Your Clear Creek County CSU Extension has gathered this list of activities, opportunities, and resources by topic. We recognize that Stay at Home orders affect everyone’s routine differently, and many need a retreat from television and social media during the round the clock news updates. Keep busy in your home and learn something new with some of these ideas. Many are organized by third parties and are not affiliated with Clear Creek CSU Extension.

Family Resources for learning and discussing Coronavirus/COVID-19

• How to Talk to Your Kids about Coronavirus
• Really Good Stuff: Educate, Engage, and Entertain Children at Home
• The Secret to Keeping Your Kids Happy, Busy and Learning if Their School Closes Due to Coronavirus
• Home Science Tools wrote this article about Pros of Homeschooling – Breaking Down 9 Common Myths relevant to many parents whose kids’ schools are closed
• CSU Article: Germ theory
• CSU Article: We were born for this: Land-grant universities are more important than ever
• CSU Article: Quarantine and serious hand-washing: When the 1918 flu came to CSU
• Article: Tips From Someone with nearly 50 years of Social Distancing Experience
• CSU Extension COVID-19 Resource Page – The resource areas identified include Food & Food Safety, Home with Children, Finances, Nutrition & Wellbeing, Farmers, Horses/Livestock, Disinfecting, Community, and Older Adults. Ruth worked with PRU’s and individuals to compile resources to help those in our communities. Resources are continually being added and updated. The link is located on our main page in the feature area.
• Clear Creek County CSU Extension COVID-19 Resources: This is a full range of resources to help during these times of uncertainty and adjustments throughout many areas of our lives and in our communities.
• CSU Source articles about the Coronavirus – learn about campus response, research, and news at Colorado State University relating to the Coronavirus pandemic.
• CSU Research – Even when classes went online and the majority of our employees went home to work, many of our research labs stayed open.  They stayed open to work on not one, not two, but four potential COVID-19 vaccines. They stayed open to exhaustively test hundreds of existing drugs, compounds and chemicals to see if they might be tools in the fight against the virus that causes COVID-19. They stayed open to test new surveillance approaches to reduce the risk of COVID outbreaks among vulnerable populations, while also helping workers and companies return to normal productivity and function. They stayed open to partner across campus and with local businesses to produce hand sanitizer to help protect essential employees across our community. And they stayed open to work with business partners in our community to develop a ventilator that could be quickly manufactured and deployed to help address shortages of these lifesaving devices.

Things to do

• CSU Virtual Event list – All CSU virtual events can now be found in one place: https://virtualevents.colostate.edu/ Everything from horse shows, vegetable courses, landscaping courses and meditation classes can be found here!
• eXtension Learning Opportunities – eXtension is a resource for learning, professional development, and collaboration. Beyond their resources, there are lists of events to participate in https://connect.extension.org/calendar/eXtension-Learn 
• 2020 Census! Help our community and complete the 2020 Census — it takes about 3 minutes. Each person counted = $2,300 to our County and City/Town funding for roads, healthcare, school lunches, Medicare, Medicaid, housing, public safety and more. You will receive 2020 CENSUS forms in the mail, but can conveniently complete them online or by phone: https://2020census.gov or by telephone. 844-330-2020 You do not need to wait for your forms to arrive in the mail. Remember: One response ONLY per physical address!   The census is safe and confidential — you do not lose any benefits you may be receiving, such as housing, school lunch program, food stamps, etc.
• Horticulture Webinars from CSU Extension – see a list of webinars presented by different CSU Extension offices/departments
• The Great Courses – The Great Courses are uniquely crafted for lifelong learners, with engaging, immersive online learning experiences.. Topics range across fine arts, language learning, music, history, science, literature, philosphy and more…
• The Colorado Encyclopedia – As Colorado schools remain shut down to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, many parents find themselves lending a hand with their children’s education at home, and wondering how to answer questions like: What is our state animal? When did irrigation come to the Western Slope? How did the national tuberculosis epidemic of the early 20th century increase Colorado’s population? View the Colorado Encyclopedia online.
• Gilpin County Extension Connection enewsletter archive.
• CSU Quarantine Lifestyle opportunities
  • Missing out on live music?  The School of Music, Theatre and Dance in the College of Liberal Arts has taken their “This Week at the UCA” concert series online here, offering wonderful performances from our faculty in a variety of genres. 
  • What about dance? CSU has created a great virtual lecture-demonstration and education packet designed by the students of CSU’s Contemporary Dance Repertory Outreach class — for kids and adults of all ages! An Artist’s Life – CSU Dance Outreach Trailer and An Artist’s Life – Full program CSU Dance Outreach
  • What about art?  The Gregory Allicar Museum of Art at CSU recently updated their site with new programs and videos, so grab some of your family and check it out—no velvet ropes or crowds to contend with.
  • And if you are worried about the phenomenon that people are calling “the quarantine 15,” our Adult Fitness Program is here to help, with a wide variety of exercise videos here.   Lace up your sneakers or get out your yoga mat to work out virtually with fellow Rams.

Arts

• 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch
• Clear Creek County Library District: We have been busy shifting programs and services online and finding ways to bring the library to you at home. Follow us on social media, check our website frequently, and keep reading to learn more!
  • We are excited to share that we now offer Udemy, an online learning platform that offers more than 4,000 on-demand course for in-demand skills. Free with your library card!
  • Need help with a specific tech issue? Get one-on-one assistance with our virtual Book a Librarian service. Email heather@cccld.org or fill out this form to set up a time.

Sustainability

• SEI’s Global Solar Connection Initiative, which seeks to create a global sense of community around renewable energy education while embracing social distancing in the battle against COVID-19, we present to you a new series of live interactive training webinars!
• WOLVES – Take time to educate yourself for November’s ballot initiative to reintroduce wolves in Colorado. The People and Predator Series provides scientific information on the interactions between humans and wolfs. The series includes information on a wide range of topics, including wolf ecology, wolf and livestock management, economics, and social dimensions of living with these predators – https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/people-predators/

In the Kitchen

• Fresh Chefs 4-H Cookbook – Need some inspiration for mealtimes? Cook with 4-H in the free digital Fresh Chefs Cookbook with recipes from 4-H youth, celebrity alumni and supporters, and featuring Celebrity Chef, Author, 4-H Healthy Habits Ambassador and Tennessee 4-H Alumna, Carla Hall!
• Food Smart Colorado, is a new CSU Extension website which provides a variety of nutrition, food safety, and health information in the form of articles, recipes, videos, and more. Check it out! http://foodsmartcolorado.colostate.edu/
• The Art of Cheese: Free Cheesemaking 101 Online Class
• Food Safety Training for Cottage Foods Producers Learn how to safely produce food from home as a cottage food business. This online course covers a variety of topics that include, but are not limited to: basic food safety, foods that are permissible under the updated Colorado Cottage Food Act, ingredient labeling, special considerations for food preparation at high altitudes, and safe food sampling best practices. Registration is $40. Click here to learn more. 
• CSU Kendall Regan Nutrition Center blog
  • Overcoming Stay-at-home eating challenges
  • Meals and Snacks for Kids
• Cook and Support Colorado Agriculture: Try a new dish from some of our own Colorado Proud recipes, or listen to our podcast, Cultivation Station, for business tips on starting or growing your own farm or ranch business. Browse through our Crop Calendar to see when Pueblo Chiles, Palisade Peaches, and San Luis Valley Potatoes will be ready. You can also check out our Farm Fresh Directory and sign up to support your local farmers through Community Supported Agriculture. 
• Learn to make Kombucha + the do’s and don’ts from CSU
• Master the Mason Jar Salad – meal preparation from The Tea and Spice Exchange (who collaborates with CCC CSU Extension in our herbal tea workshop)

In the Garden

• Plan your Victory Garden Growing food in your own backyard is an excellent way to reduce stress, save money, lower pollution, and improve your community’s food security. Tips from crownbees.com
• Rotating your garden‘s planting and harvesting schedule. Tips from USU Extension.
• Gilpin County Extension has a weekly Extension Connection newsletter which is also posted on their website which covers a variety of Extension related topics including mountain gardening.

Get Involved

• Operation We Can Sew It – Volunteers sewing cloth masks to benefit Saint Joseph Hospital and SCL Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Learn about Volunteering for the C4 Botz FTC Robotics team – Learn online about how to volunteer and support our Clear Creek County C4 Botz robotics team. While the practices are postponed during the COVID-19 crisis, this is the time for adult mentors and youth to learn and prepare for the 2020/2021 competition season!

Mindfulness

• CSU EXTENSION ONLINE MINI-CLASS SERIES 
  • Mindfulness for Challenging Times (18:01): https://youtu.be/K99FWeRXVO4
  • Emotional Resilience (17:19): https://youtu.be/emp3pXqdnNw
  • Healthy Compassion (17:37): https://youtu.be/BzIyCY9TjrY
• Yoga in the Library – In partnership with the Clear Creek Metropolitan Recreation District, we are excited to bring you Stretching Your Mind and Body, a series of yoga classes taught by Annie Waesche and filmed in the Idaho Springs Public Library. Watch for new classes in the coming weeks on YouTube.
• Denver Botanic Gardens offers a variety of online education. Through June they are hosting a free Therapeutic Thursday class. Join Denver Botanic Gardens’ horticultural therapists from your home or office as we share techniques used in the Therapeutic Horticulture program. Engage your senses each week as we guide you in how to connect with plants in your everyday life. All ages and abilities are welcome to participate. Only one registration is needed per streaming device. You must preregister to receive meeting link prior to class.
• Forest Therapy Walks – Forest Therapy, gaining inspiration from the Japanese practice of Shin-rin Yoku, (Forest Bathing) is a gift from the earth in the best of times. During the time of social distancing and stay-in-place orders, we need opportunities for connection, stimulation & disconnection, more than ever. Therefore, I am offering an adaption of the practice to a virtual format to help my community cope and discover new ways to thrive. Visit site to learn about free virtual walks on Fridays @ 4pm!

How to Help

Taken from the Clear Creek county website – learn how you can volunteer or donate to help support our community during the COVID-19 crisis.

STAY INFORMED.  STAY HEALTHY.  STAY HOME. 

To best minimize the spread of COVID-19, wash your hands, practice social distancing and only leave your residence for essential services.

“DRIVE-THROUGH & DROP-OFF” DONATIONS at the ELKS LODGE

Clear Creek County Veterans Coalition, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is partnering with local communities to identify and distribute much-needed supplies. They will be accepting “drive-through & drop-off” donations from the public:

WHERE:  Elks Lodge, 1600 Colorado Blvd, Idaho Springs
DATES:  Thursday, April 2 through Friday, April 10
TIMES:  10a until 2p (other donations by appointment)

ACCEPTED ITEMS:  Food (adult and infant), bottled water and Gatorade, hygiene and laundry products, pet supplies, paper products, cleaning supplies, over-the-counter items such as Imodium and Tylenol; and financial contributions.

All items MUST be in new and unopened containers. Homemade, expired and opened items WILL NOT be accepted.

Need for additional donations will be evaluated after April 10.

For more information or to schedule a donation, please contact:
Troy Erickson, Veterans Service Officer
terickson@clearcreekcounty.us 
303-670-7543

We can only accommodate registered volunteers.  See VOLUNTEER information below.

YOU CAN SEND FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO:

Clear Creek County Veterans Coalition
PO Box 235, Idaho Springs, CO 80452
(Tax deductible receipts will be provided)

Clear Creek Veterans Coalition Members include: Ralph Wilkins American Legion Post #98, Idaho Springs Elks Lodge #607, Idaho Springs Lions Club, Idaho Springs Masonic Lodge #26, Clear Creek School District, Rotary Club of Clear Creek 2000, Clear Creek County Library District, Knights of Columbus, United Church of Idaho Springs, Charlie’s Place and Project Support and work together to serve Veterans and First Responders.

VOLUNTEER
Whether it’s a one-time task or multiple days, from home or in-person, something familiar or something all-new–your involvement can make a big impact in our wonderful community!  Katy knows who needs help and how to get it to them.

If you are interested in volunteering locally during this time pleas contact:

Katy Daily – Clear Creek County COVID-19 Volunteer Manager 
kdaily@idahospringsco.com
(720) 446-8898

For more information on volunteering please visit: https://coloradoresponds.communityos.org/volunteer-registration

BE A NO-CONTACT HELPER
Email or call your neighbors, especially those who live alone, to make sure they have what they need–food, medicine, water, etc.  There are lots of easy, no-contact ways to show you care–offer to pick up supplies for them during your next shopping trip, make and drop off a meal, just check in to see how they’re doing.

STAY CONNECTED 
Now more than ever it’s important to keep in touch with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers through email, social media and even old-fashioned phone calls.  Supporting each other will help to keep us resilient and healthy!

BE THANKFUL! 
Write a letter/email of thanks to your town/city/County First Responders and let them know they are appreciated while hustling 20 hours a day, every day during our virus-crisis!