including the results of monitoring for drinking water safety and for herbicide effectiveness. Presenters include Roxy Johnson, City of Ithaca Watershed Coordinator; Anne Wildman of the Tompkins County Health Department; and Bob Johnson, aquatic plant ecologist. Sharon Anderson of CCE-Tompkins will moderate. A reception at 6:30pm will recognize the work of volunteer “Hydrilla Hunters” and others who monitored the lake and inlet all summer and who helped inform the community of ways to prevent hydrilla’s spread.  Refreshments will be served, and John Abel of the West Shore Homeowners Association will give a brief talk. The reception and update session are both free and open to the public, and are sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, the Hydrilla Task Force of the Cayuga Lake Watershed, and the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network. For more information, please contact Sharon Anderson at (607) 272-2292.

Charitable Giving Update
Thursday, November 8, 11:00 am-1:00 pm
Cooperative Extension Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca
A NY State Attorney General’s Office representative will make a brief presentation, then consult with individuals on unresolved consumer problems until 1:00 pm. Free and open to the public. No appointment is needed. Presentations are taped and broadcast on Cable Access Channel 15 on Mondays at 7:00 am, 1:00  pm & 7:00 pm. For more information, contact Carole Fisher, (607) 272-2292 or crf11@cornell.edu.

“How to Buy Local Meat” Class
Thursday, November 8, 6:00-8:00pm
at Cornell Cooperative Extension-Tompkins, 615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY
With all the excitement about local foods, many people are discovering the option of buying their meat locally. This FREE class will provide an overview of the claims and terms used in meat marketing, an explanation of the various cuts, and also will feature a panel of farmers who will talk about their farms and methods and answer questions.  The class is directed to consumers who are looking for education and information about buying locally raised meats. Pre-registration is encouraged so that we can make sufficient handouts.  These classes are supported by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) program. SARE is a program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.Pre-register by calling CCE-Tompkins at 607-272-2292 or email mnl28@cornell.edu

Exploring Credit & Debt Management Issues
Thursday, November 8, 6:00-8:00pm
at Cooperative Extension Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca NY
This FREE workshop covers ways to establish good credit, strategies for prioritizing debt, understanding your credit report and common pitfalls to avoid. All participants receive a free assortment of money management tools. Advance registration required. Contact Helen Ranck at  (607) 272-2292  or hkr24@cornell.edu.

Hide-Tanning Weekend
Friday, Nov. 9 –  Sunday Nov. 11 (Fri 5:30-8pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 9am-6pm)
at 4-H Acres (418 Lower Creek Road, Ithaca)
In this workshop, you will learn to transform a raw deer hide into a finished piece of buckskin by an all-natural process called wetscrape braintanning. Each participant will be guided throughout the process by experienced braintanner Justin Sutera to ensure that everyone goes home with a successfully tanned hide. Other tanning methods such as dry scrape, hair on tanning, buffalo robe tanning and even bark tanning will be discussed. Bring a notebook and be prepared to learn lots of great tips based on direct tanning experience of the instructors. If you put in the hard work required you will leave the workshop with not only a beautiful finished hide but also the knowledge to produce quality hides on your own. Cost: $135-$185 self-determined sliding scale.  For more information or to sign up, contact Primitive Pursuits at primitivepursuitscamp@gmail.com  or call (607) 272-2292, ext.195 or 198.

Primitive Pursuits School Break Days
Monday November 12, 9:00am-3:30pm
at 4-H Acres, 418 Lower Creek Road, Ithaca
Youth aged 6 to 14 may join Primitive Pursuits for one, two, or three fun-filled “school break” days of real time nature connection. With our cookf ires burning and our hands busy with the crafts of our ancestors, we will rejoin our circles and welcome the changing season. Fall is the season of the harvest and the season of the hunter, so come live it! Eat your vegetables the old fashioned way – gathered from the wild! Learn how to process harvested foods. Practice your stealth while playing games of the predators that walk our landscape. Hide in the shadows, or in the shelter you built from sticks and leaves. These are experiences that last a lifetime and are not to be missed! Early drop-off at 8:30 and Late pick-up till 4:30pm are free of charge, but you must pre-register to attend. Cost: $65-$95 per day (self-determined sliding scale). To register or for more information, contact Primitive Pursuits at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, (607) 272-2292, ext 195, email primitivepursuits@cornell.edu, or visit www.primitivepursuits.com

Parents Apart- (2) Monday workshops
(2) Mondays, November 12 & 26, 6:00-9:00 pm
Confidential location; TBA before 1st session
Parents Apart is a six-hour workshop for parents who want to learn how to help their child(ren) cope during their separation and divorce. The workshop is taught by therapists and attorneys and focuses on how children react emotionally to their parents’ divorce and/or separation, and what parents can do to help them adjust.  Registration is confidential and parents of the same child(ren) are placed in different workshops.  Fee: $60-$120, self-determined sliding scale; scholarships are available. For information, to pay by credit card, to request a reduced fee, or to discuss concerns about safety or other special circumstances, please call Anna Steinkraus at (607) 272-2292 ext 145 or email ams69@cornell.edu.

Retiring from Driving (for Caregivers)
Tuesday, November 13, 1:30-3:00am
at LIfeLong Learning Center, 119 W. Court St., Ithaca
CCE-Tompkins’ Way2Go program and the Community Dispute Resolution Center have partnered to provide family members and caregivers of senior drivers with information on how to retire from driving, what resources are available for transportation in Tompkins County, and skills and tools to have a conversation about retiring from driving. This FREE 90 minute workshop wil explore proactive and reflective listening, conflict resolution, transportation programs and services and more. For more information or tosign up, contact Ray Weaver at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, (607) 272-2292 or weaver@cornell.edu.

Finger Lakes Cheese Trail Open House
Saturday November 17, 10:00 am-5:00 pm
Various locations in the Finger Lakes
Learn about the wonderful variety of cheeses produced here in the Finger Lakes by visiting local cheese producers and sampling their products. The Finger Lakes Cheese Trail is an organization of cheese producers from throughout the Finger Lakes who make artisan cheeses from milk produced at their family farms.  Great cheeses are being made, ranging from English style raw milk cheddars, cheese curd, gouda and swiss types from dairy cow milk, to blue cheeses, chevre and feta from goats and sheep milk. Free!  Find addresses and directions at ccetompkins.org/cheesetrail or visit Finger Lakes Cheese Trail on Facebook.  For more information, call Monika Roth at 272-2292 or email mr55@cornell.edu.