News
See what's happening around Audubon Community Nature Center.
Observation and Collaboration
Sometimes, I let the question or the observation just be and never go on to figure out the reason behind an event or the correct answer. Other times, like with the dragonflies and swans, an observation made by another can spur my inquisitiveness into action. Science and research are so often a team effort. Sharing your results and comparing data is a vital part of moving forward and gaining understanding of the world around us. It makes sense that this same collaboration can also result in new knowledge on an individual level.
Animals and Us
The result of building connections is compassion. Animals provide an opportunity to see ourselves in new and different ways. We learn we are not alone and we have the capacity for great care, concern, and love. And this compassion has the ability to extend, not just to other animals, but to our fellow humans and maybe even to ourselves. What can we learn about ourselves by observing and interacting with animals? I think we learn how to be better humans.
Thankful
My wife’s gratitude meditation has made me pay more attention to the things I am grateful for. I think gratitude is a good practice, both for people and for businesses and organizations. Take a moment this Thanksgiving season and look at all there is to be thankful for, from hot showers to volunteers that dress up as animals to the amazing natural world that surrounds us.
Senses of Fall
One of the classroom programs Audubon educators teach is Animal Senses, a program about how different animals use their senses to find food and to stay safe. As I write this, I am sitting in an elementary school faculty room, having just taught this class, and senses are on my mind. I am also looking out the window at the bright red leaves of a maple tree that has given me a thought experiment. Can I narrow down each of the five senses to one single input that epitomizes fall for me. The one thing I hear, see, smell, taste, and feel that instantly lets me know fall is here.
Naming the Rain
it was all rain, it wasn’t the same kind of rain. Sometime it was a furious onslaught that obliterated views, while other times it was just barely rain at all, seemingly suspended as if water and air were one, heavier than mist, but not quite falling rain. At times I could see on the horizon where it danced in curtains, swirling and descending, rising up to come drifting down.
And we all know that there is calm rain, when it comes straight down in a steady form; angry rain that tears at leaves and roofs and rattles windows; sad rain that has a weight to it far greater than the water it carries. There is rain that comes off the lake (lake-effect rain, very descriptive), rain that comes from the south, rain that smells like salt, or smoke, or summer. Yet we have no words for that. It is all just ‘rain,’ with some adjectives or other description tacked on.
Boom or Bust
Oak trees produce acorns every year, but in some years they produce a lot. In other years they produce fewer acorns. A year where the majority of oaks in a region have more acorns than normal is called a mast year. Mast, in the botany world, is the fruit of trees and shrubs. Oaks have mast years every 2-7 years, depending on the species of oak trees.
Address
Audubon Community Nature Center
1600 Riverside Road
Jamestown, NY 14701
(716) 569-2345
info@auduboncnc.org
Hours and Admission
Nature Center Hours:
Monday - Saturday
10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sunday
1:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Building Admission:
Members - Free
Non-member Adult (ages 16+) - $6
Non-member Child (ages 3 - 15) - $2
Children ages 2 and under - Free
Maximum cost for a Family - $15
Free admission to the Nature Center for SNAP/EBT cardholders.
Free admission for all on Sundays
Grounds and Outdoor Exhibits:
Open daily, year round from dawn to dusk, free of charge
Thank you, Community Partners
Audubon Community Partners make a significant financial contribution each year because they believe that every child deserves the opportunity to have a real and healthy connection to nature.
Bruce and Juline Battler
Carnahan-Jackson Foundation
Chautauqua Region Community Foundation
Donna and Mark Hampton
Holmberg Foundation
Hultquist Foundation
Jessie Smith Darrah Fund
Kinetic Internet Service Provider
The Lenna Foundation
The Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation
David Campbell
Sue and Bill Chandler
Hal and Mary Conarro
Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant
Bob and Kathy Frucella
Kravitz Tree Service
Thomas Kuntz and Meredith Kuntz
Doug and Lamae McCullor
National Fuel Gas Company
Southern Chautauqua
Federal Credit Union
Weinberg Financial Group
Curt and Susie Westrom
Whirley-DrinkWorks!
Jeanne Wiebenga and Jane Stirniman
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