Love to walk in the woods? Become an IC Natural Lands Steward!

Photo by Lee Ann Hill, winner of the Fall 2011 ICNL Photo Contest

You are invited to join Ithaca College Natural Lands (ICNL) in caring for the woods surrounding campus and volunteer in the ICNL Stewards Program. Sign up by attending our informational meeting this Tuesday, 7pm in the Taughannock Falls Room in Campus Center, or send an email to icnatland@gmail.com expressing your interest.

ICNL Stewards are the sentinels of the forest, and help monitor for changes in the landscape. Being a steward is a rewarding job not only for the steward themselves but also for ICNL as we work to keep track of the ever changing land of South Hill. Stewards get the opportunity to develop a relationship with the land and be the eyes and ears for ICNL. If you've taken Environmental Sentinels, this is a great way to keep up the skills you learned and practiced in that course.

Stewards are asked to visit their parcel every week on their own time and take a short walk around (or sit still, too) to become familiar with the land and notice changes. Anyone in the IC community can be a steward: students, faculty, staff, and administration. Apart from being a great way to take a break from busy college life, becoming a steward will allow you to learn about South Hill, relate to the land, and can also be a good resume builder.

Please feel free to visit ithaca.edu/naturallands to find out more, or email me at icnatland@gmail.com with any questions.

- Madison Vander Hill
ICNL Intern

The SEEN Presents: Local Investment for Community Wealth

Has the stock market and corporate big box banking got you down?

Join us on Thursday, February 9 at LaTourelle for four paradigm-shifting presentations that will change the way you think of investing when:

• Fred Schoeps presents Local Investment Opportunity Network (LION) for Tompkins County
• Krys Cail presents Slow Money Central New York
• Kavita Nehemiah, Elaina Dionosopoulos, and Max Shomaecker present BR Microcapital for Local Entrepreneurs
• Tristram Coffin presents Alternatives Federal Credit Union Sustainability Banking

Learn how these initiatives can help us create community capital, support entrepreneurship and strengthen our local economy- by investing in our neighbors' success.

We'll see you next week.

The SEEN Team

$5 - SEEN members
$10 - non-members
Ithaca Hours accepted

DIRECTIONS
La Tourelle
1150 Danby Rd
Ithaca, NY

Share The Ride
Post ride offers or requests at Zimride.com/Tompkins

Explore Your Options
For more information on transportation options, dial 211 for Info & Referral, or email Way2Go at staff@way2goinfo.org

Public Transit
TCAT Ride Map

Take bus route #65 from Aurora Street side of the Commons at 5:07pm and request to stop at La Tourelle.

About Our Presenters

Krys Cail
Krys Cail is a food systems planning consultant, working independently and with the Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship (CADE) throughout New York State. She is also the owner of Robinia Redux, a small-scale sustainable forest products business selling black locust wood products. Additionally, Krys is an active civic volunteer, serving on many boards and steering committees in the region.

Tristram Coffin
Tristram Coffin is the Chief Executive Officer of Alternatives Federal Credit Union, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in Ithaca, New York.  Since his arrival in 2007, he has led Alternatives during a period of growth and increased community involvement while sustaining the organization’s mission of serving the underserved. In 2010 Alternatives was named Small Business of the Year by the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, and was runner-up for the NEXT Award for innovation in financial services.

Fred Schoeps
Fred Schoeps has been volunteering with Sustainable Tompkins to help create a local informal investing circle or LION (Local Investment Opportunity Network).  Fred is also a SEEN member, serves as treasurer for EVI, Inc., the local EcoVillage educational non-profit, serves on the Groundswell Center steering committee, is a small business owner, and volunteers as a mentor for CCE.

BR MicroCapital
BR MicroCapital (BRM) is a student-run organization that spurs microenterprise development by assisting self-employed individuals reach their business goals. Launched in January of 2009, BRM seeks to meet a critical need by working with promising, but underserved entrepreneurs in the local community. BRM partners with Alternatives Federal Credit Union (Alternatives), a leading community development credit union, and the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise to support microbusiness owners.

About the SEEN

The Sustainable Enterprise & Entrepreneur Network (The SEEN) is a growing community of businesses, organizations, and individuals working together to achieve ecological, social, and financial success. The SEEN is a program of the Green Resource Hub, a local non-profit organization that aims to expand the marketplace for sustainable living in the Finger Lakes region.

Together we're building a more sustainable economy.

Spring Field Ornithology course at Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Love birds?  Curious about them? Looking for something fun to do this spring?  For 35 years, bird watchers of all abilities in central NY have enthusiastically anticipated the beginning of the Spring Field Ornithology, an 8-week course offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology with sections designed for the complete beginner to the most avid birder. The 2012 course begins Wednesday, March 21 and runs through May 13th.

Website: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/sfo

The class consists of Wednesday night lectures, Saturday and Sunday field trips to regional birding hotspots such as Braddock Bay Bird Observatory, Derby Hill Hawkwatch, Montezuma, Sapsucker Woods and Dryden Lake.  Two overnight trips to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and the Cape May NJ area are course highlights. The lecture section also includes two visits to the bird collection of the Cornell Museum of Vertebrates and a nighttime 'owl prowl.'  

Your instructors are Steve Kress, Vice President for Bird Conservation for National Audubon, guest lecturers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and weekend trips led by local birding experts. The weekly field trips are organized by beginning, intermediate and advanced birding levels, with instruction tailored to the interests and abilities of each group. There is a sense of community that builds throughout the course, and many people enjoy the trips so much that they return to take them year after year with their friends!  

Enrollment is open to the general public, ages 12 and older.  You may sign up for just the lectures, the 8 weeks of guided field trips, just the overnights or all course sections.  Discounts available for members of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

See the website to watch a video about the course, look at photos, review the course schedule and to enroll:http://www.birds.cornell.edu/sfo.  Although most people do not take the course for credit, university students may take the course for credit by making arrangements for an independent study with their advisor.  Scholarships are available. 

For questions, contact Erica Marx, SFO Course Coordinator, at sfoclass@cornell.edu or 607-254-2466.  See you out birding!

Ithaca's Food Web

Just found this blog on news and events featuring local foods: Ithaca's Food Web. Check it out!

Annual Green Building Seminar Series begins February 9th

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County announces that their eighth annual Green Building Seminar Series will kick off on February 9th, with the first of five seminars. Seminar presentations run on consecutive Thursdays during February and March (9, 16, 23, 1, 8). The seminars will once again be held in the First Unitarian Church of Ithaca Annex, at 208 E. Buffalo St. (near Aurora), from 7 to 9pm. The cost is $8/seminar or $35/series. Preregistration is not required but payment is made at the door. Go to ccetompkins.org or call 272-2292 for more information.

February 9: Earthships! We’ll start off with a showing of the award-winning documentary, Garbage Warrior, and follow it with a discussion with one local couple who recently built an earthship and another who are working on one this year with Michael Reynolds (the leading earthship guru, featured in Garbage Warrior).

February 16: Deep Energy Retrofits. What does it take to turn a typical home into a super-performer? Jon Harrod of Snug Planet and Ian Shapiro of Taitem Engineering will walk you through their process for making a home super energy-efficient and discuss the huge benefits that can result.

February 23: Rehabbing Old Windows. With a few simple repairs and improvements, you can make your old windows perform as well as new ones. Mark Pierce, Extension Associate with Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology, is an expert in energy efficiency issues in residential buildings, and Shad Ryan is the owner of On Balance Solutions, which specializes in vintage and historic sash rehabilitation. They will discuss the benefits of keeping your old windows and walk you through the process of fixing and tightening them up.

March 1: Affordable Green Building. Following up on last year’s popular seminar, we’ve invited two local experts to discuss different strategies for keeping your green building projects affordable, including the decision-making process that goes into incorporating green building practices and materials that are healthy, safe, resource-efficient, and durable but that don’t cost a premium. Scott Reynolds is the Director of Construction Services for Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, and Joe Laquatra is the Hazel E. Reed Human Ecology Extension Professor in Family Policy at Cornell University, whose teaching and research efforts focus on sustainable aspects of housing.

March 8: High-Efficiency Heating Systems. So, you’ve made your home as energy-efficient as possible and now your old boiler isn’t just inefficient, it’s oversized. There are a lot of options these days. We’ll discuss high-efficiency biomass and fossil fuel-fired systems, mini-splits, geothermal, masonry heaters, and more, including how heat-recovery ventilation works as part of the system.

In case of postponement or cancellation, please check our web page the day of the seminar:http://ccetompkins.org/gbss. Selection of speakers does not imply an endorsement of that person’s company or services by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County.

A class on sprouting

DANCING TURTLE MICRO-FARM presents...

~A CLASS on SPROUTING~

Learn how to grow sprouts at home, year-round! Add more salads to your winter diet! Class fee of $12 includes all you need to begin: supplies, seeds and lots of handouts. Learn about sprouting techniques, seed sources, tips and toubleshooting, nutrition details, simple recipe ideas... and the joys and benefits of growing and eating sprouts! We'll conclude with sampling different types of sprouts and answering any questions. Children and adults welcome!

Thursday, January 26
6-7:30pm
Women's Community Building (kitchen) at the corner of Seneca and Cayuga Streets

Call or email Ellen to sign-up: 740.525.0062 / dancingturtleithaca@gmail.com

Ithaca Freeskool class: Learning Songs of Resistance

Another message from the Share Tompkins listserve:

Are you interested in singing out against fracking, the one percent, capitalism, endless war [fill in the blank]? Want to ready your vocal cords for the EF! Round River Rendezvous coming to a place near you in July 2012?
I have a copy of "Hootenanny" and "Rise Up Singing," and a burning desire to learn and recycle historical songs of resistance. If we put our heads together, sharing what we know and using the Internet and each other
as resources, we can come out of the Freeskool 2012 semester with a dozen or so songs under our belts and ready to belt out at protests and marches and full moon bonfires, or where- and whenever the spirit moves us.

I envision each participant sharing a song s/he already knows, or tracking down the melody of a particular song that speaks to her/him, via the Internet, library, and/or media, and introducing it to the rest of the class. In this way, we are all the teachers and all the learners. If this format appeals to you, join me and my guitar in the Community Room of Jillian's Drawers on The Commons on Wednesday, 8 February at 7pm (notice the schedule change from the Freeskool flyer!). Musical instruments, music books, sheet music, etc. are all welcome, but optional. Be sure to bring your revolutionary spirit, your vocal cords, and a whole lot of hot air.

An RSVP to Liza would be gravy: a_momcat@yahoo.com

Time banking coming soon, help needed!

Here's a message from the Share Tompkins listserve about a unique opportunity to help with a sustainable initiative:


Hi all,

As some of you know, a small group has been quietly working on bringing time banking to our region.  For those that don't know, time banking offers a way to give and receive goods and services without having to pay cash. Exchanges of favors are made via membership in the system and everyone's hour is valued at the same rate, regardless of the service provided. This enables the exchanges to be tax free. The scope of services that people employ through these systems is truly staggering, and the connections made between community members who otherwise might never cross paths is inspiring. Time banking is simply and elegantly social justice and community building at its best!

Our group has done much of the heavy lifting, including identifying and implementing software (see hourworld.com for more, and look for the links to several good media pieces that have recently come out about this topic). We need to expand our number of volunteers at this time to get ourselves ready for prime time! Our goal is to offer memberships in the spring. For now, we are looking for people with a bit of time and passion for this endeavor. If this sounds like you, kindly reach out to me via email.

The words of the old CSN&Y song haunt me. We can change the world, rearrange the world. It's dying....to get better.

Thanks.

Leslie Strebel
les@lightlink.com

Share a Ride and Be Entered to Win an iPad2!

There are only 14 days left until one Zimride user or Ithaca Carshare member takes home an iPad2!

As a current Zimride Tompkins user, you can add a ride, or edit and existing ride to be entered to win and iPad2! Remember, you can use Zimride Tompkins to commute to work, go grocery shopping, run errands downtown, or even get to Syracuse for that doctor's appointment!

http://zimride.com/tompkins

Or apply for Ithaca Carshare by January 31st using the promo code "New Years" (no quotes) on your application to also be entered to win!

Start this year off on the right foot by sharing a ride with Ithaca Carshare and Zimride Tompkins!

For more information, visit www.Way2Go.org

Become a MASTER COMPOSTER!

Ten in-depth classes paired with hands-on internship hours train Master Composters, an enthusiastic and fun group of community volunteers committed to promoting responsible composting.

Classes are Wednesday evenings from February 22nd - May 2nd. Application deadline is Wednesday, February 1st. For more information or to request an application, call the Rotline (272-2292), contact Mila Fournier at ymf5@cornell.edu or stop by the Cooperative Extension at 615 Willow Avenue in Ithaca. More info and applications also available online: http://ccetompkins.org/garden/composting/become-master-composter

Adam Michaelides
Program Manager, Compost Education
Cornell Cooperative Extension
615 Willow Ave.
Ithaca, NY  14850
(607) 272 - 2292
acm1@cornell.edu
http://ccetompkins.org/compost