News & Events from CCE Tompkins County | |
Join us for the 2024 Earth Day Festival! | |
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Join the 2024 Earth Day Festival on the Ithaca Commons, April 20 from 12-5 pm! Come celebrate your community’s efforts to address climate change and other environmental issues with a family-friendly celebration featuring lots of hands-on activities, food, music, free raffles, and more.
Learn all about the Ithaca Green New Deal, home electrification, sustainable transportation and agriculture, and much more. Help us explore a positive future and learn how you can be part of the solution!
The Earth Day Festival is hosted by Tompkins County in collaboration with the City of Ithaca and significant partners. Learn more at Energy.CCETompkins.org/EarthDay.
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Volunteer for the 4-H Duck Race | |
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🦆🌟 Calling all passionate volunteers! Join us for an exciting event with the 4-H Duck Race on April 28 from 10 am to 5 pm. 🌟🦆
Are you ready to dive into a day of fun-filled activities and make a splash in your community? The 4-H Duck Race is seeking enthusiastic volunteers to join us in bringing this event to life! Whether you're a seasoned 4-H volunteer or someone looking to lend a helping hand for a good cause, we welcome you with open wings.
Volunteer opportunities include:
🎉 Event setup and decoration
📋 Registration and check-in assistance
🎨 Kids' activities supervision
🥤 Refreshment booth support
👀 Race course monitoring
🏆 Award ceremony coordination
By volunteering, you'll not only be contributing to the success of the 4-H Duck Race but also supporting the invaluable work of 4-H in empowering young people with skills and opportunities for growth.
So, spread your wings and be part of something extraordinary! Let's make waves together on April 28! Register here!
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Congrats to Our Master Gardeners! | |
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A big congratulations to our recently graduated group of Master Gardener Volunteers! This group has been meeting weekly since the fall with a regional team and received training in plant biology, garden design, plant diagnostics, and much more.
The Master Gardener program is a national Extension training that teaches volunteers to be active and knowledgeable members of their wider community, with an emphasis on food security and environmental sustainability.
The next cohort will begin in September. Stay tuned for information on how to get involved!
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Do you have questions about home gardening this season? Trained Master Gardener Volunteers can answer your questions on flowers, fruits, herbs, houseplants, lawns, plant health & nutrition, plant identification, pruning, soils, trees & shrubs, vegetables, wildlife and more!
With access to our large group of Master Gardeners, CCE Tompkins staff, and resources from Cornell, the Growline can help find solutions to your gardening needs.
Find more information and preferred contact information here.
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Resources for Parents, Caregivers, and Families | |
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Parents Apart
A 4-hour workshop offered over two 2-hour sessions will provide advice and resources for parents who want to learn how to help their child(ren) adjust during their separation or divorce.
Upcoming Parents Apart sessions will be held on Zoom over two Monday evenings, April 8 & 15, or Saturday mornings, May 11 & 18.
PS: It Works! Parenting Skills Workshops
Learn how to talk with your children and others in your life using these five communication skills: Encouragement, Can Do, Shared Decision Making, Self-Control and Respecting Feelings.
Classes will be held 6-8 pm Mondays, Apr 22 - Jun 10 in person at Groton Elementary School, 516 Elm St in Groton.
Sign up for either of these classes at cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bf4lmcyd2MDZDoy.
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Building Resilience Using the Protective Factors Framework | |
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Tompkins Families invites you to join us for our monthly meeting of the Coalition for Families, 12-1 pm, Wednesday, April 24! Attend in person at CCE Tompkins, 615 Willow Ave, or on Zoom. We will provide lunch, and all community members, parents, and professionals are welcome.
This month's topic is Building Resilience Using the Protective Factors Framework. Join in the conversation as Director of the Resilience Leadership and Learning Institute Tamae Memole reviews the Adverse Childhood Experience Study, discusses the importance of intentional resilience strengthening and engages participants in a bit of perspective shift work to begin to equip them with every day action steps that are grounded in the Protective Factors Framework.
Register required — sign up online at ccetompkins.wufoo.com/forms/april-2024-coalition-for-families.
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Tompkins Families: Stronger Together & Youth Game Club | |
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Tompkins County families are invited to join us for free family fun!
Our Youth Game Club is an opportunity for youth ages 7+ to play games provided by the Finger Lakes Toy Library and share their favorite games with their peers. Gluten- and dairy-free snacks are provided in an inclusive and welcoming space. Caregivers must stay on site.
Youth Game Club meets monthly on the first Saturday — join us from 10 am to noon on Saturday, April 6! Sign up online at ccetompkins.wufoo.com/forms/q18jwfyf1he1l8g.
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Stronger Together invites families to come together for free dinner and family fun. Mark your calendar for 4-6 pm on Saturday, May 18! With food, crafts, and an opportunity for community and connection, together we can make our families and community stronger.
Register online at ccetompkins.wufoo.com/forms/rno6ie1tgk91d.
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Transportation Experience at the Earth Day Festival on April 20
Did we mention the Earth Day Festival? Way2Go’s Transportation Experience will feature Electric Vehicles from Ithaca Carshare, Ithaca Bikeshare’s ebikes, a bike repair clinic, Art on the Bus, and free TCAT rides from the Commons guided by Way2Go WayFinders.
Learn more about how and why taking shared transportation can be a greener, healthier, and more affordable way to go!
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Step Out with the Walking Club | |
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Join SNAP-Ed and Whole Health for walks in the park at 10 am every Friday in April! We will meet at the Stewart Park pavilion, take a short walk, and sample a healthy recipe. We’ll share info on tick prevention and staying safe this summer. There is no charge to join in, and all ages are welcome.
SNAP-Ed is funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.
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Each spring, we offer a training series for those who want to learn about selecting, planting, caring for, and pruning ornamental trees and shrubs. The classes are part of a 3-part series with a final hands-on workshop — take one or all. There is a separate registration link for each class.
This series gives the basics to start as a Citizen Pruner Volunteer for the City. Citizen Pruners are stewards of the city's trees. Throughout the warm months, interested folks gather with experienced foresters at weekly volunteer sessions to prune city trees.
This year's Citizen Pruner classes are:
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Tree Selection and Care, Tuesday, April 2, 5:30-7 pm
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Tree Pruning, Tuesday, April 9, 5:30-7 pm
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Ornamental Shrub Pruning, Tuesday, April 16, 5:30-7 pm
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Hands-on Outdoor Workshop, Tuesday, May 7, 5:30-7:30 pm
Find information on each session and a link to sign up using the links above.
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CCE Spotlight: Solar & Ag in Seneca County | |
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We wanted to share this upcoming event from our neighbors in Seneca County:
SOLAR & AG IN SENECA COUNTY: What You Need to Know
Wednesday, April 10, 9:30am-2:30pm
@ Romulus Fire Dept, 2010 Cayuga St, Romulus, NY 14541
Solar development on agricultural lands is becoming more common in Seneca County. To address some of the critical issues surrounding this development, Finger Lakes farmers and landowners are invited to this educational workshop hosted by CCE Seneca County and the Seneca County Farm Bureau. The workshop is designed for farmers and landowners to gain information on important issues regarding solar development on agricultural lands, especially things to know when leasing to solar companies.
The workshop fee is $15 per person, which includes lunch. Registration is required: reg.cce.cornell.edu/SenecaSolarAg2024_245.
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Open Positions at CCE Tompkins County:
- 4-H Administrative Assistant
- 4-H Dryden OURS (Opportunity Understanding Respect Success) Senior Program Manager
- Finance Manager
- Newfield Rural Youth Services Program Educator
- Nutrition Director
- Urban Outreach Program Educator
Visit https://ccetompkins.org/jobs for more information and links to apply!
Primitive Pursuits, a non-profit 4-H program of CCE Tompkins County, is hiring for open positions including:
- Assistant Overnight Camp Director
- Day and Overnight Wilderness Instructors
- Overnight Camp Nurse
- Kitchen Manager
- Camp Kitchen Assistant
- Internships and more!
Learn more about our unique opportunities and how to apply at PrimitivePursuits.com/Seasonal-Employment.
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About Us
The Community Toolbox is your monthly connection to classes and events at Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County. We hope you'll think of Cooperative Extension as your personal "toolbox" filled with reliable and useful information whenever there's something you'd like to know or learn! Explore our links, check out our upcoming workshops, then call us at (607) 272-2292, email tompkins@cornell.edu or drop by our Education Center in Ithaca which once again is open to the public during weekday business hours. We're here to help, with information — and people — you can trust!
PS: If for any reason you don't wish to receive our monthly newsletter, unsubscribing is easy and secure - just visit the SafeUnsubscribe link at the bottom of this page!
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