A group of ladybugs is called a “loveliness” of ladybugs, a very fitting and endearing term to address the return of this beneficial insect to Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve.

New York State’s official state insect is the nine-spotted ladybug (Coccinella novemnotata). This now rare species of native ladybug was historically very common in New York State. Shortly after being named New York’s state insect, entomologists became aware that numbers were sharply declining. For 20 years they went unrecorded in New York. Reinstein Woods Naturalist Intern Leah Tyrrell has been working with ladybugs for the past nine years with the Lost Ladybug Project, a citizen science program that uses volunteers to look for rare ladybugs and to educate people about their roll in our ecosystems. She is coordinating the reintroduction at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve as her intern project.

Reinstein Woods summer day campers participated in the release and learned about the importance of this beneficial insect to the preserve’s ecosystem. The public can also participate in the reintroduction by ordering their own larvae for release from Lost Ladybug Rescue.

Be sure to look for nine-spotted ladybugs on your next visit to Reinstein Woods! To learn more about how to identify and photograph these beauties, visit the Lost Ladybug Project website.

1) Champion Beech

The bad news: this year we have officially declared the Champion Beech Tree dead. The tree, located along Reinstein Woods’ Beech Tree Trail, was the largest forest-grown beech tree in New York State’s Big Tree Registry.  It had been in decline from natural causes for several years, and at more than 250 years old, it  lived a good lifespan for an American beech tree.

The good news: In September, Boy Scout Oren Forgette of Boy Scout Troop V completed his Eagle Scout project by building a deer exclosure near the champion beech. The exclosure is protecting several young beech and maple trees from being eaten by deer. Some of the young beech trees may be offspring of the Champion beech.

In other good news related to deer exclosures, a new wildflower was discovered at Reinstein Woods! Hiding in a deer exclosure in the sanctuary area of the preserve is tall rattlesnake root (Prenanthes altissima), a plant that is native to New York and is also called wild white lettuce. The particular deer exclosure it inhabits was also built several years ago by an Eagle Scout. This plant, photographed this summer while in bloom, becomes the 198th herbaceous plant species identified at Reinstein Woods!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Battle Against Invasive Plant Makes Progress

Friends of Reinstein had help this year as it completed its third year of controlling an invasive plant known as common reed, or Phragmites australis, that threatens habitats at Reinstein Woods.

In the spring, a crew from the Excelsior Conservation Corps planted trees and native wildflowers in areas of the sanctuary where common reed has been greatly reduced. During the summer, volunteers with the local Youth Build program and Curbell employees also helped by removing young stalks coming up in sites where the plant used to grow. Native wildflowers, including spotted Joe Pye weed, swamp milkweed, and beggar’s tick are starting to flourish at some of the sites. A donation from employees at Bond, Schoeneck and King helped supply some of the plants.

Next spring Reinstein Woods will be training volunteers to be part of a “Strike Force” that will monitor areas where common reed was removed and try to stop any reinfestation.

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!

It is tradition for Friends of Reinstein to hold a membership meeting in October, the end of our fiscal year. In mid-October about 40 people gathered to hear about our accomplishments in 2014-2015 and enjoy an entertaining “Far Side II” presentation by Dr. Wayne Gall.

We thanked Linda Arndt for nine years of service on the board of directors. A decade ago Linda became interested in Reinstein Woods because of her love of birding, and quickly signed on as a Friends member. She has been active with fundraisers since the first “Tastes at Twilight” event in 2006. During her nine years on the board of directors, she served for several years as Vice-President and one year as President.

Her dedication to Reinstein Woods is laudable: although Linda is leaving the board of directors, she will be continuing to serve on the fundraising committee. Thank you Linda!

Dan Carlson and Charles Rauch were re-elected to the board of directors, and Lori Stilwell and Jeremy Oczek were newly elected to the board. Lori had been appointed to the board earlier in 2015 to replace Deborah Bach, who left the board when she took a job out of state. Active with the fundraising and finance committees, Lori is the Director of Information Technology for Erie County.
Jeremy Oczek is an attorney with Bond, Schoeneck and King. He has enjoyed attending several fall festivals  with his wife and two daughters and is looking forward to getting more involved at Reinstein Woods.
Members heard about accomplishments over the past year, including the success of Friends’ fundraisers, the establishment of the Pat Taeger Memorial Field Trip Fund, and the variety of member programs that were offered over the past year.

Center Director Meaghan Boice-Green shared information about programs sponsored by Friends of Reinstein, including the growth of the Day in the Life of the Buffalo River, a new project to control an invasive plant at Reinstein Woods, and a successful Earth Day clothing drive that recycled more than five tons of clothing collected in Buffalo Public Schools.  The evening also touched on continued partnerships that are bringing nature to more and more children and families in Western New York.