Jamestown, NY – Audubon Community Nature Center is planning for its 35th Annual Snowflake Sustainable Living Festival to be the best yet.

Magic Moments horse-drawn Carriage Rides, Wild Spirit Education programs with owls and hawks, alpacas from Dun Roving Farms, Chautauqua County Humane Society, and Tails of the Tundra Siberian Husky Rescue are some of the animal experiences being lined up.

The Festival’s emphasis on sustainability means visitors can learn about and experience ways to live a bit lighter on the planet. Opportunities are being planned for bird nest box and feeder building, butter making, soap making, wool spinning, knitting, leather working, wheat grinding, maple tapping and syrup making.

Also indoors will be children’s crafts, a basket raffle, door prizes, great shopping at the Blue Heron Gift Shop, and the opportunity to win a handmade 100% repurposed braided wool rug in the feature raffle.

The Western New York Land Conservancy has just secured almost $1 million for the new “Restore the Gorge” project from the Niagara River Greenway Ecological Standing Committee to begin ecological restoration work in one of the most important natural places in the world – the Niagara Gorge. 

The Niagara Gorge is comprised of unique ecological communities and is one of the most biologically diverse places in the Great Lakes. According to Nancy Smith, executive director of the Western New York Land Conservancy, “The Niagara Gorge is home to the majority of the plant species found in the Niagara Frontier, many of them very rare. It is also part of a globally significant Important Bird Area, and the lower Niagara River rapids are important spawning grounds for freshwater fish, including the threatened Lake Sturgeon.” 

Jamestown, NY – The Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC) has again produced the perfect holiday gift: A 2017 Natural History Calendar, full of local pictures and lore.

In celebration of the ACNC’s 60th anniversary year, the calendar features some success stories in nature from the last 60 years – like nesting Ospreys, Otters, and Fishers.

It also takes a look at some less successful stories – like Water Chestnut, and Rusty Blackbird declines of up to 99%.

Featuring a curious raccoon, the cover highlights Audubon’s new name, logo, and slogan. Along with photos of the past, there is natural history for each month.

Audubon Senior Naturalist Jeff Tome, who spearheads the calendar’s creation, noted that it was printed locally at MW Graphics and uses photos primarily by local and regional photographers. Proceeds support the ACNC’s educational programs.