By Jill Zerkowski, Naturalist Intern

On September 29, more than 300 students, teachers and volunteers arrived on the shores of the Buffalo River and its tributaries. Equipped with tools such as nets, tubes, clipboards and data sheets, students from six schools from across western New York were ready to explore the complex relationships that are found in the Buffalo River. The fourth annual Day in the Life of the Buffalo River found students ankle deep in water, giving them a unique hands-on experience.

In addition to the students, teachers and volunteers, several partner organizations were on-site to help with the event. Representatives from the Erie County Park Rangers, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Great Lakes Program, and US Fish & Wildlife Service’s Lower Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office worked with students at ten different sites to collect data about water quality, biodiversity, create maps, as well as to share the history of the Buffalo River.

All of the data collected by the students will be posted on the web and shared between the participating classes.

Reinstein Woods gave students and educators a day they most likely won’t forget. Learning to do real science, like measuring turbidity (the cloudiness in the water), is one benefit of the program.  “The turbidity tube was awesome! We poured the water in (the tube), and the secchi disk actually disappeared! It was so cool when we let the water out and could see the disk again,” said one student.

Brittany Rowan, Friends of Reinstein Woods environmental educator, said, “This event is a great opportunity for students to investigate this local water resource and take real-world data. It’s exciting for them to become scientists for a day.”

Special thanks to the local offices of Ingram Micro and Northrop Grumman for providing funding to support this STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program. The Julia B. Reinstein Trust also provides financial support that makes this program possible.

“This week was the highlight of my summer.”

So proclaimed one of the campers who attended Camp Rushford, an environmental education summer camp in Allegany County. The camper was one of more than a dozen kids who attended camp through NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s campership program, offered in partnership with Friends of Reinstein Woods. The program recruits kids from urban, underserved areas and enables them to go to camp for free. Friends of Reinstein Woods also pays to sponsor a child to attend camp through the Peter Losi Memorial Campership.

The children spent a week immersed in hands-on learning and fun, discovering the wonders of field, forest, and pond, as well as studying the impact of humans on the environment.  A grant from the Junior League of Buffalo provided bus transportation for the children attending camp this summer.

The students had a life-affirming experience, as expressed here:

“This week was the best week of the summer… My favorite part of camp was to make new friends and to play games that I never played before.”

“I had a great time meeting new friends, bonding with counselors, and seeing things I have never sought to see. I would for sure love to come back and have another great time!”

Four of the campers in this program received “Outstanding Camper of the Week” awards. Some of them will have the opportunity to return to camp next year, furthering their development as the next generation of environmental stewards.

It is a great time to enjoy the brilliant foliage at Reinstein Woods on a sunny day. The forest is painted with bright reds, oranges, yellows and green. Raptors such as red-tailed hawks have been spotted frequently. Look in the sky for soaring turkey vultures during their migration south. Spring peepers have been heard on occasion, especially after a rain. Dragonflies have vanished earlier this year likely because of the summer drought. Normally autumn meadowhawks would be abundant on warm sunny days. Now that the weather is starting to cool and we are receiving more rain the ponds will begin to recharge. Beavers are actively adding mud and branches to their lodges for winter. Take some time to get out and enjoy the fall colors while they last.

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fall-foliage

The Friends of Reinstein Woods’ annual meeting was very well attended. Board member, Vinod Suchak was congratulated for receiving the Peter M. Losi Volunteer Award. This award recognizes his hard work for the Friends of Reinstein as our treasurer and finance committee chairman. We also welcomed new board members Jerry Krajna and Esther Clabeaux to our organization. We were very pleased to have Wild Spirit Education present “Owl Ecology” for our membership. Attendees were able to see a screech owl, barred owl, and great-horned owl during this educational presentation. The great-horned owl even hooted its call for us! If you were unable to make this event, we hope you are able to join us at one of our other upcoming member programs.

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As part of a membership drive, new and existing members of the Friends of Reinstein Woods enjoyed a live animal presentation by “Buffalo Animal Adventures”. Anthony Kelly shared animals from New York during this presentation. These animals included a tiger salamander, massasauga rattle snake, porcupine, red fox, snapping turtle, eastern box turtle, and cottontail rabbit. It was exciting to hear the massasauga rattlesnake vibrate its tail in front of the audience and watch the red fox curiously check the perimeter of the room. If you were unable to become a new member at this program we have other live animal programs coming up soon. See our upcoming member-only programs here.

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Grasses and sedges have crept into many of our ponds because of the dry summer. Nodding beggarticks and smartweed are flowering around the pond edges. There are noticeably less dragonflies patrolling the ponds this year because of the drought and low water levels. In normal years, meadowhawk dragonflies would be very abundant right now. Trees are also starting to show some color. The leaves of ash trees are starting to yellow and red maples are showing hints of red coloration. Virginia creeper vines are also turning red. On the trails, you may catch a glimpse of a monarch butterfly fluttering through patches of goldenrod on its return trip south for the winter. Wild grapes are large and ripe. Squirrels have already collected many of the black walnuts. Soon we will enjoy warm autumn days with bright colors.

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wild-grapes

Members of Friends of Reinstein Woods enjoyed a presentation by the WNY Carnivorous Plant Club. Pitcher Plants, sundews, fly traps, and many other specimens were passed around for everyone to get a close look. There is a lot of interesting natural history behind these unique plants.

Members please check a listing of our upcoming programs here.

Carnivorous Plants

Carnivorous Plants

Carnivorous Plants

Carnivorous Plants

If you have walked the trails at Reinstein Woods any morning in the last few weeks, you may have noticed either snapping turtles or painted turtles laying their eggs in loose soil along the trails. Black cherry trees just lost all of their flower petals. Baltimore orioles have finished weaving their hanging nests. There are 3 oriole nests in close proximity to the education center. Dragonflies and damselflies are abundant right now. Look for dot-tailed whiteface dragonflies perched on water lilies, 12-spotted skimmers in flight over ponds, or the delicate flight of ebony jewelwings on beech tree trail. Little wood satyr butterflies flutter among low-lying vegetation along the trails. Eastern tiger swallowtails are frequently observed sipping nectar from dame’s rocket flowers. The fragrant pink water lilies are in full bloom right now. Their vibrant colors will remain for the summer months. The “Jug-o-rum” call of bull frogs and the “banjo pluck” call of green frogs can be heard in the wet areas of the preserve. Soon the small American toadlets will be emerging from the ponds after completing metamorphosis.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in partnership with Friends of Reinstein Woods, is accepting registrations for a Summer Teacher Institute to be held August 3-4 at Reinstein Woods Environmental Education Center in Depew. The Institute is designed for educators of students in Pre-K to grade 12, and will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.

Teachers will learn effective techniques to enhance their teaching in math, English language arts, science and other subject areas.  Hands-on activities that align with Common Core and New York State learning standards will cover topics such as invasive species, tree and plant identification, geocaching, citizen science projects and bird-classroom connections. The training includes the Flying WILD curriculum that explores ideas for bird-related schoolyard enhancements, festivals and more.

Extensive information on environmental education resources available to Western New York teachers will be included in the program. Participants will receive written materials to enable them to transfer their new knowledge directly to the classroom.

The two-day program provides 12 hours of instruction for which in-service or continuing education credit may be available. Participants will receive written materials to enable them to transfer their new knowledge directly to their school.  A materials fee of $40 includes lunch on the second day.

Registration information is available online or by calling Reinstein Woods at (716) 683-5959.  Space is limited, so early registration is recommended.  Teachers must register by July 20, 2016.

Friends of Reinstein wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to donors who have contributed this spring. Your donations will enable Reinstein Woods to continue sharing nature’s harmony with children and adults.

2016 Earth Day Appeal
Marilyn Gross
Donna Michael

Cottonwood Level:
Valerie Antos
Gasper Aronica
Irene Benbenek
Lee & Mary Boice
Kathy Halter
Dennis and Becky Kaniecki
Tom & Sue Lawson
Gary & Maria Michalski
Barbara Niehus

White Ash Level:
Peter & Teresa Corrigan
Gary Degener
Mike & Carol Gettings
Williams Heather
Edward & Kate Martin
Thomas Stoll
Katherine Wryk

Yellow Birch Level:
Kevin & Joan Kumor
Tom & Andrea Mudd Sr.

Black Walnut Level:
Linda Arndt
Dave & Alice LaGraves
Scot & Karen Smith

Sugar Maple Level: 
Scott and Meaghan Green
Mary Losi

Memorial Donations

In Memory of Joseph and Grace Losi
Dennis and Evelyn Adams
Robert and Joan Barry
John and Diane Betz
Gary and Sheila Billingsley
Robert and Karen Billingsley
Paul and Beverly Brown
Frank Ferro
James and Linda Halt
Mary, Lora and Jan Losi
Mary Losi
Michael Panzica
Jack and Kathleen Patterson
Beverly Roe
Charles and Barbara Putzbach
Robert and Michele Scott
Roger and Judith Walter

In Memory of Jane Albrecht
International Society of Automation
Dorothy Rizzo
Ken Schmidt
Thomas Schuler
Thursday Couples Club of Cheektowaga

In Memory of Tom Schuler
Ed Albrecht
Ann Duquin
Robin Ersing
Therese Klinck-Stahl
Kristen Kelsey
Franklin and Kathleen Kubiak
Ronald Schreiber
Thursday Couples Club of Cheektowaga

Spring It On! Donors
Gasper Aronica
Sue Banchich
Jennifer Bennett
Meaghan Boice-Green
Angela Brock
Cheryl Buechi
Victor Carson
Henry Ciesla
Phyllis Dennis
Brittany DiLeo
Angela DiLoro
Stefanie Ecker
Mike & Carol Gettings
Mary Losi
Ann Murphy
Jeremy Oczek
Gale Persil
Thomas Persil
Susan Phillips
Kayla Rizzo
Helen Roche
John Rosenburg
Kristen Rosenburg
Brittany Rowan
Thomas Rowan
Alfred Runkel
Joan Scott
Arthur Soyk
Vinod Suchak
Anne Tryjankowski
David Valley
Carol Vaughan
Tom Wiggins
Ginger Wszalek

New Members at the Donor Level and Higher:

Donor:
Thomas Pietrus
Steve Kondrak
Michele Sanner
Gary Steils
Thomas Stoll

Contributors:
Robert Dukarm & Family
Edwin P. Hart
Dave & Joyce Hodgson
Andrew Moon
Jeremy & Sally Oczek
Benjamin Sackmary
Lori Stilwell
Vinod Suchak

Patron:
David Kennedy