While we are SNOW excited that winter is here, both the grounds and the Education Center will be CLOSED on Saturday, November 18, to let us safely clear the parking lots and walkways from the recent storm. While it may be nice at your house, the heavy wet snow at Reinstein Woods has jammed our snow removal equipment and made it hard for us to do proper cleanup. And the heavy wet snow isn’t great for skiing or snowshoeing anyway, so please stay home! Have some hot chocolate! Check out a Christmas movie a little early… and we’ll see you soon.

The forest at Reinstein Woods is glowing with autumn colors! Warm temperatures and full sun have created prime conditions to view the last few days of fall foliage. Today may be your last chance to experience the full vibrance of leaves before the rain and wind leave the trees bare. If you listen closely on your walk, you may even hear leaves gently falling and coming to rest on the ground. Although most red maple leaves have fallen, you can still find golden-yellow and orange sugar maples, as well as beech trees holding on to their green leaves. The best place to view fall colors is west of Hidden Pond and the Beech Tree Trail. Get out and enjoy these colors while they last! 

Nine high-school Environmental Justice (EJ) Stewards from around Western NY spent ten weeks this spring exploring community connections to local waterways and learning about ecosystem-based management in the Great Lakes. The program was funded by a Great Lakes Small Basin Grant through New York Sea Grant and connected students with local experts and professionals involved in water quality monitoring, restoration, and advocacy.

Students learned about emerging contaminants in the Great Lakes from Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and UB’s RENEW Institute.  Students also explored the relationship between people and water through multiple field experiences including debris monitoring at Woodlawn Beach, fishing, and kayaking along the Buffalo Waterfront.

Finally, the team of students worked together to plan and implement a stewardship project. Students were inspired by a presentation by local artist Alexis Oltmer to create an interactive art piece that raised awareness about plastic pollution in our local waterways. The EJ students tabled at the annual Get Outdoors and Get Together Day at Reinstein Woods and engaged members of the public in conversations about plastic pollution and reducing plastic use in their daily lives. Visitors were invited to glue pieces of plastic that the students had collected at Woodlawn Beach on Lake Erie onto fish images to represent the bioaccumulation of plastic and contaminants in our freshwater fish. The final product is currently on display at Reinstein Woods.

Summer Workshops:

 Reinstein Woods is offering multiple professional development opportunities for formal and informal educators throughout the summer. The free Niagara River/Lake Erie (NRLE) Classroom workshop series will guide educators in leading outdoor, standards-based field trips with students, including stewardship projects, beach debris monitoring, and water quality studies. The two-day Summer Teacher Institute will immerse educators in place-based data collection and interpretation using the nationally recognized Project Learning Tree and NASA’s Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) programs. Educators will become GLOBE Certified teachers and take home PLT’s new flagship curriculum Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide as well as a tool kit for schoolyard and community data collection. Interested educators can find out more about professional development opportunities here.

Buffalo Go Green Accepting Donations

Congratulations to the 2022 Great Lakes Data Jam Winners! This year’s competition was made possible through a New York Great Lakes Basin Small Grant awarded by the New York Sea Grant in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Students participating in the Great Lakes Data Jam will analyze local data to identify trends and patterns. Students will share their findings in a scientific report, but also communicate their findings in a creative way that engages and informs a larger audience. The data communication projects can take many forms, from posters and infographics to songs, poems, and short movies.

2022 Winning Projects:

Grand Prize: “The Bird Population Trend” from 5^th Grade students at South Seneca Central School.

View full video here.

High School Honorable Mention: “Which WNY Water? A Phone App For Differential Water Location“ from West Seneca Christian School.

4th-8th grade Honorable Mention: “DDT Song“ from South Seneca Central School.

I’m Interested in the 2022-2023 Data Jam

Friends of Reinstein Woods is seeking an Environmental Educator to implement environmental education programs during the school year and to administer Kids in the Woods Summer Day Camp at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve. This is a full-time, year-round position.

Click here for full job description.

Env Ed Position description 2022rev

More than 250 people attended our “Reimagined Fall Festival.” To provide a safe experience we offered five days of nature activities and hikes instead of our large one-day festival. The event highlighted old favorites such as pond exploration and Forest Ranger demonstrations while adding new guided walks and a “build your own terrarium workshop.” Thank you to our exhibitors and presenters from the Buffalo Botanical Gardens, NYS Parks, Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District, NYSDEC Forest Rangers, Niagara Frontier Koi & Pond Club, Cheektowaga Historical Association, Erie County Park Rangers, WNY PRISM, and our volunteers! We look forward to seeing you at a bigger event next year.

Educators from Reinstein Woods and State Parks led our 4th Christmas Bird Count for kids just hours before the Buffalo Bills first playoff win in 25 years. Following our social distance guidelines we had 23 new birders in 5 different groups search roughly 7 miles of trails for as many birds as they could find. These groups found 17 different bird species and a total of 174 birds. The black – capped chickadee was a favorite bird that excited the young birders.

Enjoy this video highlighting our birding experience:

The application deadline for the Winter-Summer 2021 session of our Environmental Education Intern program is coming soon! This paid internship provides hands-on experience in the field of Environmental Education. Visit here for more information about the program. If you are interested in this opportunity, fill out the application form here and submit it to us (by mail or email) by Monday, November 30!

Animals Preparing for Winter

Autumn brings shorter hours of daylight, cooler temperatures, and falling leaves. These changes are a signal to animals. Animals have different strategies and adaptations to prepare for the coming winter. Some animals will migrate, some sleep or hibernate, while others stay active. Enjoy this video created by Mike Adriaansen that reveals how local animals prepare for winter.