Cross pollination of ideas and experience can be like a great big breath of fresh air. Here are some ideas for places to go and things to see and do as winter settles in to stay awhile.
Free and good for the entire family (just bundle up) – the Winter Festival at Burr Pond State Park in Torrington, Feb. 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. means a day outside to sample ice fishing, snowshoeing, tracking, ice safety rescue demonstrations – and a bonfire with a marshmallow roast and storytelling. Ice fishing equipment and bait will be provided and an instructor will provide on-ice fishing lessons. Snowshoes will be available for loan. For more information, visit www.nochildleftinside.org – where you will also find helpful tips about dressing youngsters for spending time outdoors awhile in the cold weather.

Trends, plants, networking at New England Grows, ongoing now through Feb. 7, at Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. One of the largest and most popular horticultural and green industry event in the Northeast, known for its progressive educational conference and world-class tradeshow. More than 13,000 industry professionals plus 600 leading horticultural suppliers serving every major segment of the Northeast’s $17 billion annual sales green industry market.

Winter Wonder Days at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island gives visitors a different perspective on critters in the cold and snow. Ongoing through Feb. 28 with half-price admission. Meet snow leopards, moon bears, other hardy animals and get some fresh air yourself. There is also a Tropical America building, Rhode Island’s only indoor rainforest should you want some refreshing green vistas.

The 5th annual Massachusetts Farm Wineries Day, Saturday, Feb. 7, Russell’s Garden Center, Wayland, Mass. Meet the owners of eight wineries, learn more about pairing foods with wine, pick up a map for wandering further afield.

Or what about events happening along Connecticut's Wine Trail? That can include tastings to snowshoeing outings, tours, seminars, and much more. See this link for up-to-date listings.

Sustainability Badge Day for Boy Scouts event at Kellogg Environmental Center, Saturday, Feb. 7, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Scouts can learn more about careers and technology centered on sustainable design and supporting sustainable action to help meet the requirements for this merit badge. Cost is $5 and registration is required. Contact Donna Kingston at (203) 734-2513 or at donna.kingston@ct.gov for other offerings. For more information about sustainability and its connection to people, prosperity, and the planet, go to www.scouting.org/sustainability.

Members of the New England Textile Arts Network love of fiber and are committed learn from and teach each other. The annual NETA SPA weekend at Hilton Garden Inn, Freeport, Maine is Feb. 28 to March 2. For more information about the group and to see what they create, visit this link to their blog.

Learn how to cultivating mushrooms at The Rhode Island Mushroom Company, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 5:30 to 7 p.m., West Kingston, R.I. This Northeast Organic Farming Association of Rhode Island Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) workshop is about commercial mushroom cultivation. Free. Part of a series funded by a Farm Viability grant from the RI Department of Environmental Management's Division of Agriculture to “enhance farmers' ability to grow and market” specialty crops. For more information visit www.nofari.org.

Storrowton Village school programs are designed to involve students in a variety of challenging hands-on exercises. Activities vary by season and may include making a copybook and writing in it with a quill pen; dipping candles; cooking over an open hearth; exploring the Village during a scavenger hunt; and doing the laundry, 9:30 a.m. to noon by appointment only. Admission $6. The village is located at Eastern States Exposition (home of The Big E) in West Springfield, Mass. Call Jackie Sullivan at (413) 205-5051 for more information and other group offerings.

The 25th Annual Winter Carnivale in Chester, Connecticut, will be on Sunday, Feb. 15. Call (860) 526-1200 for more information. The day includes cook-offs, ice carving, a tractor parade and the whole community turns out to celebrate the cold and beat cabin fever.

Winterfest at Lyman Orchards, Middlefield, Feb. 21 to Feb. 22. Dog sledding by the Connecticut Valley Siberian Husky Club, ice carving demonstrations, food, family fun. No admission.

The UConn Extension is sponsoring the “Perennial Plant Conference – A Conference for the Landscape and Horticultural Professional” at the Lewis B. Rome Commons on the University of Connecticut Storrs campus, Thursday, March 5.

All-day educational conference; topics include plant production, sustainable landscape design, and retail marketing. Speakers: Denise Adams, ornamental plant historian, Stony Point, New York, American Home Landscape: A Historical Perspective. Mark Brand, professor of horticulture, UConn Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture, UConn Plant Introductions: Know Them, Grow Them. Ben Campbell, extension economist, UConn Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, Consumer Perceptions: Sustainable, Organic, Ecofriendly, Local. Mark Dwyer, director of horticulture, Rotary Botanical Gardens, Janesville, Wisc., Plants and Design Features for the Sensory Garden; Landscape Design: Back to Basics. Kelly Norris, horticulture manager, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Iowa, Dig This, Stylish Gardening for Savvy Gardeners. Kristin Schwab, landscape architect and associate professor, UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture and Eileen McHugh, University Landscape Architect, UConn Planning, Architecture & Engineering Services, Rise of the Perennial Plant Palette: Examining the New UConn Landscape. Kimberly Stoner, associate agricultural scientist, Department of Entomology, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, Growing Flowers That Benefit Bees. Michael Yanny, owner, JN Plant Selections, Wisconsin, New Woody Plants at Johnson’s Nursery and Great Woody Plants for Your Most Discerning Gardeners. Program and registration information at www.2015perennial.uconn.edu. A pre-registration fee of $100 per person is due by Feb. 26 ($110 afterwards and for walk-ins.)

“City life has offered us many things, but I always worried that my children were going without – without irrigation ditches, heavy equipment, horses, cattle, and outbuildings. I found I could drum up very little in the way of real work for Belle and Joe to do; it all seemed somewhat trivial. Yes, they picked up dog poop from the yard, they cleared the dishes from the tables, and they got their own clothes into the laundry basket. But those things don't seem like real work to me. When I was their age the work I did on the ranch – and this was not actually beyond my comprehension, even when I was little – was tied up in the very livelihood of our families and the families of those employed by us.”

– from Its Head Came Off by Accident: A Memoir by Muffy Mead-Ferro.

And how about this to get cracking on brainstorming some ideas in your family? The Farm Service Agency makes loans to youth to establish and operate agricultural income-producing projects in connection with 4-H clubs, FFA and other agricultural groups. Projects must be planned and operated with the help of the organization advisor, produce sufficient income to repay the loan and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience. The maximum loan amount is $5,000.

Requirements include: Must be a citizen of the U.S.; be 10 years to 20 years of age; comply with FSA’s general eligibility requirements; be unable to get a loan from other sources; conduct a modest income-producing project in a supervised program of work as outlined above; demonstrate capability of planning, managing and operating the project under guidance and assistance from a project advisor. The project supervisor must recommend the youth loan applicant, along with providing adequate supervision.

Stop by a county office for help preparing and processing the application forms.