Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County offers the following workshops at the Agroforestry Resource Center (located at 6055 Route 23 in Acra, New York), unless noted otherwise. Pre-registration is required for all programs by calling Cornell Cooperative Extension at 518-622-9820 or e-mailing greene@cornell.edu.

Landscape Painting in Plein Air
Weekend Workshop with James Coe, October 2, 3 & 4. $200 per person. This intensive weekend program explores the challenges of working in plein-air directly from the landscape and provides an introduction to the traditional methods and materials of alla prima (direct) painting in oil paints.

Siuslaw Sunset Stroll
A Lark in the Park Event at the ARC Friday, October 9. Cost: Free. The “Lark in the Park” is a wonderful way for people to discover the wealth of history, culture, natural resources, and recreational opportunities offered by the Catskill Park and the entire Catskill Mountain Region.

Art at the ARC
Reception: Susan Story, Friday, Oct. 9. Susan M. Story’s passion as an artist is to use the pastel medium to express the many moods and emotions of nature’s landscapes. Susan, a Parsons School of Design graduate, is recognized regionally and nationally for her pastel landscapes.

The Great Northern Catskills Heritage Festival— Food – Farms – Family
Sunday, Oct. 11. Cost: $5 per person/$10 per family. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Historical Catskill Point. Proceeds to benefit Cornell Cooperative Extension. The Festival will feature live music, food, vendors, children’s activities and a series of “Living the Good Life Locally” presentations.

Home Heating with Firewood — Know Your Options
This program will be offered at 11:00 a.m. on Oct. 14 and again on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. $5 per person. With the continued rising costs of home heating fuels, more homeowners are looking at utilizing regional firewood sources as a viable alternative. This workshop will discuss the pros and cons of heating your home with firewood.

NYS DEC Trees for Tribs Planting Project
Wednesday, Oct. 14. Free. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Snake Road, Catskill, NY. Riparian buffers, or streamside plantings, are a major component to maintaining healthy streams. The NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program operates the Trees for Tribs program, which provides native trees and shrubs for streamside landowners who apply to the program. You can enjoy a fun afternoon outdoors and do something positive for water quality by volunteering to help Trees for Tribs plant trees.

Youth Holiday Mail Call for the Troops
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 4:30-6 p.m. Jump into the holiday spirit early by showing your appreciation for our men and women who serve in the armed forces. Drop by and join us in making hand made holiday cards to send away to our soldiers. After the program, our season’s greetings will go to the American Red Cross to start their journey to their recipients. Participants are invited to bring their own scrap booking tools or use the materials provided.

Take Care of Your Land & It Will Take Care of You
A Workshop for Forest Owners. Saturday, Oct. 24, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Cost: $10.00 per person. Columbia-Greene Community College, Route 23, Hudson, NY. This program will include presentations on how one person has balanced his love for his forest with appropriate forest stewardship practices. You will also learn how you can improve the value of your forest and the local resources that can help you.

50-Mile Harvest Dinner
Saturday, Oct. 24, 6 p.m. $80 per person/$150 per couple. Chef Ric Orlando, of New World Home Cooking, returns again for this annual CCE fundraiser to prepare another delicious meal comprised of products gathered from local farmers and producers within a 50-mile radius of the Center. There will be live music as well as an auction. This is our Association's primary fund raiser so if you support local agriculture, enjoy the programs we offer and appreciate the work that's done here at the Center, please come out and join your fellow supporters, staff and volunteers for a fun evening.

Agroforestry Opportunities— Part One-Growing Mushrooms from A-Z/Part Two-Ginseng: A Primer for Beginners
Tuesday, Oct. 27. Mushrooms 1 - 2:30 p.m./Ginseng 2:30 - 4:30. Cost: $10 per person per session or $15 per person for both. This program combines two of the most popular agroforestry products - ginseng and mushrooms. This first session will describe the basics of growing mushrooms from spores to spawn or tissue culture all the way to fruiting on substrates ranging from logs to paper towels! A Ginseng Primer 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.

Youth Beginner Sewing Class
Oct. 29, Nov. 7 and 21. Cost: Cost of materials. Call for times. Participants eight and up may choose one of four patterns selected by the instructor. Youth younger than eight may attend with a parent. Each child will choose to make one of the following: a purse, a shirt, a robe or a pair of pajama pants.

Forest Roads and Trails
Saturday, Nov. 7. 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Cost: $5 per person. Come and learn about the best ways to access your forest while minimizing the maintenance and impact. There is an outdoor component to this program which includes viewing appropriate trail and road designs on the Siuslaw Model Forest so come dressed to go outside.

Wreath Making
Thursday, Nov. 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $10 per person. Have fun making a grapevine swag that can be suitable for any season! We will have plenty of decorative materials available to embellish the swags to make them suitable for the upcoming holidays or any time of year.

Agritourism Program (How Can We Make It Work For Us?)
Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cost: $10 per person/$15 per family. This program will appeal to folks that are interested in beginning an agritourism enterprise from scratch or those that are in the process of transitioning their operations to incorporate agritourism, agrirecreation, or agrientertainment onto existing farms.

Women & Forest Stewardship
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2-4 p.m. Cost: $5 per person. Forest stewardship has been defined as a personal responsibility for taking care of ones forest. We would like to establish and nurture a network of active forest landowners through women friendly, low-key, learning activities that increase their comfort level enough to particpate in in being good stewards of their forests. Anyone is welcomed to attend, just know it will be very women-friendly.

WGXC “Hands-On Radio’ for Columbia & Greene Counties
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 7-9 p.m., Cost: Free, but tax deductible donations to WGXC will be accepted. We’re pleased to host an informational session featuring the founders of an exciting grassroots radio and media project that is taking root in Greene and Columbia Counties. WGXC "Hands-On Radio" is a community-run media project, re-envisioning radio a
s an innovative platform to encourage citizen participation in the community. If you cannot make it in person, listen to workshop stream via WGXC Online Radio at www.wgxc.org.

Creating a Community-Based Food System in Greene County
Tuesday, Nov. 24, 6-8 p.m., Cost: $ 5.00 per person. “Buy fresh, buy local,” “I©my farmer,” “Locavore.” During this session, we’ll examine the basic terms and concepts related to agriculture and food systems, collectively identify the aspects of a food system that we most value, and explore opportunities for catalyzing, framing, and sustaining activities in and around Greene County that create the kind of food system that reflects those values.

Special Art Exhibit
Reception Friday, December 4, 5– 7 p.m. Featuring all of the talented artists who have participated in our premier year of “Art at the ARC”.

Harvest and Holiday Forest Farmers Market
Saturday, December 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This free event highlights wonderful products such as honey, ginseng and maple products as well as other favorites from local farms to help you make this a delicious and memorable holiday season. There will also be gifts from regional craftsmen to round out your holiday list and lovely items to decorate your home using native materials.

Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities. If you have special needs related to program participation, please contact the office.