Have a Sustainable Holiday!

Courtesy of Jeannine Gettis

Remember to think "local" and "sustainable" this holiday season.

By buying local:
More of your money stays in our community
You support the development of local jobs
You reduce environmental impact
You are rewarded with better service!
You invest in our community (encourages new local businesses!)
You help build local economic resilience

Don't forget about locally made products like soaps and green cleaning supplies from Lime Hollow Naturals and lotions and shampoo from Cold Brook Farm. Great gift ideas of locally grown food or locally made products are also available in the area at shops like Oh My Goodness Health Food Store in Homer.  Or, how about some gift certificates to local services (like Hearts Content Healing and Pure and Simple Yoga)?

For more ways to help support your local businesses this season, check out the Cortland Historic Downtown Partnership newsletter for special events and ideas.

Cortland County Sustainable Living Tour 10/8/11

Twin Oaks Dairy Tracking Solar PV System

Uttech Property

Please join us for the first annual Cortland County Sustainable Living Tour on October 8, 2011.  The day includes two tours.  Tour highlights will include: Straw bale and earth-berm construction, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, sustainable gardening, passive solar, LEED Silver building standards, and energy retrofits.

For more info please go to: cortlandgreenhomes.wordpress.com  or contact Beth Klein (607-753-5682) solarbeth@gmail.com

TOUR 1: Businesses and Organizations

10:15-11:00 Cortland YWCA, Cortland  - solar PV system

11:30-12:30 SUNY Cortland Professional Studies Building, Cortland – Meets LEED Silver standards, geothermal heating and cooling, and more

1:00-2:00 Lime Hollow Center for Environment and Culture Visitor Center, Cortland – Geothermal, solar PV system, and other green building techniques.

Tour 2: Farms and Homes

9:15-10:00  Twin Oaks Dairy, Truxton – tracking ground mount solar panels

Klein garden and Solar PV system

10:30 – 11:30 – Klein home, Solon  - ground mount solar PV system, solar thermal hot water system, on-demand hot water, wood stove, root cellar.  Jon Wood of Cortland and owner of  Green Sun Solar  will be on hand to talk about his solar thermal installation here.

12:00 – 1:30 –  Northland Sheep Dairy, Freetown/Marathon
Karl and Jan North Home: Earth-berm construction and passive solar, and more.
Donn Hewes and MaryRose Livingston Home: Straw bale construction, passive Solar, and more.

2:00-3:00 – Uttech home, Lapeer – Solar PV, solar thermal hot water, wood stove and more

Uttech Solar PV controllers

Moving Cortland Week Sept. 18-24!

Lots of great sustainability events planned for "Moving Cortland" Week Sept. 18-24! Our community's role in the world-wide Moving Planet event  - A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels!

Events include: hiking trips, energy films (End of Suburbia and Escape from Suburbia, Gasland and Split Estate) incentives to ride the bus, walk and bike around Cortland, and lots more!

Healthy Now and Way2Go Cortland, two grant programs affiliated with Seven Valleys Health Coalition, and the Cortland County sustainability group have planned a weeklong event from September 18 - 24 to promote locally produced food & products and healthier, more sustainable transportation options.

"Moving Cortland: A Week to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels" will focus on walking, bicycling, riding the bus and eating/buying local products.

Activities include:

1. A bingo-type card where individuals will be able to choose various activities (hike a trail, ride the bus, attend a farmers market, attend an energy presentation, etc.) and will get a stamp when the activity is completed. When they get "bingo" they will be able to enter their card into a drawing for prizes donated by local merchants and organizations

2. "Get Caught Moving" - we will have spotters during that week looking for those who display a Moving Cortland armband. They will receive a coupon good for produce at a farmers market in the county.

3. There will be volunteers who will be available on a reservation basis to act as a "Bus Buddy" for people who need help navigating the public transit system.

For more information and to find out where to pickup/drop-off bingo cards and armbands, go to Seven Valleys Health Coalition

Check out the bingo game card for specifics on events, available at locations throughout Cortland or download from: Moving Cortland Bingo Card

Canning Workshop

If you've always wanted to learn how to can, here's your opportunity.  Cooperative Extension is offering a hands-on workshop THIS Saturday (Sept. 17th) from 9-noon at the Cortland County Office Building (Basement room B-1).  Please pre-register ASAP by calling Sharon VanDeuson, Cornell Cooperative Extension, at 607-753-5078.  There is a small charge of $5 to help with materials costs.

Preserving the Harvest Presentation

Chris Applegate at the Virgil Market

Please join us for "Preserving the Harvest" on Wed. August 17th, from 7:00-9:00 PM at the New York State Grange Headquarters in Cortland (just off of Clinton Avenue). In this free workshop Chris Applegate will present information on "putting food by" for the winter.  Methods to be discussed include canning, freezing, dehydrating, root cellaring, pickling and fermenting.  Chris is an organic grower and food safety educator.  She has been a professional cook restaurant owner and college dining manager.  She currently manages the Virgil Farmers Market.  For more info please contact the Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District at 607-756-5991.

Chris is an excellent speaker and very knowledgeable.  I encourage anyone thinking about preserving food as well as those who already do to come to this session.  She'll be able to answer all kinds of questions.

Finally some fruit!

Apples

Barlett Pear

Asian Pears

Mulberries

Grapes

hazelnuts

making strawberry jam

After many struggles with growing fruit (clay hardpan dirt, too much rain, not enough rain, several late frosts after too early springs, pests, etc) we are finally seeing some rewards - but we still have our challenges this year.  This season we are finally getting a number of pears and apples.  Our cherries were looking good this spring, until we had a ton of rain just as they were getting ripe, so they all split on us.  Blueberries did not have enough rain while they were ripening, so many shriveled or are very tart. Our grapes are doing mixed, many looked great, some are shriveling, others look like they may make it.  Mulberries are doing very well, if I can beat the birds to them that is.  We are getting a lot of apples this year as well, although they are small, those we already have harvested seem to be sweet. Also this season we are getting our first hazelnuts, and harvested a bunch of currants (white and black).  Our strawberries did great early on, but our everbearers didn't like the drier and hotter than normal weather we had much of July.  Our Elderberries are not doing well this year, although last year we had a bumper crop. In talking with others, they have also had a mixed success this year both with fruit and garden veggies.  Some explain how they narrow down what grows best, others plant a variety as they've found (as have we) that some years some things do great and others don't and other years it is the reverse.  As climate change effects become more dramatic here in the Northeast, I expect this will become even more complicated.

Senator Gillibrand meets with Cortland County Farmers and Residents

The Knapp Family with Senator Gillibrand

This past Friday morning, on a beautiful Central New York day, I had the pleasure of visiting Cobblestone Valley Farm in Preble, NY.  Since the Knapp Family (Maureen, Paul, Casey, Blaise and Evan) provide us with most of our locally grown beef, chicken, turkey, pork and strawberries, we had been to their farm many times. On this day, they were hosting a "listening session" with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand who is serving on the Senate Agriculture committee and conducting a listening tour about agricultural issues that her citizens would like addressed in the next farm bill.  Senator Gillibrand was impressive as she took charge of the meeting and had obviously done her own research on key issues as she responded and questioned individuals as they presented questions and comments.  The Senator was joined by Darrel Aubertine, the Commissioner of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Casey Knapp introducing Senator Gillibrand

One of the issues raised was federal subsidies for corn-based ethanol - which besides being a food source used for fuel, is also usually grown in non-sustainable manners, is a net energy looser (it takes more energy to make it than we get out of it as a fuel) and as my husband said to the Senator "it is wrecking my chain saw, ruining my gas mileage and I get to PAY for the privilege!" Another issue raised was that of famers needing to be paid enough for their products so they can pay employees a decent wage, pay for their costs of production and make a little profit so that they can continue to grow our food.  Other issues included a request for support for the development of regional food systems and markets, and also labeling of GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) products.

The latter question was asked by Heather Hawkins, co-owner of Green Hills Market in Syracuse.  We chatted for a while afterwards and I was very impressed with her depth of knowledge of healthy foods, and her dedication for her family grocery store to offer quality food.  She went to the Future of Food conference in DC and also watched (as did I) the TEDxManhattan conference in January on Changing the Way We Eat.

Senator Gillibrand and Commissioner Aubertine

I also bumped into Neil Brody Miller who developed the iPhone (iPad/iPod) app called Farmshed.  This free app  as Neil says on his website "puts all of Central New York's local food producers at your fingertips.  Browse through comprehensive directories of regional farms, CSAs, farmers markets, natural food stores, locavore restaurants, and more. .  .  Why Central New York?  Because we live, work, and eat here.  We believe that buying local does a world of good for the region, and that supporting local farmers and food producers puts fresher, more nutritious food on our tables, strengthens community-based economies and local food cultures, and builds closer personal relationships between producers and consumers."  Of course this includes Cortland County!  Neil also said that they were coming out shortly with  a web-based app that would also work on your PC and other portable wireless devices, so check the Farmshed website for more info.

The Garden Grows, the Weeds Grow Faster!

unfortunate garden streams

peas and onions, oh my!

Wow, it seems like in the blink of an eye we went from winter to weeds that are 3 feet tall!  Overall it has been a bit damp this spring with the garden being pretty swampy.  We did manage to get our potatoes in - during a stretch of a few days of sunny dry weather and they are beginning to show themselves. Other things went in the raised beds.  These includes copious amounts of onions and shallots.  I broke a companion planting rule and planted my peas with my onions.  I am tired of critters always eating the peas down - so thought perhaps the onions might help deter and figured it was worth the risk. So far the peas look like they don't mind being with the onions.  In fact, it is time to give them something to climb on.

broccoli, cabbage and spinach

We also put in some cabbage, broccoli, spinach, kohlrabi, beets, carrots, turnips rather early using our hoops and agribon.  Now that it has warmed up they are really taking off.  So far we elected to not  put in too many fragile things - only a few tomatoes so far.  And this year we are trying out Karl's new "modular" tomato cage design made from PVC pipe and tacked in the ground with a little rebar (Did I mention we get what seems like gale force wind around here?) He's also designed some for pole beans, too.  Which I'll show in a later post.

Karl's PVC tomato cages

The rest of the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, squash and herbs are still in the greenhouse waiting both for our last frost date to pass (June 1 for us) and also for the garden to dry up a bit.  The good part about the damp weather is that most of the fruit trees have beautiful blooms and all the perennials are looking terrific (and all the weeds are, too).  Hopefully we won't get a late frost (like we have the last couple of years) and these blossoms will give us some fruit this year!

veggies in the greenhouse

 pink crabapple blooming

Sustainability Week Events

Next week on the SUNY Cortland Campus is Sustainability Week.  Below is a list of events.  All events are free and open to the public.  Sessions address issues such as sustainable food, local foods, renewable energy, climate change, etc.  Hope to see you there!

Saturday April 16th from 8:30 to 11:00am:  

Sixth Annual Community Cleanup Day
Meet at the Chamber Parking lot at 37 Church St.
Organized by the Cortland Downtown Partnership, the City of Cortland, the Cortland Chamber of Commerce, the SUNY Cortland Institute for Civic Engagement, and SUNY Cortland AmeriCorps

“Fresh from the Farm” Little York Farms at 5668 U.S. Route 11, Homer, NY. from 9:00am to 2:00pm
A NEW opportunity to buy locally grown and processed foods including: local pasture-raised beef, free range eggs, honey, herb plants, real maple syrup, semi-soft cheese, homemade beef soup, and baked goods.   
Organized by Healthy Now Cortland County (For more information call 607-591-9727)


Sunday April 17th From  9:30 to 1:30pm 

A Trip to the Seneca Meadows Landfill
Meet at the loading dock behind Bowers Hall
Organized by the SUNY Cortland Environmental Science Club


Monday April 18th  

SUNY Cortland Sustainability Week Keynote Address 7:30 - 9:00 pm Sperry Hall 205
“Pedaling Climate Change: A bike trip from Delaware to Oregon, talking about climate change”
Dr. David Goodrich, former Director of Climate Observations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and former director of the Global Climate Observing System Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland


Tuesday April 19th  Sustainability Week Sessions at SUNY Cortland Campus

1:40-2:40 pm in Bowers 155: The Environmental Impact of Tobacco: Working toward a Tobacco-Free Campus
The SUNY Cortland Tobacco Advisory Committee

3:00-4:00 pm in Bowers 155: A Not-So Temperate Environment and How it Affects Forests (and People, too)
Neil Pederson, Doherty Associate Research Scientist, Tree-Ring Laboratory, LDEO & Columbia University

4:00 to 6:00 pm Hoxie Gorge: An Outdoor Classroom for Sustainability: A tour of the 169-acre Hoxie Gorge Nature Preserve guided by two faculty from the Biology and Geology departments. Following an overview of ongoing research, the discussion will focus on carbon sequestration; biomimicry, and nutrient cycling.
(Note: You must sign up in advance by contacting the Center for Environmental and Outdoor Education at 607-753-5488 or emailing outdooredinfo@cortand.edu.)

7:00pm in Sperry Hall 205:  Annual Connie Wilkins Bird Lecture
“The Surprising Behavior of Crows”
John Marzluff, Professor of Wildlife - Habitat Relationships and Avian Social Ecology & Demography at the University of Washington in Seattle
Organized by the Lime Hollow Center for Environment and Culture and the SUNY Cortland Biology Club


Wednesday April 20th Sustainability Week Sessions at SUNY Cortland Campus

1:40-2:40 pm in Bowers 155
Doubt mongering in environmental issues A presentation by the ENS 486: Environmental Science Seminar class

3:00-4:00 pm in Bowers 155
Local Foods Movement: Learn about the local foods movement in our area and how you can get involved!
Beth Klein, SUNY Cortland; Christine Applegate, Co-Chair Cortland County Local Agricultural Promotions Committee ; Heather Birdsall, Cortland County Cornell Cooperative Extension; and more.

7:00-9:00 
Screening of “The Greenhorns” a documentary film exploring how young people are making a difference in America’s sustainable food movement. 
A discussion led by young, local farmers and beginning farmer mentors will follow the film.
Sperry Hall 105


Thursday April 21st Sustainability Week Sessions at SUNY Cortland Campus

12:00 – 1:00 pm Earth Week Sandwich Seminar 
“Sustainable Heating at SUNY Cortland Using Biomass and Geothermal Energy”
Matthew Rankin, Senior in Biological Science
Jacobus Lounge (Brockway Hall) 

1:40-2:40 pm in Bowers 155
Student Actions for Sustainability A presentation by the Environmental Science Club (C-SAVE), the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), and the SUNY Cortland Recreation Association (SCRA)

3:00-4:00 pm in Bowers 155
The Technical and Economic Success of Renewable Energy in Central New York
Melissa Kemp, Director of Halco Renewable Energy

7:30 - 9:00 pm:  Energy and Sustainability
“The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident: Lessons for U.S. Energy Policy in the Era of Extreme Energy” Sperry Hall 105
Brice Smith, Associate Professor and Chair of Physics and author of Insurmountable Risks: The Dangers of Using Nuclear Power to Combat Global Climate Change


Friday April 22nd
Student/Staff Events in Honor of the 41st Anniversary of Earth Day
Build Your Own Wind Turbine Physics & Engineering Club 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Under the Sustainability Week tent between Bowers and Sperry Halls
The Facts About Fracking New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPRIG) 12:00 - 3:00 pm Under the Sustainability Week tent between Bowers and Sperry Halls
Earth Café 2050 Environmental Science Club (C-SAVE) 12:00 - 3:00 pm Under the Sustainability Week tent between Bowers and Sperry Halls
Local Foods Resources and Composting Made Easy Cortland Faculty, Staff, and Community Members 11:30 - 3:00 pm Under the Sustainability Week tent between Bowers and Sperry Halls
3rd Annual Outdoor Gear Sale and Fender Blender: Bike Your Own Smoothie SUNY Cortland Recreation Association 12:00 - 5:00 pm Community Bike Shop Building next to the Lusk Field House

4:30 – 7:00 pm   Earth Day Open House
Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies (CGIS), Environmental Justice Committee and the Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County community group (GDACC)
Beard Building 9 Main Street Cortland, NY 13045
The Open House will include a screening of the film "My Name is Allegheny County." The film chronicles the way in which residents actively organized resistance to siting a low level radioactive waste dump in Allegheny County. Jim Weiss and Paul Yaman, two residents active in the resistance in Cortland County, will speak after the film.
The program will also highlight the need for greater activism to promote the use of clean, safe, and affordable energy.

Gardening has Started!!!!

broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts and cabbage seedlings

shallot and leek seedlings

Time for starting gardening has come!   Although we are mostly doing it indoors at this point.  We now have shallots, leeks, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, peppers, kale, brussels sprouts, eggplant and some cherry tomatoes started in containers on a shelf in an east facing window.  More seeds will be started soon.  Chives are coming up in the herb bed now that the snow has mostly melted away.  This slow warming trend is nice (even if it is slow I think we are all tired of winter!).  I just hope it means that we'll continue our gradual warm-up and won't have any mid and late spring cold snaps like the last couple of years.  It would be nice to have some apples, plums and pears blossoms NOT get frozen this year!

SPRING THINGS

Has it really been since October that I made time to add to this blog?  Where does time go?  Anyway - here is news that might be of interest to readers:

First,  make sure that you plan to attend a great workshop for gardeners to be held April 9th from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Port Watson Mini-Conference Center (131 Port Watson Street, Cortland)!  For only $5 you can attend workshops on food preservation (by Chris Applegate!), vegetable growing, native and alien plants, and summer perennials.  The keynote speaker is Elaine Norris speaking on "Growing Your Own Food"  Please  call the Seven Valleys Health Coalition at (607) 756-4198 to register ASAP or go to their website where you can download the registration form http://www.sevenvalleyshealth.org/

Second, there will be some sustainability related events announcements soon from both the SUNY Cortland Sustainability Week Planning Committee and the Sustainability Track.  Multiple movie and speaker events are being planned.  So please stay tuned for more info.

Third, Fresh From The Farm! Saturdays, April 9 - May 14, 9 am - 2 pm, Little York Farms, LLC, 5668 US Route 11, Homer (3 miles north of Homer Village). A NEW opportunity to buy locally grown food!

• Local pasture-raised beef - CNY Beef
• Herb plants - Frosty Morning Farm
• Baked goods - Chris Applegate
• Free range eggs - Barbara Clark
• Semi-soft cheese - Kelley McGarr
• Homemade beef soups - Kory’s Place
• Sweet baked goods - Fleurette Clough
• Real maple syrup - Delavan Farms
• Honey - various vendors
• Adding more vendors weekly!

If you have compostable food waste to dispose of, we will take it! Compostable bags available for sale. Cash, personal check or EBT accepted. Bring the kids and visit the animals at Lone Birch Stables and enjoy some refreshments. Another initiative by Healthy Now Cortland County. For more information call 607-591-9727.

Spring is on the way - someday:)