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Fresh Flavors with Farm Day Camp

A whirlwind of sights, flavors and new skills were learned in the past 2 weeks in the Harvest Kitchen at the Extension Learning Farm. For the first time, North Wind Farm Day Camp and the Harvest Kitchen paired up to offer a special theme, Farm to Table Chef Training Camp. Three Extension Educators pulled together the curriculum, Flip Filippi-Local Food Program Leader and Harvest Kitchen Manager, Erica LaFountain-Community Horticulture Educator, and Leslie Schwartz-our newest arrival to the team as a Food System Program Assistant.

There’s much potential on the Learning Farm and this was an excellent union of growing, cooking and youth education. The Harvest Kitchen is already used for many purposes  preservation and cooking programs for the public, including workshops with the onsite BOCES Agricultural Academy, and rental by local food entrepreneurs.

We started planning for this camp back in the winter.  We decided that the foundational ideas to guide our planning are exposure to preparing whole foods, tying ingredients back to what can be grown or produced in northern NY, and getting hands-on experience in a fun, safe environment. 

Springroll ingredients
Campers harvesting the ingredients for their springrolls

The two week camp included a cooking session every day and sometimes two for a group of 12 youth aged 8-12 years old. They were an incredibly fun and curious bunch. All the campers got to bring home a binder full of the recipes they made as well as a Harvest Kitchen apron to accompany them on future kitchen adventures. They harvested ingredients from the onsite high tunnel multiple times a week, and even ventured to the farmers market and a local farm to hunt down more ingredients for upcoming recipes.

camper at photo exhibit
The campers visited the photo exhibit In Season: Our Rural Food System in Photos, curated by Cornell Cooperative Extension and on display at the TAUNY Center in Canton.

So what did we make together? Over the course of 2-weeks the campers made 28 different recipes! It was a wide diversity of preparations, some were foundational, simple skills such as during the sessions “All About Eggs” or “Baked Goods with Herbs”. Other sessions were more aspirational such as making handmade pasta and fresh mozzarella. They even experienced the longstanding north country tradition of canning, making a batch of dilly beans. On the last day, they plated and served the whole camp and their families fresh snacks including caprese kebabs, mixed berry fruit leather and three kinds of homemade popsicles.

making dilly beans
Water bath canning dilly beans

One of my favorite parts was experiencing the enthusiasm and creativity of the group. One session, they made oven fries and homemade ketchup. Campers decorated their own ketchup bottle to bring home, and the names and designs were bright and beautiful. Each morning, they rushed into the kitchen to wash their hands and don their aprons for the day. Many excitedly took notes in their recipes binders, marking up their favorite dishes and reminders for what they might change when they try the recipe again. Read more Fresh Flavors with Farm Day Camp

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Local Foods Weekend 2022!

Join us on September 9th, 10th, and 11th for Local Foods Weekend, with events hosted by over 30 different food producers and businesses throughout St. Lawrence County and its neighboring areas. You can attend one, a few, or try to make it to all of the different events. 

The Weekend’s events range from tours to tastings to kid-friendly activities, there’s something for everyone. Come out and participate in this exciting 3-day celebration of the products and the people that grow, raise, sell, or prepare food in and nearby St. Lawrence County.

 Our rural food system is powered by many hard working farm suppliers, growers, retail stores, cooperatives, and restaurants, along with local organizations and customers. Explore our foodshed and discover the diversity of products created in the North Country.

See the individual event listing on the Local Foods Weekend Blog Page HERE. Events can be viewed via the online map, which includes the ability to filter the  types of events and days of individual events. You can see photos and read the bios of all the businesses and farms participating or you can read the brochure of event listings for a complete list of options! 

This event is associated with the Extension exhibit In Season: Our Rural Food System in Photos on display at Traditional Arts of Upstate New York (TAUNY) in downtown Canton from May 14-October 29, 2022. Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County aims to foster a unique weekend experience with dozens of different activities that entice the community to dive into the rich local offerings.

Lauren grew up in neighboring Vermont exploring and loving the green mountains and vast landscapes. Her undergraduate degree made her appreciate the communities that surround local foods and a Master’s Certificate in Food Studies from the University of Southern Maine made her want to pursue a career in the food system. In 2021 and 2022, she was the Local Foods Marketing and Development Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County.

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How to spot, remove, and test ticks

As summer rolls through the North Country, people are spending more time outside in nature. We are not the only travelers in the outdoors, with tick season already in full swing. Ticks are parasitic arachnids that tend to hang around cool, shady areas, clinging to low shrubs, leaf litter, or grasses. They use these ground-level covers to latch onto prey easily as they brush by. Their diet consists of blood meals from their hosts, slowly consuming for three days to a week after burrowing their mouthparts through the skin. The most common varieties include the black-legged tick/deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), the American dog tick/wood tick (Dermacentor variabilis), and the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum).

The three most common tick species found in NY State: Deer tick, dog tick, and lonestar tick.
The three most common tick species found in NY State

Tick prevention: how to minimize interaction and maximize detection

Ticks are vectors of many pathogens, and are more likely to transmit them if feeding for more than 24-48 hours. With a dozen potentially transmitted diseases, they spread more types of pathogens to people from animals than any other creature. Many of these diseases are incredibly rare and all have under a 1% fatality rate if treated with modern antibiotics. The most common tick-related illness in the Northeast is Lyme disease, which is only present in black-legged ticks. The Thangamani Lab in Syracuse, NY reports that 38% of tested ticks submitted from St. Lawrence County carried at least one pathogen, with Lyme disease being the most common. The prevalence of Lyme disease has increased over the years due to booms in host deer populations, climate change shifting habitat zones, and human-related activities and development encroaching on natural areas. 

While ticks seem to prefer areas with long grasses or dense woods, up to 75% of tick bites occur in our own backyards and particularly affect those who spend time in gardens and yards. The unmaintained edge between woodland or brush and your lawn, called the ecotone, is actually one of the most common points of contact humans have with tick populations, while ornamental vegetation and lawns have the lowest number of ticks. If your home borders heavy vegetation, taking steps to prevent bites is particularly important. Read more How to spot, remove, and test ticks