What's New
Planning to burn wood this winter or next? Check out Heating with Wood
Begin Looking for your Firewood Now!
Storm-damage Assessment and Cleanup Information
Landowners whose woodlots and yard trees were damaged in the recent storm, as well as logging contractors, foresters and other advisers working with them, will find comprehensive information resources available on our Storm Damage Information page.
Save Energy this Winter: Prepare Now!
Start with your heating system
The typical New Hampshire household will spend around $3000 to heat their home this winter.
There are a lot of things you and your family can do right now to reduce those heating bills as much as 20 percent or more with simple actions that don't cost too much.
Lower your thermostat
Every degree you lower the thermostat reduces your fuel costs by about two percent. Keeping your home at 68 degrees in the winter, rather than 73 degrees will typically save about 10 percent in fuel bills.
Lowering the temperature even further when the house is empty or when everyone is sleeping will also reduce your heating bill. If you keep forgetting to lower the temperature manually, a programmable thermostat can help. ("Set it and forget it.") These cost about $50 but will pay for themselves in the first heating season.
There's a common misconception that it takes more energy to raise the temperature of a previously unoccupied home to a comfortable range than it does to maintain that temperature consistently regardless of whether the home is occupied or not. This simply isn't true. If no one is going to be home, turn the heat down; you'll save.
We're Talkin' Turkey
Whether you're an expert chef or a first cook trying to figure out which way the turkey goes in the pan, UNH Cooperative Extension can answer your turkey and holiday meal-preparation questions.
Our toll-free info line is staffed by trained volunteers who give practical information on how to thaw, roast, and store your Thanksgiving turkey. Call 1-877-398-4769, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 2 pm and Wednesday, 5pm to 7:30 pm.
UNH Cooperative Extension's Top Turkey Tips
- Buy a quick-read food thermometer, if you don't have one already. You can purchase one in the grocery store when you are shopping for your holiday meal ingredients.
- Allow 1 pound of turkey per person.
- Buy fresh turkey one to two days before you plan to cook it. Store it in the refrigerator at 40°F or below until cooking. Place it on a tray to catch any meat juices that might leak.
- Thaw your frozen turkey in the refrigerator (40°F or below). Allow approximately 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds. A 16 to 20 pound turkey will take 4 to 5 days to defrost, so plan ahead. Place it on a tray to catch any meat juices that might leak.
2009 NH Outside Calendar Available Now
Our beautiful 2009 NH Outside calendar is now available. The calendar contains excerpts from published NH Outside columns, illustrated with original artwork by volunteer artists and spiced with daily tips and tidbits to help increase awareness of the natural world.
Subtitled connecting you with the wisdom and wonder of the natural world, the calendar itself reflects the purpose of our collaborative writing project: to give our many natural resources volunteers who love to write another way to share the humor, insight, and wonder they've found in the world outside their doorways.
We recruit people with a passion for the natural world and offer training, professional editing, and ongoing support in exchange for their written work. Most of their essays reflect on a private experience or encounter with the world just outside their doorways.
The only aim of our project: to connect readers to nature in some concrete, meaningful way. Every week we distribute a new essay to print media statewide and publish it to our NH Outside web page.
Last year's calendar won a first-place award from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), an international association of communicators and information technologists. We think you'll find this year's edition every bit as gorgeous and useful. At $8.95 each ($7.95 for bulk orders), we expect the calendars to disappear quickly.
