Happenings December 2023

December 2023

Breaking Ground for The Cornell Barn at Tilly Foster Farm

80th Annual Meeting and Volunteer Celebration

Stretching a Holiday Food Budget during the Busy Holiday Season

The Wellness Benefits of the Great Outdoors

Pest-proofing Your Home before Winter

Farming Series - Register Now!

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Breaking Ground for The Cornell Barn at Tilly Foster Farm

Exciting news for Cornell Cooperative Extension Putnam County as we hit our Capital Campaign Phase I goal and prepare to break ground on our new building, The Cornell Barn, at Tilly Foster Farm. The Cantina, or building 6, was recently razed to make way for this state-of-the-art facility that will house administrative offices on the second floor and a community room on the first floor. Get ready for a new era of innovative programming and community involvement with CCEPC's new home! Contact Stefanie at 845-278-6738 to learn more about this exciting Capital Project.

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80th Annual Meeting and Volunteer Celebration 

The Cornell Cooperative Extension's 80th Annual Meeting and Volunteer Celebration was a resounding success, with over 55 attendees coming together to vote on important items and celebrate the outstanding achievements of CCEPC over the past year. From the gourmet desserts and coffee provided by local bakeries, to the slideshow, music and laughter, the event was a true celebration of the hard work and dedication of CCEPC volunteers. We're proud to have reached this milestone anniversary, and look forward to continuing to serve our community for many years to come.

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Stretching a Holiday Food Budget during the Busy Holiday Seasons

Posted by Audrey Rowe, Food and Nutrition Service Administrator in Food and Nutrition

Holiday celebrations are a great time to gather with family and friends. But when you’re on a tight budget and pressed for time, it can be challenging to prepare a nutritious, timely meal for your loved ones. With that in mind, USDA offers these healthy tips for creating low-cost meals your whole family will enjoy:

• Plan ahead. Starting early to plan your menu allows time for you to look for the sales and coupons that can lower cost of foods substantially. Check to see what you have on hand first, and then make a list of what you need – this saves time and money!
• Try to save time cooking. Frozen and canned fruits and veggies are often good buys, and they save preparation time in the kitchen, while providing the same nutrients as fresh foods.
• Be flexible about your meat choice. The meat dish can account for nearly 40 percent of the cost of a small gathering, a whole roasted chicken or lean pork roast is a tasty but less expensive option. Generally speaking, frozen meats cost less.
• Invite others to bring food. Family members and friends can bring a dish with them when they join your celebration. That way, everyone saves money on the meal, and you save time and effort.
• Make it yourself. While buying a ready-to-go dish or dessert at the supermarket is easy, it will cost less if you make it yourself and it can be healthier too. You control the amount of salt, sugar and fat.
• Check out the Healthy Eating on a Budget Cookbook , for easy, low cost, tasty and healthy recipes for every level of cook.
• Be creative with leftovers. Create fun and healthy lunches and dinners from your leftovers, and save money on supermarket trips for the rest of the week. For example, sandwiches and soups from meat and veggies.
• Take advantage of holiday food support for families in your community. If funding is simply too scarce, you may be eligible for assistance from organizations in your community. Many faith-based organizations, civic and community centers, food banks and private groups provide support for families during the holidays.
• Follow the MyPlate Holiday 10 Tips – Make Healthier Holiday Choices . On the USDA blog, nutritionists from the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion are providing healthy makeovers of traditional holiday dishes that will help you manage all your celebrations from now through January and help you make healthy choices throughout the year.
• Visit ChooseMyPlate.gov. You can find weekly recipes and tips to help make the holidays healthier.
• MyPlate empowers you to put the Dietary Guidelines for Americans into action in a personalized way, through the holidays.
• Now, through the MyPlate social media channels - Facebook and Twitter - you can share your own tips about staying healthy with others.
• Sign-up for USDA’s SuperTracker, to track and maintain your New Year’s resolution. SuperTracker’s tools can help you stay on track with your diet and physical activity through an online system where you can log your daily activities.
• Remember, your meal can be festive and healthy. You can find additional resources at www.choosemyplate.gov

Photo by Askar Abayev: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-table-setting-6192008/

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The Wellness Benefits of the Great Outdoors

Andrew Avitt, Office of Communication, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Dept of Agriculture

Studies have shown that nature has helped people cope with isolation over the past year. There are a number of health benefits that scientists continue to explore linking the great outdoors to our wellness.

With spring approaching and cabin fever at an all-time high, we can now look forward to the many wellness benefits associated with getting outdoors.

"The physiological response to being outside in nature is real, and it's measurable," said Michelle Kondo, a research social scientist with the USDA Forest Service's Northern Research Station. "There are many physical and psychological benefits of nature that scientists have observed, which can better help us understand how nature supports wellness in the body, mind and community."

1. Physical Wellness
Being outside in green spaces supports an active and healthy lifestyle, which has shown to increase life expectancy, improve sleep quality and reduce cancer risk.

“Many of the benefits afforded to us by green spaces partially results from more opportunities to be active,” said Kondo. “Being in outdoor green spaces can increase a person’s motivation, too.”

For example, some studies have shown that natural outdoor environments in urban spaces are more enticing for physical activity and are more likely to motivate people to exercise, leading to higher levels of fitness.

Studies also show that being outside in nature is relaxing, reducing our stress, cortisol levels, muscle tension and heart rates – all of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

“Since scientists have gained access to data sets, sometimes capturing an entire country’s population of medical records and hospital data, we are finding that patient diagnoses and chronic illness risk are often related to where an individual lives and their proximity to green spaces,” said Kondo. “And that’s a correlation that is likely to strengthen as we conduct more studies.”

Along with supporting physical wellness, nature also bolsters mental wellness in the individual.

2. Mental Wellness
There are many mental wellness benefits associated with being outside in green spaces, such as lower risk of depression and faster psychological stress recovery. Studies have shown that being in nature can restore and strengthen our mental capacities, increasing focus and attention.

Green spaces can support a wealth of benefits including reduced mortality rates, better cardiovascular health, and lower violence in communities. (Photo courtesy of: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society)

One experiment asked two groups of people to perform a mentally strenuous task, such as a math test. One group is asked to take their break in a green space, outside in a park, while the other takes their break near a busy street intersection. The results suggested that the group in the natural setting showed increased focus and higher levels of concentration than the second group.

Another major component of mental health is social connection. The outdoors serves as a venue to come together with friends and family and connect with the larger community.

"This togetherness is especially important for us now," said Kondo. "We are finding that isolation is a killer, and that the outdoors really provides that space for us to come together under trees or to walk together along trails."

3. Wellness in the Community
Access to nature can benefit entire communities such as reducing environmental stressors commonly found in cities: air pollution, noise and heat.

"Our research is really focused on different types of environments and how they affect people," said Kondo. "For example, we have studied vacant city lots, the cleaning and greening of those vacant lots, planting grass and a couple of trees, and the impact that change has on the surrounding community."

Cleaning and greening has also been shown to reduce overall neighborhood crime by 13% and reduce nearby residents' feelings of depression by 41%.

Cleaning and greening have been shown to reduce overall neighborhood crime by 13% and reduce nearby residents' feelings of depression by 41%.

Nature in densely populated areas also has been shown to affect how people interact with one another. "We've found in neighborhoods that receive tree plantings or other greening initiatives, that people tend to have better attitudes towards their neighbors, “said Kondo, "which in turn often results in better relationships."

Conclusion
Whether it is a park in your neighborhood or exploring the vast landscapes of national forests and grasslands, there are benefits to be had when we step outside.

“Wellness is wholistic in that it is comprised of physical and mental health as well as the health of our communities,” said Kondo. “All of these benefits add up and reduce adverse impacts on our bodies, and have restorative characteristics. So get outdoors and enjoy nature’s gift of wellness.”

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-walking-in-froze... 

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Pest-proofing Your Home before Winter

By Jennifer Lerner

We keep our homes warm and snug by sealing out the weather—insulating pipes, using storm windows, caulking gaps—but we might not give a second thought to sealing out insect and rodent invaders. How do they get in? Worn weather stripping, old caulk, gaps between siding not only let in the wind, but let in insects and rodents as well.

A mouse needs only a half-inch of space—like a crack under a door or a hole in the wall—to enter the home. But don’t forget to look up too: mice are remarkably athletic, able to leap a foot in the air, climb up the side of a building, and cross wires or cables faster than a tightrope walker. They can take advantage of a poorly fitted attic vent or misaligned second-story window screen. Insects like the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug or the Asian Multicolored lady beetle can take advantage of an even smaller opening! Now is the time to take action: exclude these invaders before they settle down for the winter in your warm home.

Pest-proofing Checklist

Exclude them from your home. Seal all of their points of entry from ground level to at least three feet high (to the roof, if possible)–because mice are good climbers and insects can fly. Make sure window screens are tightly seated. Prune shrubs and branches away from siding and roof. Clean up stones, leaf litter, bricks, logs, plant debris and other items near the foundation and siding that provide hiding places for insects and mice.

Close the door! Mice commonly enter houses through open doors. Install door sweeps and weather-stripping. Don’t prop doors open–use a screen door. Check garage doors too: our often-cluttered garages are perfect places for insects and rodents to harbor.

Repair holes in walls and screens. Wearing gloves poke steel wool, wire mesh, or flexible aluminum "gutter-guard" into the holes with a screwdriver. Caulk or aerosol foam can be applied over steel wool to strengthen the barrier. Repair holes in screens with repair patches commonly sold at hardware stores.

Secure sinks, stoves, dishwashers. Seal openings underneath and behind appliances with latex caulk. Seal gaps around water, gas, and heating pipes, heat registers, air ducts, electrical chases, and false ceilings. Make sure baseboard moldings and kick-plates are intact and tightly affixed. Caulk or repair gaps.

Plug larger gaps around pipes with sheet metal plates, galvanized metal "pipe-chase" covers, cement or mortar. You can temporarily seal them with steel wool or expandable foam.

Check vents of sewer pipes, kitchen hoods, furnace ducts, clothes dryers, attic fans, and roofs. If vent is damaged or vulnerable, consider screening or replacing it. Check the end caps on ridge line vents; they often loosen, providing easy access to attics. Ventilation openings in soffits (under eaves) are best protected with metal louvers.

Clean the Gutters: Keep window wells free of leaf litter and other plant debris that provide hiding places for insects. Empty gutters in the fall and check them again in spring.

Install or Repair chimney caps so that small mammals or birds cannot gain entry to the home or become trapped and die in the flue.

Check the attic. On a sunny day go up into the attic and look for cracks and holes. While these should be repaired from outside, having the strong light of the sun helps you identify where the cracks are. Also check the attic vents and attic fan: these are great places for insects and rodents to enter. Hardware cloth, which is a sturdy galvanized wire mesh, and metal screening are excellent for blocking holes in attics. They keep critters out, but allow hot air to escape.

Firewood storage should be away from the house. Bring in only enough firewood to burn for a day. Woodpiles are great places for insects and rodents to over-winter.

Remember the sting? If you had trouble this summer with yellow jackets nesting in foundation holes, Now is the best time to remedy the problem. After the first few frosts have sent the bees packing, and while their locations are still fresh in your memory, fill holes with expandable foam or caulk.

Temporary vs. Permanent fixes: while steel wool and expandable foam can plug a large gap for a short while, rodents can pull or chew away these materials. In the long run, a permanent or sturdy fix, like sheet metal or steel pipe-chase covers will give you better control and peace of mind. 

Photo: Whitefooted mouse by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, under CC

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Farming Series - Register Now!

Get ready to embark on a journey of agricultural discovery with our upcoming three-part farming series, designed to educate local small farmers and curious minds alike. Throughout the month of January, we'll be exploring the aspects of sustainable farming, covering small fruits, agroforestry, and the nuances of raising goats and sheep.

What to Expect:

Small Fruits Exploration: Delve into the world of small fruits and unlock the secrets to cultivating these flavorful gems. From planting to harvest, our experts will guide you through the nuances of small fruit farming, sharing insights into sustainable practices that promote both productivity and environmental stewardship.

Agroforestry Insights: Explore the intersection of agriculture and forestry in our agroforestry session. Discover how integrating trees and shrubs into your farming system can enhance biodiversity, improve soil health, and contribute to the overall resilience of your farm. Practical applications and success stories will inspire you to reimagine your agricultural landscape including ginseng and mushrooms.

Goats and Sheep: Uncover the art of raising goats and sheep in our beginners workshop. Whether you're considering these charming animals for the first time or more experienced, our expert will cover everything from breed selection to health management, providing you with the tools to thrive in small ruminant farming.

Who Should Attend:

• Farmers eager to diversify their agricultural practices
• Curious minds interested in sustainable farming methods
• Anyone looking to explore the intersection of agriculture and environmental stewardship

Sign up online to register and receive the Zoom Link!

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Last updated December 1, 2023