Invasive species affect every county in NYS. Invasive species extract a significant price, measured in dollars, damaged crops and infrastructure, power failures, food and water shortages, environmental impacts, and human and livestock diseases. For example, the annual bill for controlling the Asian long-horned beetle in New York City and Long Island has ranged from 13 to 40 million. Other species of particular concern to NY include purple loosestrife, the emerald ash borer, West Nile virus, the Swede midge, Phragmites, zebra mussels, the sirex wood wasp, Japanese knotweed, Southern bacterial wilt, and giant hogweed.

New York’s agriculture, horticulture, forestry, parks, tourism and diverse natural resources are at risk. For example, agriculture covers about one-quarter of the state. Our residents enjoy over 4,000 freshwater lakes, major portions of Lakes Erie and Ontario, 70,000 miles of waterways, and over 2 million acres of freshwater wetlands. NY is home to 504 separate populations of state endangered or threatened species. Chapter 324 of the Laws of NY (2003) called for an Invasive Species Task Force to explore the invasive species issue and provide recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature. At least two of the Task Force’s 12 recommendations are of direct interest to Cornell University and CCE: (4) Establish a comprehensive education and outreach effort, and (8) Establish a center for invasive species research. Funding for both of these initiatives is expected to come to CCE and Cornell University this year from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.

A well-informed public will be the first line of defense against invasives. CCE is uniquely positioned to provide the all-important linkage between research and the public. Educators in at least half of the county associations are already dealing with such issues, particularly agriculture, horticulture and natural resources educators. A new Invasive Species Program Work Team has recently been established to provide guidance to invasive species research and outreach efforts. This pre-conference in-service will address the invasives issue in detail and provide CCE educators an opportunity to be part of the process of planning where CCE will head in undertaking the statewide invasive species education program.

The Community Improvement Through Youth (CITY) Project, New York’s CYFAR project, employs one of CCE’s Signature Programs, Youth Community Action (YCA) and utilizes a National 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System resource, Public Adventures: An Active Citizenship Curriculum for Youth. The CITY Project uses YCA as an intentional process to promote civic engagement, workforce preparation, and asset development among youth (14-18 years old). Using YCA as its program model, the CITY Project provides the opportunities and supports youth need in order to meet the challenges of growing up in poverty. In Broome County and New York City, CITY Teen Leaders are identifying local problems/issues through community mapping to set achievable goals and work in partnerships with caring adults to create lasting, sustainable changes in their communities. Through paid summer employment, the CITY Teen Leaders are gaining job skills as they undertake and complete community improvement projects.

This session will draw on the CITY Project as an example of how YCA programs benefit youth and have “public value� in their communities. Participants will learn how the CITY Project has actively engaged community collaborators to establish a foundation for long-term sustainable programming, how research on “what works� in youth development is being used to guide the project, and how technology is being integrated throughout the project to both recruit and retain at-risk teens. The session facilitators will discuss how partnerships, collaboration, program design, marketing, staffing, parent involvement, technology, workforce preparation, facilitation, and relationships impact recruitment, retention, sustainability and success. Participants will receive a resource packet of successful strategies, tools, and links to research for using YCA to benefit both youth and their communities.
Thursday 9:15 - 10:45AM
Presenters - June Mead, JoAnne Baldini, Celeste Carmichael, Jackie Davis-Manigaulte, Vicki Giarratano, Kelly Mabee, Jamila Simon, Kay Telfer

The Beginning Farmers Project has developed new tools and collaborations to assist CCE Educators in working with new or aspiring farmers. Come to this interactive session to share your experience with this audience and to learn about the new website, online course, publication, regional trainings, and other resources developed by the Leadership Team of this project.
Thursday 9:15 - 10:45AM
Presenter - Monika Roth

The economic foundation of US communities has experienced dramatic changes over the past two decades. These changes have made it increasingly important for rural businesses to use e-commerce strategies to strengthen their economic health and stability, improve their market share and catapult the efficiency of their products and services.
In response to these changes, the National E-Commerce Extension Initiative was launched in 2003, and is addressing various factors that will dictate the adoption and diffusion of e-commerce innovations in rural areas. These factors include such topics as whether communities have the technology in place to embrace e-commerce applications, whether businesses understand how e-commerce can benefit their operations, and whether Extension educators have the resources to provide adequate educational support to small businesses.
This session is for all extension educators who want to increase their ability to deliver programming that increases the adoption of information technologies. An exciting variety of new e-commerce related Extension educational curricula will be reviewed.
Thursday 9:15 -10:45AM
Presenters - Christina Selvek, Russ Martin, Rod Howe

Engaging young adults in community decision making is an effective way to promote citizenship action and leadership development. 4-H community mapping projects are set in a context of community decision making and Public Policy.
By involving youth in identifying community issues and creatively using tools such as remote sensing , GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and GIS (Geographic Informations Systems), they are able to construct community maps relating to specific community issues. These maps are, in turn, valuable tools that help communities to make wise and informed choices, thus making it a public value
Participants will learn about various GIS and GPS technology and training resources available to youth and adults. Campus partners, 4-H Youth Educator staff, and youth will share various Geospatial 4-H Projects that are happening around the state.
Participants will learn about local, State, and national partners that can help to get 4-H Community Mapping Projects off the ground.
Thursday 11:15AM - 12:45PM
Presenters - Chip Malone, Steve Smith, Susan Hoskins, Jim Hooper, Billy Swift

Every County in NYS is required to develop an Animal Response Plan for emergencies and CCE offices are listed as local resources. This workshop will provide educators with: (1) Basics of county animal response teams (CARTs)
(2) How CARTs fit into the emergency response system
(3) Resources to assist in preplanning, including a practical tool kit for animal owners
(4) Extension's role with CARTs, guidelines developed by EDEN (Extension Disaster Education Network)
(5) A resource strategy to engage the media in this effort.
We will address preplanning needs for both family pets and large animals regarding evacuation and care in the event of an emergency. CCE staff will develop a better understanding of their expected role during the phases of a disaster and the importance of interagency coordination.
Thursday 11:15AM - 12:45PM
Presenters - David Chico, Ellen Abend

According to the 2000 Census, the NYS Finger Lakes population of people stating that they were of Hispanic Origin jumped over 61% from 1990, increasing from 3,278 to 5,299. After Cornell Cooperative Extension conducted discussions with several agencies, three audiences were identified who need better access to information and educational materials for the Spanish speaking audience: the Hispanic/Latino community, those businesses that employ Spanish language employees and agencies that serve the Hispanic/Latino community. A task force was formed to determine the needs of these audiences and several projects were initiated over the past several three years. Collaborations between businesses and community members were initiated to share information about Hispanic and United States culture and laws. These collaborations include: Multi-Cultural Task Force and Web Site, Bank Survey, Powerpoint Presentation on driving laws and ESL and Spanish language workshops. Each project will be described; website and powerpoint will be demonstrated.
Thursday 11:15AM - 12:45PM
Presenter - Beth Claypoole

Building and sustaining partnerships across difference is key to Extension educators successfully positioning themselves to work effectively with diverse audiences. As the demographic make-up of communities throughout New York State continue to change, Extension educators must be prepared with the understanding, awareness and skills to develop the authentic relationships necessary for building and sustaining partnerships with new, emerging and historically excluded populations.
In this workshop participants will examine the importance of openness and honesty while developing an understanding of how trust is gained, developed and sustained in relationships across differences. Through interactive group dialogue and individual reflection on the culture of power, participants will learn to identify barriers to the full participation of diverse staff and community members. Participants will also identify strategies for co-creating efforts and working in partnership to implement processes and solutions that integrate the voices and interest of all, not just of those in the majority.
Thursday 11:15AM - 12:45PM
Presenters - Eduardo González, Jr., Gwendolyn Dean, James Young

Strengthening the connection between the topics that Cornell faculty conduct research on and the needs and questions of Extension Educators and other stakeholders around NYS is an important priority for CaRDI (Community & Rural Development Institute).
This session will focus on the Empire State Poll, present important findings from the 2007 survey, compare rural/urban and upstate/downstate results, and discuss how educators might use this survey as a tool to engage the stakeholders in their communities on special topics of interest, and to build stronger connections with researchers on campus.
The Empire State Poll, conducted by Cornell University’s Survey Research Institute, annually interviews 800 New York residents on a wide variety of topics including immigration reform, economic development, local government issues, community satisfaction, agriculture, food and community development issues, tax reform, health issues, etc. In addition, CaRDI also commissions a special rural survey which focuses on rural New York residents. Special questions can be added to the survey by any group or individual for a small fee.
Thursday 2:00-3:30PM
Presenters - Robin Blakely , David L. Brown

This tour will look at land use issues from a variety of perspectives:
the multifunctionality of landscapes, sustainability, resource utilization and local foods. We will also attempt to highlight the intersection of decisions made by individuals and businesses and those made by municipalities. The premise is that CCE has a role to play at this "intersection." Participants will see examples of ideas for generating land-based local enterprise that can lead to local economic development, open space preservation, and general environmental protection. The tour will begin with a plenary discussion of the CCE of Tompkins County survey on local land use interests. Participants will split into two groups, choosing options such as meeting with local officials on local planning initiatives designed to reduce urban sprawl, visiting a local commercial composting operation, and touring Ithaca's EcoVillage. We will wind up with a discussion with Cornell Dining on initiatives such as buying locally and institutional composting. Dinner will be at a Cornell dining hall.

This self-guided walking tour offers several opportunities on or near the Ag Quad of the Cornell campus to meet campus faculty and learn about their programs. Participants can visit all stops on the tour map or can spend the full session at one location making contact with several faculty in a general program area. Stops included in the tour are Development Sociology, and the Mann Library; others may be Cornell Institute for Resource Information Sciences and Horticulture/Plant Science

For several years the Cornell Small Farms Program has provided mini-grants to Extension educators to start up and support farmer discussion groups and mentoring programs. An evaluation of the ongoing impacts of these efforts was conducted over the summer. This session will share the results of that evaluation and discuss best practices for supporting farmer-to-farmer learning.
Friday 8:30 - 10:00AM
Joanna Green

Since 2000, the Cornell Small Farms Task Group (PWT) has provided a forum for farmers, CCE educators, Cornell faculty, USDA and NYS agency representatives and others to identify and address the needs of NY smaller farm operators. This session will briefly review the achievements of the Task Group since 2000, then discuss strategies for moving forward on priorities identified in the 2006 Small Farms Summit.
Friday 10:30AM - Noon
Presenters - Joanna Green, Mike Baker, Monika Roth, John Thurgood, Bernadette Logozar