Program Will Benefit Maryvale, Buffalo After-School Programs

 Friends of Reinstein Woods has received a $57,325 grant to support a new “Watershed STEM in the Schoolyard” program, one of 29 Watershed STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Education Partnership Grants awarded across the country. The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) awarded the grant in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Department of Education.

Starting in Fall 2020, Reinstein Woods will engage students and educators at 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)at Maryvale Intermediate School and Buffalo Public Schools 45 and 93. These learning centers provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools. The centers help students meet state and local standards in core academic subjects while providing enrichment activities that complement their regular academic programs.

In the “Watershed STEM in the Schoolyard” program, students in grades 4-5 will collect weather and water quality data, explore STEM careers, and complete stewardship projects in their local watershed. The program is designed to develop students’ environmental literacy and leadership skills as they improve their communities.

Additionally, in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Reinstein Woods will train staff at each site to conduct water-related activities appropriate for an after-school setting. The program will be tailored to meet evolving partner and community needs at each site.

“Water flows through our communities often unnoticed, and yet that water is vital to all living things,” said Meaghan Boice-Green, DEC Education Center Director at Reinstein Woods. “We are excited that this partnership will connect area educators and students to their local water resources in a fun and engaging way.”

Friends of Reinstein Woods President Terrence Boyle said, “All students should take part in Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences at some point in their childhood. These experiences go beyond normal classroom learning to empower students to take meaningful action to protect water quality. Above all, it will encourage them to pursue STEM careers.”

Diantha Watts, Executive Director of Buffalo State’s Educational Pipelines Initiative Office said, “We are thrilled to have our students at International School #45 engaged in science programming that will stress literacy and math skills while encouraging parent involvement. Moreover, the professional development training will help our instructors make better use of our outdoor spaces for learning and fun.”

Kim Luce, Vice President of School-based Services at Best Self Behavioral Health echoes that excitement, adding “Southside Elementary is located adjacent to the Buffalo River. This program will provide place-based STEM learning that complements our programming and is relevant to our students.”

Elizabeth Giangreco, Assistant Superintendent at the Maryvale School District states, “We are pleased to partner for the first time with Reinstein Woods, which is only five miles from our school. We are eager to learn more about how we can use the outdoor space in our schoolyard and help our students discover how to care for their local environment.”

The Watershed STEM Education Partnership Grants are part of eeBLUE, NAAEE’s effort to build collaborative partnerships that support the mutual STEM education goals of NOAA and the U.S. Department of Education. Funding for these grants is provided by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by NAAEE.

Each year, Reinstein Woods excitedly offers individuals a 3 to 8 month opportunity to gain skills in environmental education. Typically, interns participate in training workshops, lead tours, help facilitate summer camp, and expand their knowledge of the natural environment at Reinstein Woods and beyond.

With the unprecedented changes this year, the intern experience has a different intensity. Intern Theo Berenson has focused on developing his skills as a naturalist by taking frequent hikes to work on plant and animal identification.

Theo also has been researching some projects for Reinstein Woods when we are able to return. Theo is drafting a Zero Waste Policy for Reinstein Woods as well as working on developing a “Sensory Walk” for Reinstein Woods visitors who have autism.

Intern Nick Morelli’s “COVID contributions” to education at Reinstein Woods include a “mindfulness walk”- a series of prompts for visitors to the Lily Pond Loop Trail, a new “EcoTinker” backpack for children to borrow once the education center reopens, and a “Bucket List” of Reinstein Woods activities for visitors to achieve over their lifetime!

He’s also presenting a virtual workshop on nature art to Reinstein Woods’ volunteers.

“I’ve learned that adapting to scenarios to meet the needs and accessibility of the public is one of the biggest priorities in wildlife education,” said Nick. “It’s not always what you teach, it’s how you teach it.”

About 2,300 people braved extreme heat to celebrate at the 18th Annual Reinstein Woods Fall Festival.  While most festival-goers came from Erie and Niagara counties, there were visitors from as far away as Rochester, Syracuse, the Adirondacks, Florida, Tennessee, and even France!

Mama Earth’s interactive music shows provided entertainment throughout the day. The festival area extended out to Flattail Lake, where attendees watched drone and search and rescue demonstrations. To go with the “Sustainable Earth” theme, volunteers at two Waste Centers collected trash from the event, diverting as much as possible into recycling and compost. We collected about 100 pounds of household batteries to be recycled and many pounds of other recyclables and organic wastes that otherwise would have gone to a landfill. Friends of Reinstein also purchased a carbon offset to reduce the festivals’ carbon footprint even further. To learn more visit www.footprintnetwork.org.

Special thanks to M&T Bank for sponsoring the event and providing a reusable bag to the first 500 families attending the event!

Thanks to everyone that made the 18^th Annual Fall Festival a success, including the Cheektowaga Police Department, Lexington Co-op, Mayer Brothers, Nussbaumer & Clarke, Inc., Paula’s Donuts, Paths, Peaks and Paddles, and all of our volunteers and exhibitors.

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.

More than 90 volunteers helped care for Reinstein Woods on the first Saturday in May as part of I Love My Park Day.

These volunteers:

• planted 50 trees,
• repaired 2 trails,
• collected more than 20 bags of garbage and invasive species,
• removed a “new” patch of invasives we found late last fall,
• disassembled a large survival shelter that was an attractive nuisance,
• protected a few dozen trees from beavers by repairing existing wire enclosures,
• spread woodchips on and improved the nature play area, and cleaned our outdoor turtle enclosure.

Friends of Reinstein Woods provided pizza lunch for all the participants.

We are grateful to groups from Geico, Fiserv, Excelsior Conservation Corps, Depew High School Leo Club, Boy Scout Troop 554,  and Cub Scout Packs 451 and 619 who helped alongside individual volunteers. We hope to see everyone again next year!

Snowshoeing in September…faux fly-fishing…pond critters… and exotic animals from the Buffalo Zoo. While these are some perennial Fall Festival favorites, we thought we’d share a little about new things at the 2017 Fall Festival, happening Saturday, September 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Did you know Mrs. Julia Reinstein, Dr. Victor Reinstein’s second wife and a patron of Friends of Reinstein Woods, was the Cheektowaga Town historian for many years? We think Mrs. Reinstein would be excited that one of this year’s new exhibitors is Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village. Another new exhibitor is the US Department of Agriculture’s APHIS program, a group that works to protect the United States from illegal imports of exotic species.

Friends of Reinstein has invited the Yogurt Shack to provide a cool, sweet treat to top off your meal from Boy Scout Troop 500’s food stand. A portion of the Yogurt Shack proceeds will support Friends of Reinstein Woods.

This year’s festival theme is “The Great Outdoors,” and so we’ve added a Wildlife Spotter’s Challenge to the outdoor fun, along with Nature Play Stations for kids! Additional, we’ve invited some special guests to lead short hikes through Reinstein Woods (see the schedule of events).

If you like making things to take home, several exhibitors are offering crafts for kids this year, including Buffalo Audubon Society and Cheektowaga Youth & Recreation. That’s in addition to the nature craft-making sponsored by Reinstein Woods, including pine cone owls and wooly bears!

Like other years, there will be something for everyone, rain or shine. Click here for all the details, and we’ll see you on the 16th!

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in partnership with Friends of Reinstein Woods, invites the public to celebrate “Winter Wonderland in the Woods” on Saturday, February 11 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve.

Visitors can discover a variety of outdoor pursuits during the event. Ice-fishing demonstrations will take place throughout the afternoon and visitors will be able to try snowshoes and cross-county skis in a demonstration area (weather permitting). Snowshoe rentals will also be available for those who wish to explore the trails of the preserve.

Children will be able to try snowshoeing regardless of the weather and enjoy winter challenges including a snowball target toss and Wildlife Spotters Challenge trail. Kids can also express their creative side in the snow art area and make crafts indoors.

The Niagara Frontier Search and Rescue Team will be on hand to talk about winter rescue and will provide a compass navigation course for participants looking to test their navigation skills. The DEC Forest Rangers will demonstrate flat ice rescue techniques and DEC’s Environmental Conservation Officers will exhibit confiscated furs and discuss illegal hunting. Visitors can learn about the late-winter activity of maple sugaring with Earth Spirit Education Services.

After enjoying outdoor activities at the “Winter Wonderland in the Woods,” families can warm up inside the education center with hot drinks and snacks sold by Friends of Reinstein Woods. The SPCA Wildlife Department will present informative talks on wild animal rehabilitation at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. There will be door prizes, costumed characters, exhibits and more.

Visitors can bring used alkaline batteries for recycling by the Coalition for Positively Charged People and Friends of Reinstein Woods. The event happens regardless of snow conditions, and additional activities like the Winter Wildlife Olympics will be added in case of warm weather.

Registration is not required for this event. There is no entry fee, but donations to Friends of Reinstein Woods are always welcome. Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve is located at 93 Honorine Drive, off of Como Park Boulevard in Cheektowaga. For more information, contact Reinstein Woods at 683-5959, or visit the event page.

In summer and early fall, members of Girl Scout Troop 30491 added some extra beauty to the library and a nearby trail as part of their Silver Award project. Cadettes Judine Lynch, Kylie Simkins and Elizabeth Rusinski led the project, adding natural decorations to the library and a storage area in the rear of the structure. They also painted designs on benches built as part of the Eagle Scout project, adding a colorful touch to the seating area. 

Meanwhile, Troop members Nicole Reichert, Brooke Seifert and Kayla Cieslikowski worked on improving the Stone Marker Trail, a short trail that leads from the History Trail to a stone believed to have been placed in the woods  more than 100 years ago to mark the property boundary of one of the area’s first settlers. The girls cleared the overgrown trail, lined it with large logs, and added a bridge over a wet area along the trail. They also added a sign and log seating at the entrance to the trail. 

The Cheektowaga Bee wrote a story about the Girl Scout’s efforts. Congratulations to all the scouts involved for their achievements!   

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.