If you attended Winter Wonderland, you may have seen the Coalition of Positively Charged People‘s unique battery chute that was helping folks recycle alkaline (normal household) batteries. While Reinstein Woods is no longer accepting alkaline batteries, we do accept the following materials for recycling:

• rechargeable batteries
• sneakers in usable condition
• clean, empty skin care, hair care and cosmetic containers that otherwise wouldn’t be able to be recycled
• toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, floss and deodorant containers through Tom’s of Maine and Terracycle
• PERFECT #6 styrofoam (the kind electronics come wrapped in- must be in perfect condition)
• Cell Phones (for Soldiers)

You can bring these items to the “recycling station” inside the Education Center Monday through Friday 9 am to 4:30 pm and Saturdays from 1 pm to 4:30 pm.

Additionally, you can bring used clothing and blankets any time and place them in the Hearts for the Homeless bin in the main parking lot. Clothing doesn’t have to be in perfect condition (items can be sold to markets for industrial rags, for instance) but should be clean and dry.

To find where to recycle other items, visit earth911.org.

You may have noticed a new structure in the parking lot at Reinstein Woods. In honor of Earth Week, DEC unveiled a new solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station!  State Senator Timothy Kennedy and Assemblyperson Monica P. Wallace joined DEC Region 9 Director Abby Snyder and other officials to open the station.

Manufactured in California by a company called Envision Solar, the system consists of a solar panel that will power a battery that dispenses energy to vehicles, providing solar energy even when the sun isn’t shining. The system can charge two vehicles simultaneously and will lower our collective carbon footprint.

Reinstein Woods uses the station to power a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) used to care for the trails, and a new electric scooter available for visitors with limited mobility. The charging station also features a USB port and a regular electrical outlet, enabling us to charge a variety of smaller electronics such as hedge-trimmers using only the sun’s power.

A state-of-the-art television screen attached to the charging station provides information on the station’s performance and also broadcasts information about upcoming Reinstein Woods’ events.

The station was paid for by a gracious donation from the Julia Boyer Reinstein Trust.

New York State is currently offering a rebate of up to $2,000 that can be combined with federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for the purchase of hybrid plug-in or full electric vehicles. Many newer models can go 50 to more than 200 miles on pure electricity without needing a charge. For more information, visit the ChargeNY website.

Spring and “springtime” bring to mind three R’s: rebirth, renewal and regrowth. There are also the three R’s of waste management: reduce, reuse, recycle….but let’s gets back to spring! The spring season is full of transformations. The temperature rises to a more bearable degree, and the trees once again bud into lush, green, picture-perfect plants. Aside from the weather’s transformation, Reinstein Woods also transforms as local nature lovers and area schools merge upon the woods to witness the amazing spring awakening. Just like Nature starting another season of new growth and beauty, people often want to try something a bit different from their usual activities.

If you’re at the point of shaking things up in a spring awakening, why not join a Friends committee? We have several active committees that are the lifeblood of our organization, including membership, finance, development, and events committees. Currently, our Events Committee could use a few more helpers. This committee meets bi-monthly to plan great events like Nature’s Gathering.  You can learn more and find meeting dates and contact info on our web page, or you can contact me at president@reinsteinwoods.org. If you aren’t up to joining a committee, we can always use members to help set up and work at Friends- sponsored events like Get Outdoors! Community Day.

In closing, I’m a firm believer in trying on “different hats.” You’ll never know how it fits if you don’t try it on!  In my years of volunteering at Reinstein Woods, I’ve worn many hats (most recently the squirrel hat in the photo) and none that I’ve regretted!

Enjoy and respect the outdoors and I hope to see you soon at Reinstein Woods.

-Terrence Boyle, President, Friends of Reinstein Woods

Note: Our Spring “Nature Tech” series for kids was so popular that we’ve decided to occasionally post about a useful nature app for your smartphone or tablet. 

As a public location, trash is something we are very aware of at Reinstein Woods. We are fortunate that despite lots of visitors, our trails remain relatively trash free. However, the same can’t be said of most public roads and especially the ocean.

Now there’s an app that lets citizens help scientists work toward a trash-free future: Litterati.

Available for Apple and Android devices, the app is simple: snap a photo of a piece of litter and tag it with keywords (e.g. #cigarette #Marlboro). The app adds a “geotag” with location information. According to litterati.org, “Geotags provide insight into problem areas, while keywords identify the most commonly found brands and products. This data will be used to work with companies and organizations to find more sustainable solutions.”

Best of all, you don’t have to use your phone’s data – you can wait to upload the photos to Litterati until you are in a place that has Wifi. Ideally, you will pick up the litter and either recycle it or place it in the trash. The app shows your “impact” by tracking how many pieces of litter you collect, and the website even has an interactive map showing where trash has been picked up across the globe.

There’s even a guide for teachers who want to use the app in their curriculum. So before you pick up that abandoned pop can on your next nature hike, snap a photo with the Litterati app. You could be helping to build a trash-free future!

Reinstein Woods is grateful to all the donors and new members who contributed this winter or spring to Friends of Reinstein Woods. You make it possible for students, teachers and adults to Share in Nature’s Harmony!

Donors:

• Cinderella Isle Garden Club
• Employees of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s Buffalo Office
• Vinod and Constance Suchak – Kids in the Woods Camp Sponsorship
• Ed Swiatek – For Beehive and Butterflies
• Amazon Smile Foundation, The Benevity Community Impact Fund, Microsoft Matching Gift Program, Yourcause.com

Earth Day Appeal:

Irene Benbenek, Scott & Meaghan Boice-Green, Terry & Linda Boyle, Jacqueline Brodfuehrer, Michael Campanella, William Cookfair, Jerry & Maureen Cournyea, Ronald Dekanski, Rita Ecker, Jade Feeney, Mike & Carol Gettings, Donald Gordon, David & Jessie Green, Barbara Guancial, Kevin & Lisa Hanna, Lawrence Herrmann, Dennis & Rebecca Kaniecki, David & Carolyn Karb, David Kennedy, Edward Kowalski, Tom & Sue Lawson, Kalista Lehrer, Gary & Maria Michalski, Jeanne Moog, Tom & Andrea Mudd Sr., Jim & Marcia Nixon, Don & Jane Ogilvie, Edward Okon, Patricia Perry, Rita Puccio, Richard & Cheryl Radomski, Brigitte Schick, Leane Schultz, Scot & Karen Smith, Tom Stoll, Diana Strablow, Vinod & Constance Suchak, Katherine Weber, Ellen Welker

Memorial Gifts:

• • Dorothy Fairhead in memory of Elizabeth Cobb
  • Donna & Art Soyk in memory of Tom Quincy Rowan

Spring It On! Donors:

Gasper Aronica, Sue Bancich, Kathleen Boice, Meaghan Boice-Green, Matt Boyle, Terry Boyle, Peter Braun, Cheryl Buechi, Daniel Carlson, Esther Clabeaux, Maureen Cournyea, Stefanie Ecker, Mike & Carol Gettings, Elizabeth Grady, Andrew Jaskowiak, Libby Kershner, Mary Losi, Ann Murphy, Jeremy Oczek, Seeta Persaud, Gerald Phillips, Charles Rauch, Helen Roche, Kristen Rosenburg, Larry Snider, Katherine Spengler, Vinod Suchak, Microsoft Matching Gift Program (K. Spengler)

United Way Donor Choice Program 2016:

Linda Arndt, Franklin Collins, Dr. Richard Hershberger, Amanda Megan, Andrew Moon, Karen Smith, Lori Stilwell, Vinod Suchak, Sandra Sywak, Jill Thurston

Welcome New Members:

• Miriam Abramovich
• Cassie Austin
• Vicki Bauer
• Kellie Breeden
• Debra Easton-Dawson
• Christine Derby-Cuadrado
• Nicole Ehrle
• Jill Emmons
• Audrey Friedrich
• Susan Gonsiorek
• Jessica Harrell
• Robin Hjembo
• Jen Kielbasa
• Elisa Kirby
• Kawthar Kotob-Ibrahim
• Ryan Lohr
• Stephanie Macchiavoli
• Melissa Milch-Klein
• Christen Mueller
• Lana Penfold
• Nancy Richert
• Patrick & Sheelagh Ryan
• Jerome Schley
• Brad Schutt
• Angel Swan
• John Tooley
• Mary Yager
• Kelly Zimmerman

With the recent surge in rainfall, water levels in the ponds are very high. Spring has sprung and many of the trees are leafing out. You may catch a glimpse of trout lily flowering in the older patches of forest. May apples will soon be flowering too. In wetter areas, cuckoo flower is showing its blossoms. The Baltimore orioles have returned, and you can often hear their melodious call in the feeder area. Soon they will be weaving their hanging sack nests. Palm, yellow-rumped, and black-throated green warblers have been spotted filtering through the preserve. They will soon vanish under the cover of larger leaves. Rose-breasted grosbeaks have also been seen at our feeders. Fern fiddle heads are unfurling. Mourning cloak butterflies have left their tree cavity retreats to rest on sunlit leaves. Red admiral butterflies and green darner dragonflies have migrated north to the preserve. American toad trills have already quieted, but listen for spring peepers peeping and the “gunk” of green frogs on your next visit. May the Fourth be with You.

As temperatures warm and days grow longer, Reinstein Woods has begun to pop with color. Red maple flowers polka dot the trails while the long yellow catkins of cottonwoods dance in the breeze. The true stars of the parade into spring are the wildflowers that reveal their beauty for a few short weeks before the greenwash is complete.

Early wildflowers are often referred to as “spring ephemerals” due to their short blooming period. These flowers appear before the emerging forest canopy blocks the majority of the sun from reaching the forest floor. In a few weeks these flowers grow, produce seeds and disappear. Each species has developed a unique set of tools to ensure the survival of their offspring. We’ve highlighted four native wildflowers that you can find on the trail this week.

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

Where to find it: Beech Tree Trail, Lower Pond Trail

Trout lilies are easily identified by two mottled leaves covered in brown splotches with a flower rising out of a single stalk. The flower has six yellow tepals- three petals and three sepals- that curve backward exposing a cluster of stamens. It takes a trout lily up to seven years to develop a flower—if it does at all—and large parts of the forest floor at Reinstein are covered in colonies of immature plants marked by their singular mottled leaf. Underground, the plant spends years adding to a bulb of stored food. If a flower grows, the resulting seeds have a fatty deposit, or elaiosome, that attract ants who disperse the seed throughout the forest. This symbiotic relationship, called myrmecochory, is common among many spring wildflowers.

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

Where to find it: Beech Tree Trail

Hidden among a trout lily patch at Reinstein Woods is the delicate spring beauty flower. This white flower is streaked with brilliant pink and sits among grass-like leaves. These lines guide pollinators to the center of the plant. Spring ephemerals are an important source of food for many pollinating insects who find nectar and pollen scarce in the early spring.

Violets (Viola)

Where to find it: Lily Pond Loop, Beech Tree Trail

Many of our trails are lined with blue and yellow violets, flowers with five delicate petals and heart shaped leaves. Like the trout lily, these plants also attract ants to their seeds with fatty elaiosomes, but ensure a wide range of travel with an exploding seed pod that shoots seeds up to ten feet away.

Two-leaf Toothwort (Cardamine diphylla)

Where to find it: Lower Pond Trail

This member of the mustard family can be identified by its four white petals and two opposite leaves divided into three leaflets.

See if you can spot all four of these wildflowers on your next visit to Reinstein Woods!

What do you do when it approaches 70 degrees Fahrenheit in February? Many people get outside to soak up the sun and warmth. Many animals are doing the same. There are already painted turtles that are basking on pond logs in the preserve. The mild weather and rains have likely awakened spotted salamanders which will soon make their journey to our vernal pools. Most of the year these salamanders are underground. Spring peeper frogs are peeping along the perimeter of ponds and marshes. Red-winged blackbirds, an early migrant, sing in the cattail marshes. Next time you are on a highway, look for turkey vultures soaring on updrafts during on their migration North. Black-capped chickadees have turned to their “fee bee” call. Local sugar maple trees are being tapped early for sap to make maple syrup. Soon, spring ephemeral flowers will be carpeting the forest and frog choruses will echo through the preserve.

More than 50 members of the Friends of Reinstein Woods attended our Holiday Party. Friends enjoyed Soup, Chili, salad, and an assortment of appetizers and desserts. Earth Spirit gave a great presentation focused on live animals. Visitors were able to see a chinchilla, tree frogs, hissing cockroaches, a bearded dragon, and other animals up close during this presentation. There was even a visit from Santa, who posed for pictures holding Earth Spirit’s corn snake!

Bearded Dragon

Tree Frogs

Santa

Santa Visit

Santa and Corn snake

Santa and Corn Snake

Holiday Party

Hissing Cockroaches

Enjoying Food

Visitors holding Corn Snake

Corn Snake