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April 27 th Monday- 7:00 – 9:00 PM Tully High School at 5850 State Route 80, Tully NY

Transforming New York State to a Fossil Fuel Free Future: Why and How

Guest Speakers: Dr. Sandra Steingraber and Prof. Tony Ingraffea

Dr. Steingraber will lead us through why we need a fossil free future. Sandra Steingraber is a biologist and ecologist. A visiting scholar at New York’s Ithaca College, Sandra is also the author of numerous books and articles, including Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment, and is actively involved in educating the public about the human and environmental impacts associated with gas and oil infrastructure.

Professor Ingraffea will describe how we can become fossil fuel free. Tony Ingraffea, is the Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering and Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University. He is the author and co-author of many peer reviewed articles on fracture mechanics and policies for renewable energy.

The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Meredith Perreault, Director of the Central New York Land Trust.

May 17th – Sunday, 3:00 – 6:00 Homer Center for the Arts

Art and Ecology: Artists and Their Passions

Guest Speakers: David O.Brown, Robin Kimmerer, Maria Rizzo, and Karen Jean Smith

David O.Brown, is a worldwide producer, videographer, photographer and lecturer specializing in marine and aquatic subjects.

Robin Kimmerer is a writer, scientist, and Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology at the SUNY –ESF, and the founding Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment .

Maria Rizzo is an Italian painter, now living in CNY, with a passion for art and for nature's vitality.

Karen Jean Smith is a ceramic artist and retired teacher whose recent works include aesthetic and imaginative interpretations of the water chestnut, a non-native, invasive aquatic species that plagues the quiet waters of the northeast. This exciting presentation will provide space for each artist to exhibit their work in the Homer Art Gallery, with a brief presentation from 4:00 to 5:00 in the auditorium.

Deer in Urban, Suburban or Rural Environments:

The Need for Intensive Commitment

March 16th - Monday 7:00 – 9:00PM

Tully Elementary School 20 State St., Tully NY

 Chapter 5

The Elegant Ungulate

Estimates of White-tailed

deer populations

Deer in North America were abundant until Europeans

created an insatiable economic demand with

four centuries ofUnlimited Hunting

Estimate of Declining Populations:

1890 – 350,000

1900 – 500,000 for all of North America

Conservation Measures were put in place in the 1900’s

Current Estimate of deer populations in US:

25,000,000 to 40,000,000

“Pay Back ?”

Buck - slang for a dollar

Deer meat, bone, horn and hide were prime economic forces in the Americas.

In the 1800's their value, combined with improvements in firearms and unrestricted

hunting, caused a drastic decline in the deer populations across North America.*

* Resourced from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

The Town Hall Meeting

“My wife hit one and totaled the car… deer are a menace. I say kill’em all!”

“They ruined my garden!”

“The ticks are so thick I’m afraid to let my kids play outside.”

“How can you talk about killing such majestic creatures?”

“We love seeing deer.”

“Why can’t we leave nature be?”

“Deer have as much right to be here as we do.”

“This is a people problem, not a deer problem.”

“Why can’t people plant things deer don’t like to eat, drive more carefully, and check themselves and their children for

ticks?”

… We need to hire an expert…