Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

The PA Forests Web Seminar Center ( http://rnrext.cas.psu.edu/PAForestWeb/) is pleased to announce the June on-line program.  Eric Burkhart, Instructor and Program Director, Plant Science, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, will be presenting Invasive Plants in Your Forest on Tuesday, June 9^th at noon and again at 7 p.m.  Each seminar lasts approximately one hour.

This program will introduce you to some of the common exotic invasive plants that occur on Pennsylvania forestlands, including Japanese barberry, honeysuckle, oriental bittersweet, multi-flora rose, privet, garlic mustard, and Japanese stilt-grass. For each plant species, ecological impacts, identification, biology, control options, and practical considerations will be reviewed. This seminar also counts towards 1.0 credit of Category 2 SAF CFE credits.

Live seminars are scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month at noon and 7 p.m., skipping July and August. Each session is recorded and loaded onto the Web Seminar Center along with a copy of the presentation and any handout materials.  So, if you are unable to participate in the “live” session, a recording of it will be available for you to view at your convenience.  Of course, none of the interactive elements will be available when watching the recording.

To participate in the live seminars you must register and have a “Friend of Penn State” user ID.  The “Register Now” page on the website will walk you through this process. If you are a member of the Penn State community, you already have your User ID, but we would ask you to register on the website so that you can receive reminders of upcoming programs.

Participation in the web seminar does not require any special software.  To view live and previously recorded seminars all you need is a high-speed Internet connection and sound.

To register and take part in the live seminars or to view the upcoming seminars schedule, visit http://rnrext.cas.psu.edu/PAForestWeb/.

We look forward to having you join these discussions and learning experiences. “See” you there on June 9.

Looking Ahead:

July and August – no webinars currently scheduled

September 8
Forest Regeneration and Management. By Susan Stout, Project Leader, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, Noon and 7 p.m.

Allyson Brownlee Muth, Ed.D.
Forest Stewardship Program Associate

The Pennsylvania State University
407 Forest Resources Building
University Park, PA  16802
(814) 865-3208

From The Ohio State University:

This non-credit course is completely online and has 10 modules with topics ranging from basic concepts in plant disease to prehistoric man and plant diseases, and from the Irish Potato Famine to bioterrorism. The course is completely self-paced, so you can take it anytime anywhere. The course is specifically designed for Master Gardener volunteers, however, anyone interested in plants, history, and contemporary global issues will find it exciting and intriguing. The course will be online for 10 weeks once you begin the program. Assignments consist of supplied module readings and self-tests. You will receive a certificate from the Ohio State University Office of Continuing Educational upon completion.

See pdf to learn more.

As budgets are cut and staff members are reduced are you finding yourself picking up the work of those let go without letting go of the overload of work you already have?

This Cornell Cooperative Extension professional development opportunity might help your team work towards prioritizing…

Managing Your Program Portfolio

Two Adobe Connect workshops are scheduled:

9:00-10:30 am April 29, 2009

12:30-3:00 pm May 5, 2009

Instructional Goal: Participants will understand the value of actively assessing and managing the mix and balance of their program commitments and be able to select from approaches and tools available for improving balance.

Go here to register

Invasive Species Workshop

Prevention, Management, Restoration and Monitoring of Invasive Species

April 17, 2009

9:00am to 3:00pm

Alverna Heights (next to Green Lakes State Park)

7770 Green Lakes Road

Fayetteville, NY 13066

Registration fee: $30

More info here.

John Graham NYS DEC – Forestry Cortland, NY

Greetings:

What do sod furniture, topiary, willow domes, large scale earth art, and table top vegetable art have in common?  They’re fun, of course – and also a way to meaningfully engage in the outdoors by creating art with plants.

Join us for a hands-on day of workshops that address these topics and more. Learn how to do a project that takes an hour, or an afternoon – and regardless of how simple or challenging, will show you how plants can transform lives in unique ways.  By popular demand, this highly engaging event will be held Wednesday, July 22 on the Cornell campus and at the nearby Cayuga Nature Center.

To learn more, print a program brochure, to register, and to find out more about what’s happening in the Ithaca area, please visit:

http://hort.cals.cornell.edu/cals/hort/news-events/livingsculptureworkshop.cfm

We encourage you to forward widely to your audiences!

All the best,
Marcia Eames-Sheavly
Cornell Garden-Based Learning Institute
Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/art

A must attend training, especially for your staff in Community Horticulture and Plant/Environmental Science 4-H Youth Development.

Facilitating Meetings and Building Teams CCE Training

Same training two date and locations. Choice the one that works best for you.

Tuesday April 28th from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the DEC Stony Kill Farm facility just south of Poughkeepsie.

Friday May 8th from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at CCE of Monroe County

In today’s climate we must build skill to maximize our efficiency and effective engagement of volunteers.

It is estimated that 11 million meetings are held each DAY in the US and organizations spend up to 15 % of their budgets on meetings. Poor meetings and poor teams lead to loss of money, time and most importantly morale.

This training will help your staff plan and conduct meetings so you build effective teams to maximize your county programs’ impact. Walk away with new strategies to immediately apply in our extension work.

Consider sending a complete team from your county including a person from community horticulture, 4-H youth development, nutritional sciences.. If you’d like to also include a Master Gardener Volunteer and/or 4-H Volunteer contact Lori (bushway@cornell.edu) for space availability.

You can save your spot now by registering today.

The registration fee is $25 and includes beverages, healthy snacks and a light lunch.  Special funds awarded to our Community Horticulture Program Work Team allow us to keep the registration low.

To register: Email the following information to Max Welcome (mw45)

Facilitating Meetings and Building Teams In-service

Which location will you attend?

___ Tuesday April 28th at DEC Stony Kill Farm

___ Friday May 8th at CCE of Monroe County

Your Name _________________________

CCE County  ________________________

Cornell Email _________________________

Phone # ________________________

Your county assocaition will be billed for the $25 registration fee.

April 24 & 25 at The Mirror Lake Inn and Resort, Lake Placid, NY.

The symposium's web page, www.pyours.com/Symposium2009.html

Other events that might be of interest to NYS gardeners:

Native Plants and Organic Gardening day
Saturday, April 4th at the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia, NY

Perennial Gardening from A - Z
Saturday, May 2 at the Queensbury Fire department's meeting hall in Queensbury.

More detailed information for these two events, as well as registration details, are at www.pyours.com/gardenclasses.html

March 5th and 6th, 2009

Light on the Hill Retreat Center   Van Etten, NY (just 30 minutes outside of Ithaca)

The Inner Garden Retreat

Rejuvenate yourself…inspire your audience!

2‐day reflective retreat:

• Become a more effective and reflective educator
• Connect your garden program with principles of generosity and belonging.

• Learn about outdoor places of refuge, and how to foster them in your program.

Participants limited to 30 people. Register ASAP to reserve your spot!

$75 registration fee (includes meals and overnight accommodation).

Scholarships available.

Contact Marcia Eames‐Sheavly at ME14@cornell.edu or 607‐255‐1781.

• Day 1: Activities and conversation that help us to take a step back from the “crazy busy” work world

• Day 2: How to “walk the talk:” fostering this in our work environments & with our audiences.

We encourage you to take the time out of your busy schedules to attend this important retreat. It is an investment in yourself, and as importantly, for the audiences and educational programs you work with!

The Ecological Landscaping Association’s 2009 Conference & Eco-Marketplace brochure is now available on ELA’s website: www.ecolandscaping.org.

The event is scheduled for Friday, February 27th and Saturday February 28th, 2009. It is again centrally located at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA.

ELA’s conference offers something for all levels of experience, and we think that master gardeners will find the event especially educational and enjoyable.

This conference will help you understand how to advance the use of native plants in sustainable landscapes.

Friday, February 20th at the Lab of Ornithology Ithaca NY

This daylong conference is modeled on a few other like-minded meetings that have taken place in other parts of the country for many years, with great success.  Native Landscaping meetings such as those in Millersville PA, Cullowhee NC, and Villanova PA, have earned very loyal attendance from homeowners, gardeners, professional landscapers, agency staffers, designers and more.  NY’s local variation on this theme will offer region-specific knowledge to attendees, will reflect the unique character of The Finger Lakes, and will secure a valuable place in our local calendar of high-quality events that make Ithaca so special.  This is a not-for-profit conference with all proceeds going to the Cayuga Waterfront Trail Initiative.

See the link below for more info and to register.
http://www.tompkinschamber.org/events/show/53

A great day of practical and inspiring speakers–Steve Kress from the Audubon Society and Lab of Ornithology; Dr. Donald Leopold from SUNY ESF and author of the best native plant book for the Northeast; Larry Weaner, a nationally recognized designer and educator from PA who has been working to balance aesthetics and ecological goals in landscapes for many years.

If you have any questions about this new conference please feel free to email info@plantsmen.com.