Summer is not officially over until the Autumn Equinox arrives at 4:02 p.m. on September 22. We know the days get shorter until the winter Solstice – but let’s not think about the “s” word and just enjoy the upcoming palette of color that nature so easily paints for us!

Reinstein Woods will certainly be a hot spot this fall as activities abound to get us outdoors. Our annual Fall Festival is by far our most attended event and has something for all ages to enjoy. I encourage you to attend – it truly showcases Reinstein Woods and all it has to offer.

Friends members can tour the Erie County Saw mill (who knew we had one!) on Saturday September 30. Also, remember that our annual Friends of Reinstein Woods membership meeting is Tuesday, October 17 where you can meet board members and socialize with other members. If you are wondering how the Friends group interacts with NYSDEC both financially and in its day to day operations, this meeting will most likely answer your questions. Buffalo Audubon’s Mark Carra will entertain as John J. Audubon. I encourage members to attend, and if you’re not a member, you can join that evening.

Lastly, our annual art, wine & cheese show Nature’s Gathering takes place Saturday, November 11 at Knights of Columbus on Union Road in Cheektowaga.

I would like to thank everyone for their generous contributions over the past year as the Friends closes its fiscal year in October. Whether you donated to an appeal, bought plants from the Native Plant Sale, or volunteered, you made a difference. I would also like to personally thank the board of directors, volunteers and community partners who attended meetings to begin the process of developing an updated strategic plan. This is an exciting process that will steer the future growth of Friends of Reinstein Woods. We will elaborate more on this plan at the annual membership meeting in October.

Hope to see you soon at the Woods!

Enjoy and Respect Nature,

Terry Boyle

If you attended Winter Wonderland, you may have seen the Coalition of Positively Charged People‘s unique battery chute that was helping folks recycle alkaline (normal household) batteries. While Reinstein Woods is no longer accepting alkaline batteries, we do accept the following materials for recycling:

• rechargeable batteries
• sneakers in usable condition
• clean, empty skin care, hair care and cosmetic containers that otherwise wouldn’t be able to be recycled
• toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, floss and deodorant containers through Tom’s of Maine and Terracycle
• PERFECT #6 styrofoam (the kind electronics come wrapped in- must be in perfect condition)
• Cell Phones (for Soldiers)

You can bring these items to the “recycling station” inside the Education Center Monday through Friday 9 am to 4:30 pm and Saturdays from 1 pm to 4:30 pm.

Additionally, you can bring used clothing and blankets any time and place them in the Hearts for the Homeless bin in the main parking lot. Clothing doesn’t have to be in perfect condition (items can be sold to markets for industrial rags, for instance) but should be clean and dry.

To find where to recycle other items, visit earth911.org.

You may have noticed a new structure in the parking lot at Reinstein Woods. In honor of Earth Week, DEC unveiled a new solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station!  State Senator Timothy Kennedy and Assemblyperson Monica P. Wallace joined DEC Region 9 Director Abby Snyder and other officials to open the station.

Manufactured in California by a company called Envision Solar, the system consists of a solar panel that will power a battery that dispenses energy to vehicles, providing solar energy even when the sun isn’t shining. The system can charge two vehicles simultaneously and will lower our collective carbon footprint.

Reinstein Woods uses the station to power a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) used to care for the trails, and a new electric scooter available for visitors with limited mobility. The charging station also features a USB port and a regular electrical outlet, enabling us to charge a variety of smaller electronics such as hedge-trimmers using only the sun’s power.

A state-of-the-art television screen attached to the charging station provides information on the station’s performance and also broadcasts information about upcoming Reinstein Woods’ events.

The station was paid for by a gracious donation from the Julia Boyer Reinstein Trust.

New York State is currently offering a rebate of up to $2,000 that can be combined with federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for the purchase of hybrid plug-in or full electric vehicles. Many newer models can go 50 to more than 200 miles on pure electricity without needing a charge. For more information, visit the ChargeNY website.

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!

Public Invited To Participate in 24- Hour Event Documenting Biodiversity

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in partnership with Friends of Reinstein Woods, invites the public to participate in a “BioBlitz” at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve in the town of Cheektowaga. The 24-hour BioBlitz will attempt to find and identify as many different species of organisms as possible.

“This is a great way to experience nature first-hand,” said DEC Education Center Director, Meaghan Boice-Green. “Exploring a small corner of nature can lead to unexpected discoveries and inspiring encounters with living things. The information collected will aid in our efforts to preserve the unique array of life at Reinstein Woods.”

Starting on the evening of Friday, May 13, Field Teams of local scientists and volunteers will work together to seek out species living at Reinstein Woods. Volunteers will accompany trained leaders in documenting a specific group of organisms, such as birds, insects, or flowering plants. Overnight, scientists will trap and record data about organisms that are active at night. On Saturday May 14, efforts to find and identify organisms like trees, fungi, and mammals will continue throughout the day. All of the data will be shared on www.iNaturalist.org, enabling participants to see the results of their efforts.

From 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, families can participate in “mini-blitz” stations, a bird walk, and a photo scavenger hunt, learning how to identify common plants and animals along the way. Participants of all ages and abilities are invited to attend.

Registration is required to join a Field Team, but no registration is required for Saturday’s “mini-blitz” activities. Register online or call Reinstein Woods at (716) 683-5959.

I admit it: I hate heat. I hate hot weather the way many people hate snow. I’d rather throw on an extra layer than sweat through a 90 degree day.

Like it or not, our planet is getting warmer, and that is changing the climate- the general pattern of weather upon which our food and water sources depend.  The thought of it can be overwhelming, enough to make you sweat even in winter.

While we can’t change what’s already happened, we can change our behavior to affect the climate of the future. The most important thing we can do is make our voices heard to those in a position to create policies that will have a positive long term effect. Beyond that, try a few small actions in honor of Earth Day 2016:

Turn it off. Look around right now. How many lights are on that aren’t really being used? What about a TV? Lighting can be more than 10 percent of your electric bill, while the fossil-fueled power plants that provide the electricity are adding to the planet’s warming. Get in the habit of turning lights and other electronics off. Everywhere you go- does that TV really need to be on in the empty waiting room?

Plant a Tree or Native Plant. Trees take one of the main climate change culprits, carbon dioxide, out of the air. So planting one helps. How do native plants help? Come to Lyn Chimera’s talk on May 22 and find out.

Recycle. Do you throw things out at work that you’d put in a recycling bin at home? Could you bring them home? If you aren’t sure what to put in a bin, check out the City of Buffalo’s guide– just type in an item and it will tell you if it’s recyclable. Remember Reinstein Woods  accepts:

• sneakers for reuse,
• used clothing and bedding for reuse or recycling for Hearts for the Homeless
• hair care, skin care, and cosmetic product packaging through Terracycle.

Volunteer. On May 7, volunteers will gather at Reinstein Woods to remove invasive species, plant native plants, and even search for geocaches while picking up trash at Earth Day in May.  If you can’t make it to Reinstein Woods that day, check out the I Love My Park Day website to find a park near you and volunteer.

Get Out. A growing body of evidence suggests that kids who spend time outside are happier, healthier and do better in school than kids that don’t. Bonus: they are far more likely to grow up to support environmental causes, which is good for the future climate. To help a kid experience the outdoors, you can donate to Friends of Reinstein in support of scholarships for the Kids in the Woods Summer Day Camp or the Pat Taeger Field Trip Fund.  For more info, call (716) 683-5959 or email info@reinsteinwoods.org.

And get outside today too- it may not be hot, but you will feel happier and healthier too!

Silver-spotted skipper. Tapioca slime. Blue vervain. Nodding ladies’ tresses.

These are just a few of the species that have been recorded at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve over time. But they are just the tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to biodiversity at Reinstein Woods. And the upcoming BioBlitz, May 13-14, will try to capture as much of that iceberg as possible!

A BioBlitz combines citizen scientists  with actual scientists to locate and identify as many species as possible in a given area in a short period of time, usually 24 hours. The first BioBlitz  took place in 1996 at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the National Park Service and the National Biological Service, scientists counted more than 900 species despite the park’s urban setting.

More than 600 species have historically been recorded at Reinstein Woods, but that’s counting migrating birds and some species not seen in many years.  It also excludes large groups of animals, like soil-dwelling insects and many freshwater invertebrates. So the potential is there to add hundreds of organisms to the list of species residing in the  292 acres of Reinstein Woods.

You can join the fun! We’re looking for nature enthusiasts to join Field Teams to hunt for different types of organisms at Reinstein Woods, such as birds, trees, and bats. Each team will work for about two hours, finding and identifying as many species as possible.

For those not interested in joining a formal team, there will be family activities from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday. Kids and adults can explore mini-blitz stations to explore what’s living in different habitats, participate in a photo scavenger hunt, or hunt for warblers on a bird walk.

To join a Field Team, you must register, but Saturday’s family activities don’t require registration. For more information, visit the BioBlitz page or call (716) 683-5959.