MSU Tollgate Farm & Education Center

Holiday Lights at the Farm 

Celebrate the holidays with a cruise around the farm!

Guests will enjoy holiday light displays built by volunteers and businesses from the comfort of their cars. Add to the fun by pre-purchasing a cookie and cocoa to-go box for your cruise. $10 a car, registration is open.

All proceeds will support educational programming.
Click here for more details.

Online Classes

Online Extension Extras Parenting Hour - Reducing Challenging Behaviors in Toddlers
December 1, 2020
8:00 p.m. 
Reducing Challenging Behaviors in Toddlers is part of the Extension Extras free online series of parenting workshops that provides guidance for parents of young children as they navigate the joys, challenges and concerns of parenting.

Pantry Food Safety - It's Your Job
December 1, 2020
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MSU Extension educators present food safety topics for volunteers and staff working in food pantries and food banks.

Cooking for Crowds Online Training
December 2, 2020
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Cooking for Crowds is designed for groups who offer food fundraisers and food events such as dinners and bake sales.

Michigan Substance Use Prevention Education and Recovery (MiSUPER) Webinar
December 2, 2020
Noon – 1:00 p.m. 
This MiSUPER webinar presentation provides training to increase awareness of opioid use disorder issues in communities, treatment options, and support for those in recovery.

Informed Renter
December 2, 2020
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
A rental workshop from MSU Extension will equip you with valuable information about the rental process that will help you navigate the technicalities and avoid costly mistakes.

Fiscally Ready Communities: Budgeting for Fiscal Sustainability
December 3, 2020
9 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. 
Learn about the fundamentals of fiscal sustainability and how to set your community up for long-term fiscal health.

Exploring with Scientist Virtual Field Trip
December 3, 2020
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 
Grow your knowledge of amphibians and reptiles and find out what's being done to increase their populations. Programs are designed for elementary school students.

ONLINE Chronic Pain PATH Session Zero Webinar
December 3, 2020
11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Online Chronic Pain PATH Series Introductory Session Zero Webinar

Todays Mom
December 3, 2020 - January 14th, 2021 on Thursdays
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Today’s Mom aims to improve the dietary and physical activity habits of moms-to-be in ways that are sustainable before, during, and after pregnancy.

Preserving Your Harvest Online Classes-Gift Ideas for Home Food Preservers
December 3, 2020
1:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Join the discussion with the MSU Extension Food Safety team as they share their favorite preserving equipment and gadgets for safe methods of preserving food at home.

Homeownership
December 3, 2020
4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
This homeownership seminar from MSU Extension will provide you with valuable information about the home buying process.

Comida Saludable, Familias Saludables
December 3, 2020 - January 14th, 2021 on Thursdays
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Comida Saludable, Familias Saludables is for Spanish speaking parents and caregivers that want to help their family become healthier thru proper nutrition, exercise, and food safety.

Show Me Nutrition - Mercy Education Project
December 3, 2020 - January 14th, 2021 on Thursdays
5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Show Me Nutrition offers 6 lessons for youth, Pre-K through 8th grade. It is geared to promote healthy eating, physical activity, and food safety.

Can you Explain your Tax Bill?
(A property owner's guide to understanding Michigan Property Taxes)
December 3, 2020
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Learn the meaning of Tax Day, how property is valued, as well as how local millages are determined.

Exploring with Scientist Virtual Field Trip
December 7, 2020
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Exploring with Scientist! Have your students shape the virtual field trip and talk with a scientist!

ONLINE Stress Less with Mindfulness
December 7, 2020 – December 11, 2020
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Stress Less with Mindfulness introduces participants to the experience and practice of mindfulness, with a goal of reducing stress.

Loan Preparation for New and Beginning Farmers
December 7, 2020
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Loans are an important tool for growing any business. This series will prepare new and beginning farmers with the tools needed to approach a lender.

Fall Food Safety Q&A Series
December 7, 2020
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Join MSU Extension food safety educators as they dive into food safety topics each week and answer your questions.

RELAX Alternatives to Anger Series
December 7, 2020 – December 10, 2020
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
We all have strong emotions and RELAX is an opportunity for all to understand how to recognize emotions to improve and learn problem-solving strategies.

Food Security Summit -December 8th, 2020
December 8, 2020
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Food insecurity, or hunger, is often a hidden problem. Join in the virtual conversations aimed to bring awareness and solutions to this growing problem in Northern Michigan.

Financial Preparedness for Disasters
December 8, 2020
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. 
Prepare for disasters with these steps that might affect your finances. Save time, money and stress if and when a disaster strikes.

Safe Food = Healthy Kids - Online Training
December 8, 2020
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Safe Food = Healthy Kids is an interactive food safety workshop for childcare providers.

“Conservation Talk” Tuesdays Webinar Series
December 8, 2020
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Webinar series explores diverse cultural perspectives, natural communities, conservation partnerships, efforts to connect people to nature, & restoration efforts in Michigan.

Online Extension Extras Parenting Hour - Mathematics for Infants and Toddlers
December 8, 2020
8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Mathematics for Infants and Toddlers is part of the Extension Extras free online series of parenting workshops that provides guidance for parents of young children as they navigate the joys, challenges and concerns of parenting.

photo - Tim Howell

Birds and Coffee Chat Online
December 9, 2020
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Grab your morning beverage and join us to learn more about 5 bird species!
Your hosts are educators: Lisa Duke, Misty Klotz and Kara Haas from Kellogg Biological Station and Kellogg Bird Sanctuary. Zoom in and participate by sharing your recent bird sightings and asking questions!

Species Focus is Feeder Birds: Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch, and White-breasted Nuthatch

There is no fee for this online program but registration is required to receive a secure link to the zoom meeting.

Top 10 Credit Tips
December 9, 2020
Noon - 1 p.m. 
This one-hour webinar will discuss ten credit tips. Learn about credit, credit reports, credit score and how to build good credit.

RELAX: Alternatives to Anger for Parents & Caregivers
December 10, 2020
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. 
During this workshop we will discuss anger and strong emotions in infants and toddlers and learn developmental stages of self-control and how to assist children at each stage.

Mending the Stress Fence
December 10, 2020
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
This workshop is meant to be presented to farmers, farm workers, and agricultural professionals who work with farmers and their families.

Michigan Cottage Food Law
December 10, 2020
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The Michigan Cottage Food Law, Food Safety practices related to producing cottage foods and how to start a cottage food business.

Do you think your property value is too high?
(A property owner's guide to the local Board of Review and Michigan Tax Tribunal)
December 10, 2020
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Participants will learn the purpose of their local Board of Review and how it works. Participants will also learn the components of what makes for a good appeal to the Board.

Cash Crunch due to COVID-19? Ten Tools to Manage Your Finances
December 14, 2020
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
Have your finances been affected by the pandemic? Learn tools and strategies to help you navigate money challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring with Scientist Virtual Field Trip
December 14, 2020
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Exploring with Scientist! Have your students shape the virtual field trip and talk with a scientist!

Online UP Stress Less with Mindfulness Series 
December 14, 2020 – December 18, 2020
Join us for five sessions of a wide variety of strategies in mindfulness that lead to stress reduction and help to build your own mindful practice.

Mindfulness Lunch and Learn
December 14, 2020 – December 17, 2020
11:30 a.m.
Be ready for the winter holiday season and learn to Stress Less with Mindfulness. This is and introduction to mindfulness with a goal of reducing stress.

Fall Food Safety Q&A Series
December 14, 2020
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Join MSU Extension food safety educators as they dive into food safety topics each week and answer your questions.

“Conservation Talk” Tuesdays Webinar Series
December 15, 2020
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Webinar series explores diverse cultural perspectives, natural communities, conservation partnerships, efforts to connect people to nature, & restoration efforts in Michigan.

Online Together We Can: Co-Parenting
December 15, 2020
8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Extension Extras Parenting Hour is a free online series of parenting workshops that provides guidance for parents of young children as they navigate the joys, challenges and concerns of parenting.

Michigan Substance Use Prevention Education and Recovery (MiSUPER) Webinar
December 16, 2020
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
This MiSUPER webinar presentation provides training to increase awareness of opioid use disorder issues in communities, treatment options, and support for those in recovery.

Protecting your Identity and Avoiding Scammers Webinar
December 16, 2020
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
This one-hour webinar will provide you with tips to protect your identity and how to avoid scammers, especially during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Exploring with Scientist Virtual Field Trip
January 4, 2021
Exploring with Scientist! Have your students shape the virtual field trip and talk with a scientist!

Guiding Principles for Highly Successful Parenting Webinar Series  
January 4, 2021 – February 1, 2021
Guiding Principles is a FREE online course for parents of toddlers to teens to learn strategies for helping children, parents and families be successful.

Building Early Emotional Skills for Parents Webinar Series  
January 6, 2021 – January 27, 2021
Building Early Emotional Skills (BEES) for Parents is a FREE online course for parents of children 0-3 about developing positive social emotional development.

Exploring with Scientist Virtual Field Trip  
January 7, 2021
Exploring with Scientist! Have your students shape the virtual field trip and talk with a scientist!

Savvy Seniors Stress Less with Mindfulness
January 8, 2021 – February 12, 2021
Join us for five sessions of a wide variety of strategies in mindfulness that lead to stress reduction and help to build your own mindful practice.

Learn about Michigan’s lakes online from MSU Extension 

Registration for the award-winning Introduction to Lakes online course is now open! 
The 6-week self-paced online course runs January 19 - March 26, 2021 and is designed for anyone interested in inland lakes, including lakefront property owners and lake managers.

Course topics include lake ecology, watershed management, shoreline protection, Michigan water law, aquatic plants and community engagement.

The course consists of video lectures, interactive activities, discussion forums, resources and live Ask-an-Expert webinars featuring Michigan State University Extension educators and experts from outside organizations.

Registration is open now through January 14, 2021. The cost of the course is $115 per person. Register by December 28, 2020 for an early bird price of $95 per person. To learn more and to register, visit the Introduction to Lakes website at www.canr.msu.edu/lakesonline.

Michigan State University Extension
Oakland County
North Office Building
26 East, 2nd Floor
1200 North Telegraph Road
Pontiac, Michigan  48341

E-mail:  msue.oakland@county.msu.edu
Phone:  248-858-0880
Toll-free:  888-350-0900, ext 80880
Fax:  248-858-1477

Website: www.oakgov.com/msu
Facebook - MSUExtensionOC

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer, committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential.  Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender idenity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status.  Persons with disabilities have the right to request and receive reasonable accomodations. for persons with disabilities may be requested by contacting Michigan State University Extension - Oakland County at 248-858-0880 to make arrangements.  Please allow no less than one week for short programs and no less than one month for overnight programs.