Readying the Roost for Spring Newbies at Better Farm

We're adopting a few of these Barred Rock chickens from a neighbor.

Spring is here, and Better Farm is about to expand its roommates roster to include a bunch of spent hens, baby chicks, and cashmere goats. Here's the who's-who of our soon-to-be feathered and furry friends.

Chickens

Bard rock chicks.

Spent Hens
We've organized a rescue operation for 20 "spent hens" out toward Lowville; birds who've spent their first year of life laying more than 250 eggs before being discarded when their level of "productivity" declines. The hens who did nothing but lay eggs usually end up in soups, pot pies, dog food, or similar low-grade chicken meat products.

We'll be rescuing about 20 hens from their soup-pot fate at the end of May. The birds are classic bantam whites, who look like this:

Baby Chicks

Two neighbors have offered us baby chicks, as well. One breed is the Barred Rock (pictured above), who look just like our gal Sissy full-grown and lay brown eggs:

We're also being given a few Ameraucanas, who  lay pastel-colored eggs:

Goats

Our friend Nils Horning contacted us recently about sponsoring two baby goats for us from Laughing Goat Fiber Farm. We're likely opting for cashmere bucks (pictured above), who we'll take care of and who will clear brush for us in return. We'll shear them once a year and spin cashmere yarn, available for sale and also for knitting and crocheting workshops. The goats will be joining us in June. Check out how cute the babies are:

We'll be housing the goats in the old pig barn on the property, which Matt managed to empty last week. We'll need to add batten strips, replace windows, do a little demo, build stalls, and get a thick layer of hay on the ground:

Stay tuned for more photos of the shed project, upcoming chicken coop construction, and arrival of our new roomies!

Egg Carton Caterpillars and Other Rainy-Day Crafts for Kids

The rain on Saturday kept us from the Earth Day clean-up in Redwood (rescheduled for Saturday, April 28) and forced everyone inside at the Mustard Seed's Sixth Annual Earth Day celebration. But nothing could stop the people from coming out in droves to the store's location on Arsenal Street to sample local foods, sign petitions for better energy and environmental policy, and to stop by Better Farm and betterArts' tables to learn about our initiatives in Redwood (and to play with worms at our compost station, of course).

betterArts had an additional rainy-day bonus activity for kids: upcycling discarded egg cartons into bright and adorable caterpillars and bumble bees. This is a great, easy project that kids totally love. Here are full instructions:

Egg Carton Bugs

Photo from Green Baby Guide.

Materials: 
Discarded egg cartons
Pipe cleaners
Googly eyes
Arts and crafts glue
Non-toxic, biodegradable arts and crafts paint
Scissors

Instructions:
1. Separate 4, 5, or 6 cups from an egg carton (or one if you're making a spider or bumble bee)
2. Using the point of a pair of scissors (or tip of a pen), an adult should poke two holes in the front for the antennae or eyes, and one hole on either side of each egg vessel for the legs (for a spider, make three holes on either side of the body for legs).
3. For each leg hole, fold a pipe cleaner in half and insert the bent side through the hole in the egg carton. this will give you two "legs" coming out of each leg hole you made.
4. For the eyes or antennae, cut a pipe cleaner in half. Fold the cut half in half again. Poke the pipe cleaners through from the inside-out. Bend the tips and glue googly eyes onto them.
5. Paint the body and face.

Want more great crafts for kids? Pay a visit to Enchanted Learning's website. To find out more about our community outreach efforts in the North Country visit the websites of Better Farm and betterArts.

Earth Day Events Schedule

Better Farm and betterArts will be out in force tomorrow for Earth Day. Whether you're in the Redwood or Watertown area, be sure to stop in and see us! Here's what we'll be up to:

Redwood
Earth Day Cleanup starts at 10 a.m. Meet at the pavilion behind Felder's, and wear appropriate footwear! We'll be providing the bags. Participants are invited to take part in a picnic lunch at the pavilion after the clean-up.

Watertown
The Mustard Seed is from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. putting on their Sixth Annual Earth Day Event at 969 Arsenal St. in Watertown tomorrow. Stop in for free samples, an Earth Day bag, free food tasting and a deli special! Vendors include Page Fitness Athletic Club, Tie Dye Lori, Steria Family Baked Goods, Spring Hill Maple, St. Lawrence Valley Roasters, Mid-River Farm, us, of course, and more. Better Farm's table will feature face-painting by the betterArts crew, a compost demonstration, and lots of information about our upcoming summer programming.

Greenhouse Goes Up in Redwood

Redwood Neighborhood Association Vice President Jim Stine holds the metal greenhouse arch in place.

Members of the Redwood Neighborhood Association met last Saturday at the Redwood Volunteer Fire Department to construct a community greenhouse for the public.

With funds secured from the local not-for-profit Hearts for Youth, the neighborhood group's plan was to build a structure to house seedlings and plants for the community. Local residents interested in participating can sign up to help tend the plants, with all excess produce going to the local food pantry.


At the commissioners' meeting at the fire hall April 10, I presented the idea of the greenhouse being put on that property. The group voted unanimously in favor of providing the host site for the greenhouse.

Here are some shots of the construction (thanks to Rick Lopez for the design, Jim Stine for donating some of the materials, and the Better Farm crew for lending a hand!):

All that's left to do are the doors and the greenhouse plastic. Want to get involved, as a volunteer or gardener? Shoot us an e-mail or call (315) 482-2536. And stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on our planting day!

The Worms Have Arrived!

Ten thousand worms arrived this morning via Priority Mail from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm and The Worm Ladies of Charlestown. Their function? To do all the dirtiest work in Better Farm's new compost initiative, which takes food waste from local grocers and turns it into fertile potting soil.

Our on-site composter extraordinaire, Matt Smith, was like a little kid on Christmas morning. Here he is, about to open the first box of worms:

Worm Advisory!

We went out to the bins Matt and Nick built two weeks ago to get them ready for their new residents. First step? To shred cardboard and newspaper so the worms have a nice, cozy bedding setup (thanks to Redwood's own Knorr's Grocery and Felder's Service Station for giving us their scrap cardboard and newspaper):

Then Matt watered the bedding so it was damp, like a wrung-out rag:

Onto the bedding went the worms (we could have used gloves for this, but what fun would that be?):

Former artist-in-residence Brian Purwin gets his hands dirty.

We sprinkled in a little dirt:

Then it was time to give the worms the biggest buffet of their lives. Here's some of the food waste Matt's been collecting:

Here are Brian and Matt feeding the worms:

We filled the bins about halfway up so as to not overwhelm the tired, hungry, thirsty worms who've spent the last three or four days in transit:

This puts us about six weeks away from having our first batch of fresh potting soil and worm-casing fertilizer. Stay tuned for results!

Thanks to the following businesses for partnering with Better Farm on this project and allowing us to stop in each week to load up on food for our worms. Their willingness to participate is keeping tons of food waste out of landfills:

Alexandria Bay Big M Supermarket
The Mustard Seed in Watertown
Great American Food Stores in Watertown 

Felder's Service Station in Redwood 

North Star Restaurant in Alexandria Bay

Clayton Food Co-op Seeks Vendors, Members, Local Goods

Image from the Cooperative Development Institute.

The brand-new Clayton Food Co-op, opening May 15 at 226 James St., is seeking participation from area farmers, bakers, and members.

A cooperative is a business owned and managed by its members. As locally owned businesses, co-ops are committed to the people they serve and the communities in which they live. To join the Clayton Food Co-op, there is a one-time capital share payment of $150. Annual renewable membership is $35. Member-owners have the benefit of special ordering food items from our supplier's vast catalog at a 10-15% discount.  Many items are local, many are certified organic. The catalog item list may be accessed on the group's Member-Owner Only Page.
As a member-owner you belong to an organization that strives to sustain the environment, the economy and our community. The Clayton Food Co-op actively supports local agriculture, food producers and general products.

Member-owners have a voice in what is sold, as well as in the overall organization of the co-op. Member-owners get the most buying power for their money and the money stays in the community, contributing to its strength.

The co-op is seeking vendors with local, natural, fresh produce, baked goods, food, meat, dairy, honey, soaps, personal care items, and more. Click here to learn more or sign up for the vendors' open house Tuesday, May 1. We hope to see you there!

Those interested in selling their homegrown or homemade goods through the co-op are encouraged to e-mail claytonfood@gmail.com or call (315) 775-8087. To sign up for the group's newsletter, click here.

DIY Kayak Rack

To build a storage rack for Better Farm's fleet of four kayaks and two canoes, we upcycled previously discarded items we found on the property: leftover 4x4s from building the garden fence, scrap 2x4s, and miscellaneous decking screws found in the tool shed.

The design plan was simple. We decided to stand four 4x4s up with four cross-beams. Four shorter pieces of wood were used to connect the whole structure together.

Materials:

Four 4x4 posts, at least 6 feet long
Four 2x4 boards, cut to 11 feet
Four 2x4 boards, cut to 3 feet
Decking Screws (3 inches)
Drill
Tape measure
Pencil
A friend to help stand the structure up 

Instructions:
1. Measure up 8 inches from the bottoms of your 4x4s and draw a line. Lay one 2x4 across two of your 4x4s (flush against the line), making sure there are 3.5 feet between the 4x4s. Repeat on second set of 4x4s. This will be your bottom shelf for your boats.

 

2. Measure up 2.5' from top of 2x4 and draw another line on your 4x4s. Screw another 2x4 to your 4x4s, flush against the line. The structure should look like a tic tac toe board:

3. With the help of a friend, stand the two structures up facing each other (2x4s on the outside of the 4x4s). Connect the two structures with your your shorter, 3' 2x4s. Screw the shorter boards to the insides of the 4x4s:

4. Fill the rack!

Got a great DIY project you'd like to share? Send it to us at info@betterfarm.org.

'Birds and Bloom' Hike Set May 19

DIY Guide to Screen and Storm Doors

 

 

 

Nature Center Clean-Up Set May 5

First Annual Artists' Studio Tour Slated May 26 & 27

Map of the First Annual Artists' Studio Tour

betterArts' gallery space and studio will be featured during the First Annual Artists' Studio Tour, scheduled from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27.

Functioning much like a wine tour, a free brochure includes an easy-to-follow map and brief description of more than 27 artists and 21 studios along the tour. The self-guided studio tour will allow the public to see  the creative process in action at artist studios in Alexandria Bay, Redwood, Wellesley Island, Town of Orleans, Clayton, and Cape Vincent.

Here's the brochure (to find out where you can get yours, e-mail Robert Hedden at heddenrpsr@yahoo.com): 

 

In conjunction with that studio tour, betterArts will host an Open House and Fundraiser from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, May 26.

All money raised at this event will directly fund betterArts' summer workshop series and aid creative outreach efforts in the North Country.

The Open House will feature live music and performances, interactive art projects, information on our artist residency program and upcoming workshops, arts and crafts stations, a gallery exhibit of work by local and visiting artists (which will be part of the First Annual Artists' Studio Tour), raffles, and barbecue. A cash bar will also be available. Entrance is free and open to the public. All ages are welcome.

Visitors can also tour the full grounds of Better Farm, step inside green buildings and learn about construction methods, check out the organic gardens, and meet Better Farm's staff.

Overnight accommodations, including tent camping, is available. You can make a reservation by clicking here.

For more information or to volunteer, e-mail info@betterarts.org. For more information about Better Farm and betterArts, visit www.betterfarm.org and www.betterarts.org.

Occupy Watertown Training Session This Thursday

 Posted by Occupy Watertown
"The 99% Spring", a free education and training course designed to educate people about the Occupy Movement in the North Country, is set from 4:30-8 p.m. this Thursday, April at the Flower Memorial Library in Watertown.

People living in the North Country are invited to join in solidarity to share, learn, and take action to keep this movement growing, diversified, and leaderless.

This is a FREE education and training campaign on how individuals can use non-violent, direct action and coordinated community campaigns to create a new movement that addresses specific needs, resources, and well-thought out intentions; to develop a peoples-driven economy and voice of reason.

99% SPRING TRAINING GOALS

• To form a local community of people committed to non-violent direct action to forge a more just economy.
• To use storytelling as a means to find commonalities and connections as a method of creating solidarity.
• To analyze the past in order to understand how we got here.
• To create a vision for a new, more just economy.
• To prepare personally and as a community for nonviolent direct action.

This is the first stage of the largest-developing North Country peoples movement for economic justice, sustainable development, and social equality.

Watch the YouTube video by clicking here.

To learn more visit www.the99spring.com. Sign up for Thursday's education seminar by clicking here.
A participant guide is available here. The Flower Memorial Library is located at 229 Washington St. in Watertown, N.Y.

Earth Day Events Set for April 21 in the North Country

This year, you can help out on Earth Day with a neighborhood clean-up, upcycling project, commitment to eat more local, sustainable food, by signing a few petitions or volunteering for some outreach advocacy projects, or simply by stopping in at an Earth Day festival to learn more about the  environmental issues affecting you now. Whatever you choose to do, the North Country is rich with environmental events scheduled April 21.

Here are three activities that are sure to have you busy all day:

• Redwood Clean-Up     Better Farm, in conjunction with the Redwood Neighborhood Association, will be hosting an annual Earth Day cleanup in downtown Redwood in an effort to help beautify the neighborhood. Interested parties are to meet at the pavilion downtown (behind Felder's) at 10 a.m. and wear appropriate footwear (and gloves if desired). Bags will be provided. Groups will disperse among side streets and trails (adults will also cover either side of Route 37). A picnic lunch will follow in the pavilion. Email us for more information or to register.
• Earth Day Event in Watertown     The Mustard Seed Natural Market will host its Sixth Annual Earth Day Event on Arsenal Street in Watertown from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Event highlights include a kids' craft table sponsored by Better Farm featuring environmentally friendly craft projects utilizing upcycled household items; and a "how-to" composting display sponsored by Better Farm. There will also be plenty of free samples from Liberte Yogurt, Field Roast Sausage, Tofurkey, Shirataki Noodles, Mu Mu Muesli, and more. Click here to learn more.
• Third Annual Green Fest Expo     The Green Fest is set from 12-2 p.m. at Cerow Park Arena in Clayton and features vendors and exhibitors who relate to the five zones of local sustainability: eating, shopping, powering, moving, and acting locally. There will also be residential and commercial energy workshops, a health and wellness fair, volunteer fair, kids' bike rodeo, and more! Click here for additional information.