NEW DATES, EXTRA HAND PULLS – JOIN US!

“Come spend a morning on the water and help us remove invasive water chestnuts from our local bays and streams. Volunteer Hours Available. Please contact our office for more information about signing up or scheduling an event.”  315-946-7200

August 3rd Lake Shore Marsh, the very end of Sodus Bay 9:00 A.M. (click for more details & map)
August 10th Emerald Drive 2nd Creek , follow Emerald Drive to the end. (click for more details & map)

Box Tree Moth

Box Tree Moth Credit: Franziska Bauer – Image may be used for Educational Purposes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to a significant plant health threat and needs your help. During the spring, a number of U.S. nurseries received potentially infested Canadian boxwood plants with Box Tree Moth. If you purchased any boxwood plants this year/during spring 2021, please inspect them for signs of the moth and report any findings to our local USDA office or State agriculture department. Please inspect boxwood plants and report any findings to our local USDA office or State agriculture department. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/ppq-program-overview/sphd/new+york  —by doing this now it can prevent the moth from infesting America’s boxwoods!

Box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis, is a destructive pest of ornamental boxwoods (Buxus spp.) in Europe, where it was introduced from Asia. It was first discovered in North America in Toronto, Canada, in the fall of 2018. It has not been previously found in the United States. Unfortunately,  infested shrubs have been showing up at New York State nurseries during spring 2021, despite being inspected and confirmed as free of boxwood tree moth by the source.

The CCE Wayne County Master GardenersThank you for your vigilance and help in preventing the spread of yet another invasive plant pest! Laurie VanNostrand /Consumer Horticulture/Master Gardener Program Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wayne County

You’ll be hoisting hoods, climbing into cabs and taking tractors, trucks, applicators, UTVs or construction equipment for a test spin. You’ll be loading up on equipment and services information for later study, and of course, hitting the food tents. It’s all part of  experience, Aug. 8-10 at 2973 State Route 414 on the south edge of Seneca Falls.

For a full schedule click here http://empirefarmdays.com/

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a free, fun, and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.
The 22nd annual GBBC will be held Friday, February 15, through Monday, February 18, 2019.

If you have never participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count or any other Cornell Lab citizen-science project, or have not participated in the GBBC since 2013. If you already created an account for the GBBC in the past, or if you’re already registered with eBird or another Cornell Lab citizen-science project, you can use your existing user name and password.

Count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the GBBC. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like—one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day, for each new location, or for the same location if you counted at a different time of day. Estimate the number of individuals of each species you saw during your count period.

Start by registering here: http://gbbc.birdcount.org/get-started/

LYONS NY- Patricia (Pat) VanLare of Sodus N.Y, has been awarded the 2019 Wayne County Agricultural Environmental Steward award. The award was created at a grassroots level to recognize individuals that strengthen the Wayne County agriculture community while looking out for environmental sustainability. An agricultural steward is someone who is dedicated to being agriculturally minded, environmental and conversationally sound and having the balance for them both economically.

Pat VanLare has supported agriculture through her personal work, serving as a community advocate for local and sustainable family traditions and local environmental related issues in Wayne County. She supports local programs that educate people where what and how food reaches farm to table, NYS Envirothon and Sodus Central Schools as a home economics instructor. She has been an active participant in the Wayne County Pomona Grange, serving at the State and Regional Grange levels and a Board Member of the NYS Grange Museum for many years. Pat serves on the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Board of Directors as Vice-President and sits on the Wayne County’s County Fair Advisory Board as a volunteer coordinator.

Pat’s continued effort helps to improve Wayne County’s ties to agriculture and the importance of family, local traditions, history and agricultural advocacy for food production, land stewardship and environmental issues. Her working knowledge of several agricultural organizations such as Farm Bureau, Grange, Soil and Water, and USDA help provide information to the local communities to help them address advocacy on a consistent and uniformed message.

“I have worked on the District Board of Directors with Pat and cannot think of a better recipient to receive this honor,” said Huron Town Supervisor Laurie Crane who was recently the recipient of the New York State Senate Helming’s Woman of Distinction award.

We honor Pat as the 2019 Wayne County Agriculture Environmental Stewardship recipient because of her dedication and continue the passion for leading the Wayne County Agricultural Community into the future. Thank you, Pat, congratulations!

The agricultural assessment program allows eligible farmland owners to receive real property assessments based on the value of their land for agricultural production rather than on its development value.  Any assessed value which exceeds the equalized agricultural assessment on the land may qualify for a reduced tax assessment.

Landowners must apply through the local town assessor for an agricultural assessment. Further Information on Agricultural Districts can be found here, contact information for local assessors can be found here.

Do you qualify? Find out by visiting the Soil Group page, there you can find more information about the program and will be able to download a brochure. You may also call our office at 315-946-7200

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced more than $1.2 million has been awarded to the State’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) to help 33 farms implement practices to protect the environment. Funding from two programs will help these farms to conserve water resources, reduce the impacts of climate change, and implement environmental plans needed to participate in the New York State Grown & Certified program.

Commissioner Ball said, “As we celebrate Earth Day today, we also celebrate the work our farms are doing to improve and green their operations. Our farmers, working with their SWCDs, have long been implementing best management practices that are helping to reduce their environmental footprint and combat climate change. The funding announced today will help nearly three dozen farms to use advanced technology to conserve water, protect the land, and prioritize our natural resources.”

High-Efficiency Irrigation Water Management Systems Program

Through the Efficiency Irrigation Water Management System program, the Department has awarded $675,668 to SWCDs for the installation of new or upgraded water irrigation systems on 20 farms. This will allow farms to improve or expand their use of water resources and, at the same time, protect the environment by using high-efficiency systems, particularly micro-irrigation systems, that strategically place irrigated water within the root zone of the target crop. The new systems will help farms to conserve water resources and reduce the impacts of climate change while improving their ability to maintain consistent farm yields. They can also be used to target and deliver nutrients to the plant, reducing pollution risks to water resources.

Funding for High-Efficiency Agricultural Irrigation Water Management Systems has been made available through the Environmental Protection Fund. The following SWCDs received funding on behalf of farms in their county:

Essex County SWCD, one farm
Jefferson County SWCD, two farms
Madison County SWCD, one farm
Orleans County SWCD, seven farms
Saratoga County SWCD, one farm
Schuyler County SWCD, one farm
Seneca County SWCD, one farm
Suffolk County SWCD, one farm
Wayne County SWCD, three farms
Wyoming County SWCD, one farm
Yates County SWCD, one farm

AEM Implementation for NYS Grown & Certified Program

Through this program, 13 farms were awarded $564,195 to help them implement environmental plans that are needed to participate in the NYS Grown & Certified program. The NYS Grown & Certified program recognizes New York farms that are committed to producing high-quality agricultural products with a focus on environmental responsibility through the Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) program.
An AEM plan assists fruit, vegetable, specialty crop growers, and other farmers to produce foods and products using the highest environmental standards. It also helps farmers protect and improve New York’s natural resources, including water and soil quality.

Funding for the AEM Implementation for NYS Grown & Certified program has been made available through the Environmental Protection Fund. The following SWCDs received funding on behalf of farms in their county:

Niagara County, three farms
Orleans County, one farm
Schoharie County, one farm
Wayne County, eight farms

Chairman of the New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee Dale Stein said, “The funding announced today will help our farms incorporate important practices into their daily operations to conserve and protect our natural resources. I thank our SWCDs for their work to help our farmers continue to steward the environment now and for our future generations on the farm.”

(reprinted from NYS Ag and Markets)

Master Gardener Annual Plant Sale
Saturday, May 8, 2021, 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Join the Cornell Master Gardeners for some great plants for your gardens and home landscapes. Plants available for purchase are a combination of shrubs, perennials, herbs, annual vegetables and flowers that are provided by local nurseries and from Master Gardener’s private collections. We sell out quickly so don’t delay!

Proceeds help support the Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Community Horticulture program.

For more information call 315-331-8415.

Location
1581 Route 88 North
Newark, NY 14513

Egret

The Montezuma Audubon Center is partnering with with Corn Hill Navigation to lead birding tours along the Erie Canal!
Take a tour this summer aboard the Sam Patch Tour Boat in Pittsford, NY  where nearly 100 bird species can be seen including the Great Blue Heron, Baltimore Oriole, Belted Kingfisher, Green Heron and more. This is a very popular event, the  August dates are sold out but there are still dates in September.

Sam Patch to lead this new and unique series of cruises for all types of birders – experienced, novice, and just curious. Participants are encouraged to bring their own binoculars, though a limited supply of sanitized binoculars will be available for individual use during the cruise. Face masks are required while on board.

You can reserve your seat here. Click here to reserve your seat today!

Tour dates

September 10 @ 5:30 PM

September 24 @ 5 PM

Help control invasive water chestnuts! Volunteer hours available.

“Come spend an afternoon on the water and help us remove invasive water chestnuts from our local bays and streams. Canoes and Kayaks available. Group or individual parties welcome! Please contact our office for more information about signing up or scheduling an event. ”

7/5 – Bay Bridge on Sodus Bay
7/18 – Maxwell Bay @ Beechwood Park
7/21 – Water Chestnut Hand Pull Competition – Registration required (click here)
8/2 – Red Creek @ Larkin Rd

Click here for directions to all handpulls

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