Get Close to Nature with Nature Journaling! Saturday, September 18, 2021 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Agroforestry Resource Center (Business Office), 6055 Route 23 , Acra, New York 12405 Cultivate your curiosity, learn how to observe deeply, and build a stronger connection to nature! Draw upon all your senses to discover and document the wonders of Siuslaw Model Forest! Using all our senses and varied means of recording observations can lead to a deeper connection with nature and the world around us. A nature journal can help focus our attention, refine observation skills, provide space to organize and collect thoughts, experiences, questions and explanations about the natural world around us. Learn about all the ways to document your experiences through the use of words, pictures and more while enriching our naturalist tools – curiosity, gratitude, memory, and reverence. Then we’ll take to the woods to practice as we explore the Siuslaw Model Forest! Making a few stops along the way we will observe and record what we see and hear in our own creative way. Participants are not required to have any art or nature expertise, but please bring your own journal and writing utensils of your choice, and dress appropriately for an outdoor, woodland (~1 mile?) walk. Sturdy shoes, tick protection and water are recommended for this fun interactive event!Registration due by September 17thEvent Registration Link Free ========================================= Learn to Grow Ginseng Sept 2021 Thursday, September 23, 2021 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Agroforestry Resource Center (Business Office), 6055 Route 23 , Acra, New York 12405 This workshop is designed to teach individuals how to get started growing American ginseng on forested land. It will cover basic ginseng botany, economics of ginseng production, site selection criteria, harvesting and marketing. It will not discuss the medicinal effects of ginseng or ginseng products. It is aimed at landowners who are looking for alternative forest income opportunities as well as individuals who are interested in growing small quantities of ginseng for personal use.While the CDC and NYS have announced the lifting of requirements for mask wearing by those who have been vaccinated, CCE of Columbia & Greene Counties’ visitors and program participants, whether vaccinated or not, will be required to wear masks indoors. In addition, in order to meet the six-foot social distancing requirement that remains in place, we will continue to limit indoor meetings in the Acra and Hudson facilities to 15. For programs and meetings taking place outdoors, masks are required whenever the CDC/NYS physical distance requirement (six (6) feet) cannot be met. We appreciate your continued support and cooperation.Learn to Grow Ginseng Registration $15 Tracey Testo, tet35@cornell.edu, (518) 622-9820 ext.119 ========================================= Forests for Birds! Sunday, September 26, 2021 8:00 am - 10:00 am Agroforestry Resource Center (Business Office), 6055 Route 23 , Acra, New York 12405 Birds and forests are essential to one another! Forests are important for birds, and birds are important to forests. And both birds and forests provide incredible aesthetic value. Forests provide food, water, shelter, and nest sites for birds. While birds disseminate seeds, regulate insects and small mammals, help decomposition of materials on the forest floor, and serve as food for other species. New York State is home to over 200 breeding bird species and many of them spend time in forested habitats. Join us as Kathryn Schneider* leads a walk in the Siuslaw Model Forest to look for some resident birds, as migratory birds make their way south from their breeding grounds in the northeast to their wintering destinations in the southern U.S., Central, and South America. Participants are not required to have any birding expertise, all skill levels are welcome, but a pair of binoculars is encouraged. Please dress appropriately for an outdoor, woodland (~1 mile) walk. Sturdy shoes, tick protection and water are recommended for this fun interactive event! *KATHRYN SCHNEIDER, a Hudson Valley native, has spent decades studying the behavior, ecology, and distribution of birds. An award-winning author, teacher, and conservationist, she is a past president of the New York State Ornithological Association, a former member of the Columbia County Environmental Management Council, has directed New York’s Natural Heritage Program, and conducted bird surveys for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She currently co-chairs the Steering Committee for NY’s third Breeding Bird Atlas Project. While the CDC and NYS have announced the lifting of requirements for mask wearing by those who have been vaccinated, CCE of Columbia & Greene Counties’ visitors and program participants, whether vaccinated or not, will be required to wear masks indoors. In addition, in order to meet the six-foot social distancing requirement that remains in place, we will continue to limit indoor meetings in the Acra and Hudson facilities to 15. For programs and meetings taking place outdoors, masks are required whenever the CDC/NYS physical distance requirement (six (6) feet) cannot be met. We appreciate your continued support and cooperation. $10 Pamela "Pammi" Price, pjp93@cornell.edu, (518) 622-9820 ext 118 ========================================= Columbus Day Holiday-Office Closed Monday, October 11, 2021 8:30 am - 4:30 pm ========================================= Veterans Day Holiday-Office Closed Thursday, November 11, 2021 8:30 am - 4:30 pm ========================================= Thanksgiving Holiday-Office Closed Thursday, November 25, 2021 8:30 am - 4:30 pm ========================================= Thanksgiving Holiday-Office Closed Friday, November 26, 2021 8:30 am - 4:30 pm =========================================