Bug Bonanaza

Eating real bugs! Photos!

Saturday
September 29, 2007
12-4PM

Call (315) 673-1350 for prices and details!

Rolypig Composter at Baltimore Woods.

Maggie, Nancy, and Ryan Gaus helped assemble the new Rolypig Composter at Baltimore Woods.

CNE Board member Jean Graham was recently honored as Citizen of the Year by the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce. In honor of this recognition the Allyn Foundation has awarded Centers for Nature Education a $3,000 grant for its Walk the Talk project. Walk the Talk will introduce to Baltimore Woods innovative Greenware cold cups that look and feel like plastic, but are made of a new polymer derived from corn. The cups break down within weeks under typical compost conditions. Walk the Talk will also introduce the adorable and educational Rolypig composter to Baltimore Woods. What better way to honor Jean than to teach children about recycling and conservation!

100% wind power available through NYSEG's collaborative "Catch the Wind" program

It is no longer enough to love, feed, shelter, clothe and educate a child - not when the future itself is in danger. Being conscientious parents today also means working to protect the nation and the planet - now, before it's too late."

Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, November 1988

Dear Friends of CNE:

Now, by registering for 100% wind power through NYSEG's collaborative "Catch the Wind" program (also open to NIMO customers), you can take an important step to help protect the environment for our children and grandchildren - and the myriad living species with which we share our planet. And you can support CNE's important work at the same time.

Until recently, our power companies have only been able to offer their customers electricity generated from a mix of heavily polluting sources (with the exception of hydro): coal, oil and natural gas, and nuclear power. With nuclear power comes nuclear waste (plus inviting targets for terrorists); with petroleum comes emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main source of greenhouse gases (plus dependence on Middle Eastern oil); with coal comes a host of dangerous pollutants - sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide (sources of smog and acid rain), dioxin and mercury (both highly toxic), and CO2.

Recognizing the dangers from burning fossil fuels (coal and oil especially), New York and seven other states plus New York City are suing five of the country's largest power companies, "saying that the carbon dioxide they emit could have catastrophic effects on the environment and human health." (Syracuse Post Standard, 7/26/04) Governor George Pataki has also mandated that New York's power companies draw 25% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010. Here is where CNE's collaboration with NYSEG's "Catch the Wind" program, supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), comes in. For every NYSEG or NIMO household or institution that signs up for wind power through that program at an annual $60 surcharge (only 16 cents a day) per 200 kwh monthly, NYSERDA will contribute $20 to CNE through NYSEG. The wind power comes from Community Energy, operator of the Fenner wind farm outside Cazenovia. (See the enclosed flier and sign-up form.)

This is what you get for the extremely modest surcharge, with no "externalized" costs, when you sign up with the "Catch the Wind" program. Wind power:

• produces no emissions harmful to human and animal health - asthma and other respiratory illnesses, mercury and dioxin poisoning,
• destruction of habitat;
• produces no acid rain, so damaging to New York State water bodies;
• generates no nuclear wastes;
• provides no inviting targets for terrorist attacks;
• reduces America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil;
• causes no harm from fuel production (coal tailings dumped into rivers and streams; uranium tailings scattered near Indian reservations);
• produces no greenhouse gases, helping to protect the world of our children and grandchildren from devastating future effects of global warming;
• earns substantial royalties for the CNY farmers who have made land available for siting wind turbines;
• generates tax and tourist dollars for rural counties (Madison county thus far).
• makes our communities and the world a healthier, safer place for our children and grandchildren.

While doing all these good things, you also have the opportunity to make a significant contribution to CNE's work. And all this for only about 16 cents more a day per 200 kwh of wind-generated electricity. How often do you have a chance like this to do good for the environment while doing well by a worthy organization like CNE? May we respectfully suggest that you consider signing up without delay for the NYSEG/CNE collaborative wind energy program.

Ollie Clubb

School Groups at Baltimore Woods
Centers for Nature Education is taking reservations now for school programs this fall at Baltimore Woods in Marcellus. Weather is not a problem with the new John A. Weeks Interpretive Center. CNE also can bring programs to your school. See our brochure or call (315) 673-1350.

Free Hiking at Baltimore Woods
Centers for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods manages 4.5 miles of hiking trails that encompass gardens, woods, fields, streams and a pond. The trails are open everyday from sunrise to sunset. Trail maps are available at the upper and lower parking lots. The new John A. Weeks Interpretive Center is open to the public on Saturdays from 10-4 p.m. There is no fee for admission or for parking. For more information about the trails and CNE visit the website at: www.takeahike.org or call (315) 673-1350.