WESTAMPTON, N.J. — Rutgers Cooperative Extension introduces the “Homesteading Academy” – a new, once monthly lunchtime webinar series for anyone curious about home-grown sustenance and self-sufficiency.
Due to the pandemic, many of us have altered our lifestyles; some have moved out of cities to larger plots of land, some have picked up new hobbies like baking or canning, while others have tried their hand at gardening. Calls from new landowners not sure what to do with their land remain among our top inquiries. In response, we developed the Homesteading Academy to provide free, introductory lessons on an array of homesteading topics to all.
From October through December, we invite you to join us on the second Tuesday of each month for live sessions with our invited speakers. The webinars will take place from noon to 1 PM, so bring your lunch! This first set of three sessions will feature speakers on backyard poultry, mushroom production, and beekeeping. The series will be ongoing, with potential future topics of sheep/beef/goats, seed saving and heirloom varieties, engine conversion to waste vegetable oil, troubleshooting for two-cycle engines, cut flowers, food preservation, small-scale grain milling, and more.
Space is limited and pre-registration at https://go.rutgers.edu/homesteading is required to receive the Zoom link to attend.
- Tuesday, October 12, 2021 – “Getting Started with Backyard Poultry” presented by Hank Bignell, Sr. Program Coordinator—Livestock Production, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Warren County
- Tuesday, November 9, 2021 – “Joy of Mushroom Production” presented by Ayesha Dolassa, Owner of Noble Mushrooms
- Tuesday, December 14, 2021 – “What to do to get started keeping bees on your property” presented by Tim Schuler, Owner of Schuler’s Bees and Former State Apiarist for N.J. Dept. of Agriculture
If you are not able to attend the live sessions during lunch, know that recorded presentations from the Homesteading Academy will be archived and available on the RutgersNJAES Youtube channel.
Have a topic idea? Need help with Zoom? Send all your questions to Kate Brown, Program Associate in Commercial Agriculture with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County kbrown@njaes.rutgers.edu or (609)265-5050.
–Rutgers Cooperative Extension