News & Events from CCE Tompkins County | | Day-Long Retreat: Connecting Farmers to the Land | | |
Connecting Farmers to the Land
9 am-5:30 pm, Sunday, November 15
Cayuga Nature Center, 1420 Taughannock Blvd in Ithaca
How can landowners steward their land for economic, environmental, and social good while strengthening local and regional food systems? How do young farmers find and afford farmland? How can leases be structured for long-term agroforestry projects?
Join us for a day of conversations and presentations on farmland access, farmland stewardship, and farm transitions. This event will bring together retiring farmers (and mid-career farmers), farmland seekers, and non-operating farmland owners. We will explore topics including cooperative farming and land access, conservation and environmental stewardship, legal considerations, and equitable land access. The retreat is free, but registration is required.
This event is brought to you with generous funding from the American Farmland Trust, and in close partnership with Khuba International and Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming.
| | Learn to Save Energy at Smart Energy Choices Workshops | | |
Energy Literacy & Weatherization Workshop
12-1:30 pm, Wednesday, November 18
at the Groton Public Library, 112 East Cortland Street in Groton
Take home a free home energy kit and learn DIY ways to save energy and money in your home! Find out about grants and rebates for home weatherization, heat pumps, and solar. Our Community Energy Advisors will be available to answer your energy questions. Free pizza and soft drinks will be provided.
Also coming up, more details available soon:
Three Steps to Savings and an Energy Efficient Home
4-5 pm, Saturday, November 21
at the Danby Community Church, 1859 Danby Rd
| | Parents of Young Children Are Invited to Free Family Playtime! | | |
Fall '26 Family Playgroup
9:30-11:30 am, Mondays, November 2 - December 7
at CCE Tompkins, 615 Willow Ave in Ithaca
This free 6-week series is for parents/guardians with children ages 1-4 year to join in structured and free play including Baby Doll Circle Time™, story time, songs and movement, and connection with local resources.
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Fall and Winter Family Open Play
3-5 pm, Wednesdays through March 31
at CCE Tompkins, 615 Willow Ave in Ithaca
Family Open Play is a great chance to connect with other local parents of kids ages 0-4, learn new songs and games, and spend time in a welcoming setting. We provide a variety of toys, books, and space for movement.
Parents can register once and come as many times as you wish!
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Board of Directors Application Extended to November 6. Tompkins County residents with diverse backgrounds and interests are invited to apply to serve as members of our Board of Directors. New board members would serve a 3-year term through December 2029, with an option to continue for a second term. The Board meets on the first Thursday of each month from 5 to 7 pm.
Learn more about the Board and apply online at bit.ly/CCETC-Board2026.
| | Plan Your Garden for 2027 and Beyond | | |
Planning Your Garden: Site Assessment and Mapping
5:30-6:30 pm, Thursday, November 12
at CCE Tompkins, 615 Willow Ave in Ithaca or online
Assessing and mapping the conditions of your site is an essential first step to a successful garden. Choosing the right plants for the right place will save you time and money in the long run. In this class we will go through the steps to assessing your soil type, light and shade patterns, views to screen or enhance, identifying existing plants and noting any other conditions that define your garden. This information will then be used to create a base map that can be used in future years to help you select plants that will thrive in your unique site conditions.
This program is $20. A donation funds scholarships to keep our programs accessible to all. Subsidized rates are provided to support all community members' access. Please pay what you are able.
| | Primitive Pursuits Winter Programs Are OPEN for Registration | | |
"Staying Warm in Winter is part of a series from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Energy and Climate Change team focused on Do-It-Yourself projects for your home or apartment. Energy costs are likely to continue increasing, including electric and fossil fuels. Delivered fuels especially are expected to increase in price. Current predictions for the impacts of the El Nino weather event include severe weather and temperature extremes.
"Finding ways to reduce your overall energy use can be an important step in managing costs. There are many low-cost / no-cost actions that will make your home more efficient, comfortable, and affordable."
Check out Staying Warm in Winter for tips and home improvement ideas such as sealing gaps, weather-proofing doors and windows, maintaining equipment, requesting repairs to your apartment, and more!
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Want to learn more about managing your home energy use? Read "Three Ways to Reduce Energy Bills," an extensive list of tips and recommendations from your Regional Clean Energy Hub staff.
You'll learn how to reduce the amount of energy you use, potentially reduce the cost of this energy, and access discounts on your bill.
| | Learn Bokashi Composting and Bring Home a Starter Kit | | |
Bokashi Composting Class
10 am-12:30 pm, Saturday, November 21
at CCE Tompkins, 615 Willow Ave in Ithaca or online
This Japanese composting technique involves natural fermentation and offers a way for people to manage food scraps. The liquid produced can be used to water houseplants while the food scraps are pre-digested, and can then be composted or buried in the soil to finish. Join local bokashi enthusiasts to learn about the practice and go home with your own bokashi starter kit.
Registration is $15 per household and includes bokashi starter kit.
| | Sign up for CCE Tompkins' Next Blood Drive: Friday, Dec 11 | | Green Career Training Program Expands to Chemung County | |
For years, the Energy Warriors Green Career Pathways program has been providing paid training opportunities for Tompkins County residents, providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to enter the growing green jobs sector.
This year, the Energy Warriors program expanded into Chemung County, where the local Extension office has launched their own local Energy Warriors 12-week training. WYDC-Twin Tiers visited a class recently and interviewed program leaders and participants. Learn more and watch their interviews at WYDC-TV.com.
| Thriving with Your Spirited Child & Parents Apart | |
Thriving With Your Spirited Child
12-1:30 pm, Tuesdays, November 10 & 17
Online via Zoom
Spirited Children are just a little “more” of everything. Quicker to cry, louder, persistent, more sensitive...None of the advice seems to work and you feel like you’re all alone.
This no cost, 7-week workshop series is for parents and caregivers who want to learn additional tools to effectively support and raise their spirited child(ren). Learn how to understand your and your child’s temperamental traits, identify clues leading up to challenging behaviors and tantrums, and develop strategies for reducing or eliminating power struggles.
Participants are encouraged, but not required to first attend a series of PS: It Works! Parenting Skills Workshops Series.
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Parents Apart®
9-11 am, Saturdays, November 14 & 21
Online via Zoom
Parents Apart® is an online workshop for parents who want to learn how to help their child(ren) adjust during their separation or divorce. The workshop is taught by parenting educators and focuses on how children react emotionally to their parents' separation or divorce, and what parents can do to help them adjust.
Registration is confidential, and parents of the same child(ren) are placed in different workshops. There is a $75-$150 registration fee to cover workshop expenses. The workshop is open to all regardless of ability to pay. Reduced rates available. No one will be turned away.
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NY's Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) will open on November 2, providing financial assistance to help New Yorkers pay their heating bills amid rising utility and energy costs. Learn more and apply: otda.ny.gov/programs/heap.
The Heating Equipment Repair and Replacement Clean & Tune programs can help eligible homeowners with heating equipment cleaning, repairs or replacement. NY also expanded the Energy Affordability Program making more residents eligible. Read about these and other heating resources.
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CCE Tompkins will close for Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11, and for Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday, November 26 & 27. | | |
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!
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