About 540 people enjoyed exploring new outdoor skills at Get Outdoors! Community Day on June 8 at Reinstein Woods.

Thank you to the Towns of Amherst and Cheektowaga Youth & Recreation Departments, New York State Parks Interpretive Office, Niagara Frontier Search & Rescue Team, DEC Forest Ranger Kennedy, and all our volunteers for making a fun day!

Pictures by staff and Abby Mandris.

Luann Romanelli Ream stopped by Reinstein Woods to remember her late husband, Fred Ream, and share some history of the Woods. Fred passed away this March but spent many of his days at Reinstein Woods, even before it was officially a nature preserve.

Fred’s family rented a house in Bellevue, next door to Dr. Victor and Julia Reinstein, the namesake and donor of Reinstein Woods. His mother, Theresa, was the chef for the Reinstein family. He had many fond memories of growing up here that he shared with his wife throughout their lives, including some interesting details about Dr. Reinstein. For example, Luann remembers Fred telling her Dr. Reinstein absolutely loved plain washed salads.

Luann also recalls the many stories Fred had of driving around the land as a young boy with Dr. Reinstein to plant trees. Fred and the Reinstein children would spend their days playing outside and running through the woods.

Fred told his wife about sitting in the study at Dr. Reinstein’s house and “blueprinting” the ponds that Dr. Reinstein planned to create. These evenings spent in the study were the early stages of the 19 current ponds and wetlands at Reinstein Woods. Luann said that many of her husband’s best memories from his youth were of discussing nature with the Reinstein’s by their fireplace, fishing in the ponds, and being outdoors.

Luann described her husband as having a “lifelong love of nature and blueprinting” which originated from his time spent with the Reinstein’s and exploring these woods. Even after moving away from Depew, he was a frequent visitor and would come back to enjoy the peaceful preserve that shaped his childhood.

Thanks to Erie County Legislators Timothy Meyers and John Bruso, Friends of Reinstein Woods was one of several community organizations receiving funding as part of the 2019 Erie County budget. Friends of Reinstein Woods received $4,000 to purchase software to manage their volunteer, member and donor programs.

“Financial sustainability has emerged as the number one priority for our organization, and this software expands our capacity to forge a sustainable future,” said Friends of Reinstein Woods President Terrence Boyle. “We are grateful to Legislator Meyers and Legislator Bruso for their support.”

Friends of Reinstein also received a $66,834 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to support the “Day in the Life of the Niagara River/Lake Erie Watershed” program. This 15-month project combines classroom learning with hands-on field experiences to connect 6th-12th grade students with their local watershed. Reinstein Woods, in partnership with Buffalo Audubon Society and SUNY Fredonia, will engage 480 students and 24 teachers from local underserved school districts in studying and caring for Canadaway Creek, the Buffalo River and the Niagara River. The program gets underway with teacher trainings this summer. Look for updates on the program’s progress in future newsletters.

The Reinstein Woods campership program is such an exciting opportunity for students to learn about the environment and explore outdoor activities. The program connects middle and high school students who may have limited access to nature with outdoor opportunities and a week at DEC’s environmental education camp, Camp Rushford.

Michael Adriaansen, a NYS DEC Environmental Education Assistant who leads this program, is busy all year providing students with unique opportunities to get outdoors and connect with nature. The campers enjoyed cross-country skiing, ice skating at the North Buffalo Ice Rink, and nature walks at Reinstein Woods this winter.

As we welcomed spring, the group learned about pollinator plants and planted native wildflowers. The students will move the seedlings to Reinstein Woods to improve habitats and grow a beautiful native garden.

The students visited Como Lake Park in April to assist NYSDEC fisheries with stocking 2800 rainbow trout into Cayuga Creek. They’ll be able to try fishing this summer during their week at Camp Rushford, located in Allegany County.  Friends of Reinstein Woods provides transportation for all campers to Camp Rushford and also sponsors a camper.

flower planting

fish stocking

ice skating

ice skating

cross coutnry skiing

cross country skiing

cross country skiing

Sightings of indigo buntings and scarlet tanagers bring bright colors to the lush green spring palette. Baltimore orioles are regular visitors to our jelly feeder. Some orioles are in the process of building their hanging nest. Ruby–throated hummingbirds are engaged in their courtship displays. The male hummingbird will dive towards the female in a “U-shape” motion over and over. The sound is very obvious during this maneuver. May apples are flowering. The Hawthorne trees in the understory are exploding with bright white blossoms. Jack-in-the pulpit and doll’s eyes seem to be more abundant than ever on the trails, particularly beech tree trail. A pair of Canada geese lead their young goslings along the shore of mallard meadow. Eastern forktail damselflies perch in delicate grasses along the pond shores avoiding patrolling green darner dragonflies. The sounds of Bull frogs’ deep calls can be heard especially around lily loop. A Caspian tern periodically circles above Flattail Lake and dives for fish. Largemouth bass fan their nests along the shore. Look for Dame’s rocket to be blooming soon with tiger swallowtail butterflies visiting the blossoms.

The preserve has come alive with the beginning of spring. Migrants arrive as the ice recedes on the ponds. Hooded mergansers, buffleheads and other ducks are stopping in for a rest on their journey north. Great blue herons wade along the ice free shores while hunting. Common grackles, red-winged blackbirds, and brown-headed cowbirds have been sighted at bird feeders. Songs from American Robins, Northern cardinals and song sparrows fill the air, interrupted by the loud honking of Canada geese. Listen for the calls of spring peeper frogs to become more common. Warm, sunny afternoons provide perfect updrafts for kettles of turkey vultures. Soon coltsfoot will be blooming and garter snakes will leave their winter hibernacula. Also, look for wild turkey Toms to be displaying soon.

There were six teams of participants for this years’ Christmas Bird Count for Kids, which was held on Saturday, January 5. This program is modeled after Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, which is a census of birds by volunteer birdwatchers. Before heading out on the trail, families learned how to use binoculars and how to identify birds. Each group led by a guide, explored trails at either Reinstein Woods, Stiglmeier Park or Como Lake Park in search of birds. We recorded 25 different species of birds and 367 individual birds. Some notable birds include an Eastern screech owl, pilleated woodpecker, Cooper’s hawk and red-tailed hawk. Afterwards everyone enjoyed pizza for lunch and a quick presentation of the findings of each group. You can view the bird data collected here.

Thank you to everyone that participated, especially for our volunteer guides Brian Engler, Daniel Mlodozeniec, Brittany Rowan, photographer Paul Bigelow, and DEC Biologists David Malinowski, Jacquie Walters, and Ann Wilcox-Swanson.

Friends of Reinstein members celebrated the holiday season while enjoying homemade chili, soups, desserts and more. Members also enjoyed a special “Birds of Prey” presentation by Messinger Woods. The wildlife care center brought a great – horned owl, barn owl, barred owl, American kestrel, peregrine falcon, and Harris’s hawk. The group of 6 volunteers shared natural history about the birds and their own unique stories about each animal. Following the presentation, members were able to talk with the volunteers from Messinger Woods and get close to the birds for pictures. Santa even got pictures with the birds and passed out candy canes to the kids! Thank you to all that attended. We hope you join us for other upcoming member-only events.

Friends of Reinstein Woods is hiring a Summer Day Camp Director for Kids in the Woods summer day camp. Applications are due by December 19, 2018. You can view the full job announcement here.

Members of the Friends of Reinstein Woods enjoyed appetizers and desserts Tuesday night before the Annual Membership Meeting. Board members highlighted the years’ accomplishments of the Friends of Reinstein Woods. We welcomed new board members: Patrick Ryan, Amanda Lippes, and Andy Moon. We also recognized valued members that are leaving the board: Dan Carlson, Lori Stillwell, Stephanie Race, and Jeremy Oczek. Following the business meeting, Buffalo Botanical Gardens’ educator, Kristy Schmitt, presented “Floriography: The Secret Language of Flowers”. This presentation highlighted the origins of flower code, fads and the current use of flower language in the floral industry and everyday life. It was a fun evening and we hope to see you at future member events.