Upcoming events

Upcoming events in the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Horticulture

in the South Central New York Region

AGRICULTURE

Thursday, Dec 4^th Implementing Precision Feeding- 10:30- 2:00pm, Human Services Complex- Montour Falls. Geared toward dairy farmers. Alternative dates and locations, November 14^th- Sommers Hall Canisteo and December 5^th St. Pauls Lutheran Church, Cohocton. Please register with Steuben county- 607-664-2300.

February 10-12, 2009- Empire State Fruit & Vegetable Expo Syracuse, New York Oncenter Convention Center, Syracuse NY • February 11 & 12, 2009

Becker Forum • February 10, 2009 • Holiday Inn Liverpool. Visit

www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/expo/ for more details or call Please contact NYSVGA

Phone/fax: 315-687-5734 info@nysvga.org

HORTICULTURE

Saturday, November 29, 2pm. Showtime! "Indoor Succulents" Sciencecenter educator John Alvarez del Castillo will introduce houseplants for sunny windows (and forgetful waterers)! Visitors can take home a small succulent plant. Call 607-272-0600 for details.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Thursday December 4^th at 7PM. “New Insects Threaten Extinction of Native Trees”. Join us at the Schuyler County Human Services Complex Auditorium at 323 Owego St in Montour Falls. Learn more about the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, Emerald Ash Borer, Asian Longhorn Beetle and other invasive forest pests that pose an unprecedented threat to our forests. Dr. Jerry Carlson of the DEC will present the latest information on these pests, and what you can do to help. The meeting is free of charge, and refreshments will be served. Contact Brett Chedzoy of Schuyler County Cornell Cooperative Extension at 607 535-7161, or Jim Bagley of the NYS DEC at 607-776-2165 -x26 for more information.”

EnergyStar Televisions Released

New EnergyStar Televisions Released

The Environmental Protection Agency has released a new rating system for energy efficient televisions with 229 models receiving the EnergyStar designation. The new rating system focuses on “phantom load”. Televisions that utilize a remote still use energy even when they are turned off, these new televisions don’t. EnergyStar televisions use 30% less energy than standard televisions which can use as much energy as a refrigerator (typically the biggest energy user in the home). For a list of qualifying televisions visit EnergyStar.gov. The more efficient models may cost slightly more but you must always keep in mind the initial purchase price versus the ongoing energy costs, in the end, the more energy efficient models are the most cost effective. For more ways to save energy visit www.getenergysmart.org.

Compost your pumpkins.

If you aren’t planning to make something edible from your Halloween pumpkins don’t just toss them in with your garbage, compost them! Take a minute to think how much you pay for your garbage disposal. Most of us have either a limit to how many bags we can put to the curb for pickup or pay by the pound to dispose of garbage. Pumpkins can be huge and heavy and take up a lot of space and weight in our garbage.

So, to save money and to have great compost for your plants and vegetables, toss them into a compost pile. You may even be lucky to grow your own pumpkins for next year!

For more information on composting visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/schuyler.

Nice time for a walk!

Following in the footsteps of Elmira, which has just completed their own one-mile walk, Watkins Glen is next in line to do one of their own. The purpose of the program is to get people walking. What does it take to construct this one-mile walk? Some paint and a stencil. Little race cars will be painted on the sidewalks and along the waterfront delineating a one-mile walkway. The walkway will go up Franklin, across the waterfront, down Decatur and then across 9th street (see draft map). Anyone interested in walking can start at any race car and once they complete a full circle back to that same race car, they will have walked a mile. The walkway not only helps walkers keep track of how far they have walked but also gives visitors to the Village a quick one-mile route around the Village. Businesses will benefit as well. Residents and visitors walking along the path will pass through the main street business district, where they will be able to stop and shop. The walk will also introduce walkers to the Catharine Valley Trail, a 12-mile, multi-use trail that connects Watkins Glen State Park and Mark Twain State Park in the Southern Tier of New York State. The one-mile walk will go down to 9th street, where the Catherine Valley Trail enters the Village. Individuals walking the one-mile walk can choose to continue on the Catherine Valley Trail while people walking on the Catherine Valley Trail can choose to do a mile around the Village. The path is an excellent way to get residents and visitors walking and best of all, around our beautiful Village.

Please be advised that this is only a preliminary proposed walk-way. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to contact the Land Use Team.

Visit the trail on Google maps.