Cayuga County 4-H Youth Fair, Foraging Workshops, and Free Garden Help This Summer

Sara Wagner — Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County
Paul Szmal 8:33
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Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County has a packed summer lineup, from a free youth fair in Union Springs to wild edibles foraging workshops — and a Master Gardener helpline ready to answer your gardening questions right now.

Sara Wagner from CCE Cayuga joined the FLX Morning Podcast on June 18 to walk through what’s coming up for residents across the county this summer.

First up: the Master Gardener helpline is open for the season. Gardeners can call 315-255-1183, extension 1, with questions about vegetable and flower gardens, composting, tree care, insects, weeds, or anything else that comes up in the yard. Calls can be made any day of the week, and Master Gardeners return calls on Wednesdays.

The Cayuga and Seneca 4-H Youth Fair runs July 29 through August 1 at the Union Springs Fire Department. Admission and parking are both free. The fair features animal showings, food trucks, sheepdog and oxen demonstrations, and appearances from community organizations including the health department and soil and water conservation groups. Youth who want to participate can register now at ccecayuga.org. Those not yet enrolled in 4-H can call the CCE office and get signed up in time to show an animal or project. Fair registration is free in Cayuga County.

Leading up to the fair, CCE is hosting a Recycled Materials Banner Workshop on three dates — June 18, June 30, and July 13 — from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Workforce Development Center at 248 Grand Avenue in Auburn. No registration is required; it’s a drop-in event. Participants can make decorative banners using recycled materials donated through a partnership with So What in Auburn. Banners can also be entered as a fair project or used to meet herdsmanship display requirements for livestock exhibitors.

On July 2, CCE is bringing a new wild edibles foraging workshop to the county, aimed at youth ages 12 and older. The program covers safe foraging practices, how to identify edible plants in local woods and meadows, and how to avoid harming native plant populations. Registration is required and available at ccecayuga.org.

For more information on any of these programs or to enroll a child in 4-H, visit ccecayuga.org or call 315-255-1183.

Read Full Transcript

Paul Szmal: We're joined now by Sarah Wagner from Cornell Cooperative Extension's Cayuga County branch. Morning Sarah, how are you?

Guest: Good morning, I'm doing great.

Paul Szmal: Now we've got a good amount of stuff to talk about. I wanted to start with the Master Gardener helpline because that is open for business now for the season.

Guest: Yes, our Master Gardeners are accepting phone calls all week and they will return your calls on Wednesday. You can bring them questions about veggie gardens, flower gardens, composting, tree care, bugs and weeds, any of the kind of stuff that might come up in your day-to-day taking care of your garden and outside. And that number by the way is 315-255-1183 and it's extension 1.

Paul Szmal: 315-255-1183 extension 1. Go ahead Sarah.

Guest: And that is our CCE office number so if you look on our website that's the number you'd call for our helpline. It's not a special different number.

Paul Szmal: There you go. And not only is it time to plant flowers and veggies, things of that nature, but we're also gearing up and hard to believe that this is just less than a couple of weeks away. The registration will close for the Cayuga and Seneca 4-H Youth Fair.

Guest: Yes, so registration is open right now. You can find the link on our website at ccecayuga.org. We are accepting registrations from enrolled 4-H'ers. So if your youth is interested in showing an animal or a project affair and they're not enrolled yet, you can call our office. We'll get them enrolled. We'll get them registered and they can come show at the fair, go home with a ribbon, have a really great time. And fair registration doesn't cost anything in this county.

Paul Szmal: And that youth fair is going to be July 29th through August 1st. That'll be at the Union Springs Fire Department.

Guest: Yeah, we've held it there for several years. It's a wonderful, very family-friendly event. Admission is free. Parking is free. We have food trucks that are there. You can come on by, see the animals, see what 4-H is up to. We often have other community organizations that come by, like antique steam engines and the health department and soil and water. So you have an opportunity to learn all kinds of stuff as a visitor.

Paul Szmal: We're talking with Sarah Wagner from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County about some of the events and activities that are coming up. There is a 4-H Recycled Materials Banner Workshop. Is that filled for today?

Guest: Nope, that is just a drop-in workshop. You don't even have to register. So on those three dates, June 18th and 30th and then July 13th, 4 to 7 p.m., stop by the Workforce Development Center, which is where our office is, and we'll have a ton of materials. You can make a banner. If you show livestock at FAIR, you can use that banner as part of your herdsmanship requirements, where you have your name and your 4-H club and the animal's name all displayed. Or you could just make one to decorate your space. And that can be entered as a project into FAIR as well, for anyone who's interested.

Paul Szmal: Now, it wouldn't have occurred to me that you could make a banner out of recycled materials. That's pretty interesting.

Guest: Yeah, we have a great partnership with So What in Auburn, who turns over a lot of recycled material and gives it a second life as a really great creative outlet. And sometimes, working with leftovers and things like that, you can actually be a little bit more creative than just trying to do things from scratch.

Paul Szmal: Absolutely. It is usually less directive. It's not a craft kit that tells you, do step A, B, C. You've got the whole world open up to you. You don't got to worry about using up an expensive material.

Guest: Yeah. So that's really nice. And both today, the 18th, and on the 30th, I will be there in addition to the person running the workshop, Katie. And I'll be helping anyone register for FAIR. So anyone who's got questions about registering can hop on in or on Zoom, and I'll be there to help. And again, at Recycled Materials Banner Workshop, there's one today, one on June 30th, one on July 13th. And that's at the CCE offices at 248 Grand Avenue. Starts at four o'clock. We'll run until about seven.

Paul Szmal: There's also a cool workshop coming up on July the 2nd surrounding wild edibles.

Guest: Yeah. This is a new program we're bringing to Cayuga County. There's a lot of interest in being able to forage from local woods and meadows. And this is a chance to learn how to do that safely and within the rules, how to make sure you're not harming native populations, and mostly how to stay safe and find something exciting to eat. We are asking for registration for that. That's on our website. And it is for youth over 12 years old.

Paul Szmal: Now, it was always a question amongst my friends when we would go for a walk or a hike or something, you know, you see berries or, you know, that sort of thing somewhere. And it's like, can we eat these?

Guest: Yeah. Yeah. And you know what? There is a lot we can eat. So just learning how to develop that, that sort of like internal guidebook or field guide to what you're seeing around you is a really great skill.

Paul Szmal: So I imagine the 4-H program right now is full speed ahead towards getting ready for the youth fair at the end of July, beginning of August.

Guest: Absolutely. That is what we are working every day towards. So it's why I think it's great if people are able to come and really enjoy it. We're trying to put on a very fun event for everyone.

Paul Szmal: Yeah. And it's not just, it's a youth fair, but as you said, it's not just about showing animals.

Guest: No, no, we've got lots of things going on. It really is an agricultural fair. So we usually have different kinds of demonstrations, like sheepdog demonstrations, oxen demonstrations, all kinds of fun things. And the 4-Hers are there and you can ask them lots of questions. And you'll find out how knowledgeable an eight-year-old really can be about their calf or their pig.

Paul Szmal: I'm just thinking in my head, sheepdog and oxen are not words you normally hear associated with the Finger Lakes.

Guest: No, but you know what? They are great projects that very dedicated youth have worked hard on and are very impressive to see in action.

Paul Szmal: Yeah. I would be curious to see the oxen, but I'd want to play with the sheepdog.

Guest: Yeah. Yeah.

Paul Szmal: So if people want to find out more information, Sarah, about events, activities, or maybe even enrolling their child in 4-H, how do they do that?

Guest: Yeah, you can hop onto our website at ccecayuga.org. Under the 4-H tab is where you'll find all of the 4-H events and information. And also my email, our phone number. You can reach out whatever way is most convenient and we'll get back to you. And again, that's ccecayuga.org.

Paul Szmal: Sarah, appreciate it as always. Thanks for being on board.

Guest: All right. Have a great day.