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See what's happening around Audubon Community Nature Center.
A Gentian Conversation and Conservation
See, adults are funny when you put them in a ‘learning’ setting — they don’t shout out answers to questions like kids, they don’t ask questions when they have them, and they rarely react to the instructor to give them an indication of how the presentation is going (no smiles, laughter, bored looks, fidgeting, etc.). It is hard to teach adults in a class setting, even when that class is in the middle of the field.
But a casual group? They will talk and inquire and exclaim and learn and share their knowledge readily. I got the opportunity to share a wildflower with them, a very cool one, that hopefully they remember a bit about if not its name. I learned how one person cultivates her raised beds in a no-till method to maintain soil health in a side conversation. I heard how one man prepped his plot for wildflowers with mechanical methods, not the herbicide technique.
Oaks and Jays
Blue Jays also eat and store acorns for the winter, but in a way that benefits the potential future tree sprouts too. While a squirrel may bury acorns up to 200 feet away from the tree, a Blue Jay can move the acorn up to a mile away. Blue Jays can also carry up to five acorns at time. They carry one in their mouth, one in the tip of their bill and two or three is a specialized pouch in their throat called a gular pouch. They also store one acorn at a time, often in the ground. Is there any better way to plant a tree?
The Flavor of Nature
The planet provides the raw materials for everything we use in day to day life. That is easy to see with a carrot that you can grow in the backyard or firewood from the neighbor’s yard, but it is harder to see when looking at a cell phone or carpet made of plastic or rare earth elements that have traveled halfway around the world for you to poke at. It is so much easier to divide things into natural or unnatural, homemade or factory-made, manmade or from the earth. Sometimes the divisions we make about things makes us forget that the earth provides everything we use, regardless of where humans intervene in the process.
Baffled by Birds
There are almost 500 different birds that can be found in New York State alone. That is a huge number, and it seems like such a large undertaking to try to learn to identify them all. That’s not even considering that males, females, and juveniles of the same species can often look entirely different, or that some look different in spring and fall. Some species even look so similar they can only be identified by sound. Gaah!
Firewood Friendships
I now better understand what using firewood truly is. It isn’t work or a chore. It is spending time with neighbors and friends. It is a workout. It is an escape. It is a window into the lives of wildlife. It is harvesting a renewable resource. It is sheltering wildlife. It is a sustainable transfer of energy from the yard to the wood stove, from the garden to my muscles.
Seasonal Decorating
Chelsea Jandreau If you have stepped into a store lately, you have probably noticed the encroaching fall-themed decorations. The appearance of reds and oranges, pumpkins and apples, and an assortment of ghosts and other spooky-themed decor brings with it a set of...
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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