Reinstein Woods Environmental Educator Assistant Mike Adriaansen received a partnership award this spring from Houghton Academy, a Buffalo Public School.

Mike has been working with Houghton students since he started with DEC more than 12 years ago. He has helped 128 students from the school attend Camp Rushford. Students have the opportunity to canoe, fish, swim, and learn wilderness skills during their time at camp.

Mike coordinates the campership program and works with the students throughout the year to familiarize them with fellow campers and the outdoors. Mike organizes activities such as planting native seedlings, hiking at Reinstein Woods, and snowshoeing in the months leading up to camp.

It is clear that Mike has had a positive impact on this program. When his name was called for the award, you could hear the excited cheers of many current and past campers! Some of the students Mike has worked with have returned to camp and gone on to become counselors. Mike continues to encourage students to get involved and attend Camp Rushford. He is a champion of connecting kids to nature!

The campership program is supported by Friends of Reinstein Woods. The Friends group pays to transport kids to camp and funds supplies, food, and entrance fees for camper activities throughout the year.  We are so honored to have Mike Adriaansen as a part of the team here at Reinstein Woods!

Congratulations to Mike for a well-deserved award!

About 40 members of the Friends gathered in mid-October to elect a new board member, thank an award winner and hear about Friends of Reinstein Woods’ accomplishments in 2013-2014.

The Peter Losi Memorial award was presented to Joan Scott for outstanding service to Friends of Reinstein Woods. Joan has been a behind the scenes volunteer for the last six years, assembling and editing Friends of Reinstein’s e- newsletter.  In past years she has also sent email reminders about special events like the fall festival and put together photo books that were raffled off as door prizes at Friends’ events or used to market Reinstein Woods’ programs to new teachers and administrators.

President Mike Gettings also thanked Joe Rembold, who completed a term on the board of directors. Joe has chaired the Marketing Committee since its inception and guided the process of developing a new logo, position statement (slogan) and website for the organization. Joe put in countless hours behind the scenes helping the Friends’ board communicate better online, securing a grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation to help them complete a marketing plan, and working on integrating credit card sales into the new website. Joe works for Delaware North Company and lives in Kenmore with his wife and new baby daughter.  Although Joe will no longer be on the board of directors, he will be continuing to help the marketing committee, and we hope to see him and his new daughter in the woods soon!

Stefanie Ecker was elected to a three year term with the board of directors. Stefanie works for Ingram Micro, Inc. and previously worked for Hospice Buffalo. Stefanie jumped right into volunteering for the Friends early this year, acting as chairperson for this year’s Nature’s Gathering event.  We are glad to have her continuing her leadership by officially joining the board of directors.

Committee chairs shared our successes in fundraising, member events, and finance. Most importantly, meeting attendees heard about the programs that the Friends supported this year, including:

• transporting 25 kids from urban, underserved areas to DEC’s Camp Rushford environmental education camp
•  the growing Kids in the Woods summer day camp program
• stewardship of Reinstein Woods, including the Garlic Mustard Challenge, Earth Day in May, and Trail Tuesdays
• workshops for teachers, including the successful “Schoolyard Habitat Institute” held over the summer
• Great Lakes education of teachers and students, in partnership with Buffalo Urban Outdoor Education (BUOE)
• an expanded Day in the Life of the Buffalo River program
• the successful launch of Family Nature Clubs, in partnership with the Buffalo Zoo.

We look forward to continuing our success in sharing nature’s harmony in 2015!