The workshop provides an overview of the process for developing and using a household spending plan. It will also explore ways to maximize resources and reduce energy use. All attendees will receive a money management tool kit, refreshments will be provided and door prizes will be given out.

Information will also be provided about the One-on-One Program for households that would like individualized instruction.

Energy Town Meeting, Feb. 19

Scheduled across the State and free to the public, this meeting will discuss emerging technologies in energy efficient lighting for residential and commercial buildings including the manufacturing process for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), the effect the new GU24 pin-based CFL will have on the ENERGY STAR residential lighting fixture market, and why the emerging Solid State Lighting (SSL) technology will be commonplace in homes within a few years.

Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension is the closest hosting site for Cayuga County residents. Registration is necessary. Contact Ann Gifford or Carole Fisher at 272-2292 for more information and to register.

Presentation on home insulation and energy conservation set for Feb. 21

There is a $5 suggested donation, and light refreshments will be provided.

With rising energy costs and concerns around global climate change, many people are interested in improving their home insulation. Most of the older houses in the Finger Lakes region were built with very little insulation, which allows a significant amount of heat to escape from the walls and attics of homes. This wasted heat can cost homeowners hundreds of dollars a year. This consumer education program will review the many options for insulating your home that can help reduce energy costs.

Mark Pierce, Project Manager for the Consumer Education Program for Residential Energy Efficiency at Cornell Cooperative Extension, will provide an overview of how to buy and properly install home insulation.

Jim Coler of Coler Natural Insulation, Alwyn John of Performance Systems Contracting, and Sarah Highland of Holistic Homebuilders will discuss the many different types of home insulation materials now available from renewable and recycled resources including cotton, soy-based foams, cellulose, and straw bales. These alternative solutions to traditional fiberglass insulation offer many benefits to homeowners and to the environment. Ice damming and mold/mildew issues related to insulation and vapor barriers will also be discussed.

The Green Resource Hub of the Finger Lakes is a non-profit organization that aims to expand the regional marketplace for sustainable living through consumer education and workforce training in green building, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green purchasing. For more information visit www.greenresourcehub.org.

Attend a talk on phenology, Feb. 21

This is a four-seasons monitoring of the effects of climate change on our native flora and fauna. Phenology is the study of patterns of biological activity through the seasons of both plants and animals. Climate change is bringing warmer temperatures to this region. These changes are undoubtedly already accelerating the timing of the spring opening of flower buds and leaves, the summer growth of fruits, and potentially delaying the autumn coloring and drop of leaves -- events called “plant phenology”. These timing shifts could affect the local survival of many native plant populations by disrupting their needed synchronicity with pollinating insects. The range of some plant populations may be rapidly advancing northward.

Weinstein will discuss the formation of a local network of “citizen scientists” to observe the timing of flowering, leaf development, fruiting, and leaf drop in common native trees and herbaceous species. By monitoring these events, even in our back yards, we will be better able to detect the first signs of variations and/or problems caused by climate change. The local network will be associated with a national effort.

Try a Winter Woodland Walk Feb. 23

A Green Building Seminar on “Non-toxic Interior Materials and Finishes”, Feb. 26

A tour of possibilities for refinishing existing living spaces that includes natural paints, plasters, oils and waxes for wood, drywall and masonry surfaces.

Presenters Sarah Highland and Brent Katzmann will cover successes and caveats. Discussion will also touch on ideas for eco-friendly interior materials including flooring, trim, doors and other millwork and a look at posts and beams as “structural finishes” when remodeling.

There is a $5 fee for the seminar (scholarships are available in exchange for volunteering). Contact Tania Schusler at 272-2292 for more information.

Land-Link database to help small scale farming operation

The database is envisioned to include landowners willing to make land available for a small scale farming operation. Cooperative Extension will work with the landowner to develop a profile of the farmland that is available and help match a beginning farmer to a site that would be suited to their farming interests. The service will be free and confidential. If a property owner does not wish to have their name listed on a public website, it would remain confidential and CCE staff would serve as the intermediary informing the landowner of a potential beginning farmer match.

Rural landowners who want to keep their land in agriculture but do not plan to farm themselves, should call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County to discuss this program further. The counties covered by this program will include: Tompkins, Tioga, Schuyler, Cortland and Chemung. Cooperative Extension is looking for anyone interested in leasing, loaning or selling 10 or more rural acres to support new farmers. Call Monika Roth at 272-2292 or email mr55@cornell.edu.

Forum on Renewable Energy Systems March 15

The Forum is designed to introduce energy consumers to alternative or renewable energy, enable them to understand their options, guide them through the process of selecting the alternative energy system that is best suited to their individual needs, site and budget, encourage them to take advantage of available grants and low interest loans, and guide them through the application process.

Presentations will include: “An Introduction to the Alternative Energy Landscape”, “Grasses for Bio-fuels”, “Geothermal Energy Systems”, “Solar/Wind Energy Systems”, and “NYSERDA Funding and Incentives - Grants, Loans and the Application Process”. The Forum will wrap up with a Q & A session.

The cost to attend the Forum is $10 which includes lunch. Registration is required by Monday, March 10. Call Jeannie Baker at (315) 255-1183 to register.

This event is made possible, in part, by a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and funding from the Cayuga County Planning and Economic Development Department. For more information on NYSERDA Energy Smart Programs visit www.GetEnergySmart.org or for renewable energy information visit www.powernaturally.org.

Energy improvement demonstration

Cornell patents new hybrid lily

The new hybrid of the Inca lily (Alstroemeria) is a nonfragrant perennial with strong, upright flower stems that is set apart by its lavender-lilac flower color - adorned with dark speckling and a creamy yellow throat. In greenhouses, the new hybrid never goes dormant and grows year-round.

Developed by Mark Bridgen, Cornell professor of horticulture and director of the Department of Horticulture's Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead, the hybrid is the first ornamental plant patented by Cornell, according to Richard Cahoon, associate director of patents and technology at the Cornell Center for Technology Enterprise and Commercialization.

Mauve Majesty is also one of the first in its color class to be hardy to Zone 6 (which covers the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and northern New Jersey and much of the Midwest) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map. And it often is hardy in many parts of the cooler Zone 5 (which includes western Massachusetts, mid-state New York, northern Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, much of Michigan, southern Iowa and Nebraska, northern Missouri and Kansas and eastern Colorado).

Botanically not a lily, this flower took five years to develop, said Bridgen, which included testing and growing it in large enough quantities to sell. Mauve Majesty is now widely available through nurseries and mail order catalogues, such as:

White Flower Farm, Richfield, Conn., www.whiteflowerfarm.com;

Brent and Becky's Bulbs, Gloucester, Va., www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com; and

Garden Crossings, Zeeland, Mich., www.gardencrossings.com.

New York Farm Show to be held Feb. 21-23

Seminars consisting of 11 different subjects during the three day farm show will be held in the DEC Log Cabin next to the Horticulture Building. Subjects will include: Forest Land Management and Thinning, Timber Sales and Value, Timber Taxes, Understanding Invasive Plants, Forest Health and Emerald Ash Borer, Oil and Natural Gas Leases, Coyotes, Foxes and Wolves, Wild Edible Plants & Mushrooms, and more.

People are free to attend whichever seminar interests them and visit the Farm Show exhibits the rest of the time.

There will also be a joint New York Forest Owners Association, NYS DEC, CCE, and SUNY ESF Forestry Information Booth, I55 in the International Building each day of the Farm Show. Before or after the seminar presentations, people can go to the booth to talk to knowledgeable volunteers from the Forest Owners Association, to a DEC Service Forester, and to Master Forest Owner volunteers who have attended training on forest subjects. Free information (brochures, publications, people, organizations, and sources) will be available at the booth. People will be able to sign up for further information or free visits to their woodlots. The International Building has many forestry related exhibits that will interest landowners. For further information contact James Christensen (315) 472 5323 kchriste@twcny.rr.com or Charles Porter (315) 298 7467 ckporter@gw.dec.state.ny.us or John C. Druke (315) 656 2313 jcdruke@twcny.rr.com.

Guidelines for Assisted Home Performance have changed

Assisted HPwES and NYESLH income eligibility levels by county can be accessed by visiting the partner portal section of www.GetEnergySmart.org or by the following link: www.getenergysmart.org/householdincome.aspx. Your Conservation Services Group (CSG) Account Manager will be able to provide assistance should you have questions with this and other Program policies and announcements.

The time period for requesting farmland to be added to an agricultural district has begun

The purpose of Agricultural Districts is to encourage the continued use of farmland for agricultural production. The program is a combination of incentives and protections to forestall conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses. These benefits are: preferential real property tax treatment (agricultural assessment and special benefit assessment) and protections against overly restrictive local laws, government funded acquisition, construction projects, and private nuisance suits involving agricultural practices.

If your land is predominantly active farmland and you would like to request its addition to one of the County's existing Agricultural Districts, you must complete and submit a “Request for Inclusion” form by Sunday, March 2. Forms cannot be accepted for consideration this year after that date.

For more information or to obtain a “Request for Inclusion” form contact Debbie Teeter at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County by calling 272-2292 or by email at DLT22@cornell.edu.

To submit items to House & Garden Briefs, send information with the name, date and place, phone numbers and e-mail contacts at least one week before publication to: Deb Miller, The Ithaca Journal, 123 W. State St., Ithaca, phone 274-9261; fax 272-4248; or e-mail dsmiller@ithacajournal.com.