WNY News Now

(WNY News Now) – Jamestown, N.Y. – With this new year, Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC) is inviting businesses and individuals to receive some publicity for themselves while they support nature education.

Every year Audubon presents major events that bring thousands of visitors to the Nature Center. 2024’s events are:

• Audubon Lights – March 22-April 6

• Dragons and Fairies Festival – June 15

• Wild 5K – July 27

• Monarch Butterfly Festival – August 31

• Enchanted Forest – October 4-5

Businesses, organizations and individuals who make a financial commitment to any of these events support school programs that include over 12,000 student contacts yearly in Chautauqua and Warren counties. They also support a committed group of over 200 volunteers who contribute more than 12,000 hours of service annually, a 570-acre property with six miles of nature trails available to the public free of charge daily from dawn until dusk, and ACNC’s Animal Ambassadors program.

In return, Audubon Event Sponsors are named on Audubon’s website, social media and event posters, and receive free event tickets. Benefits increase depending on the level of sponsorship.

FSC Systems, Kwik Fill and Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro, P.C., have already stepped up to sponsor Audubon Lights.

The Audubon Community Partners program recognizes individuals, businesses, and local foundations who support ACNC at the $2,000 level and above. Businesses that choose this level of sponsorship are recognized throughout the year in the bi-monthly newsletter and through the two on-site Community Partners displays. Community Partners play an essential role in supporting ACNC’s events, programs, buildings and grounds.

Current Community Partners include: Bruce and Juline Battler, Carnahan-Jackson Foundation, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Curt and Susie Westrom, Holmberg Foundation, Hultquist Foundation, Jessie Smith Darrah Fund, Lenna Foundation, Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, Bob Frucella’s Tax Service, Bush Furniture/A Brand of eSolutions Furniture, Hal and Mary Conarro, Doug and Lamae McCullor, National Fuel Gas Company, Weinberg Financial Group, and Whirley Drinkworks.

To learn about becoming an Audubon Community Partner or Event Sponsor, contact Public Engagement Specialist Jeff Tome at (716) 569-2345 or JTome@AudubonCNC.org.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa.

The three-story Nature Center building houses interactive displays, a collection of live animals including the Hellbender exhibit, and the Blue Heron Gift Shop. Visitors are welcome Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m., and Sundays, 1–4:30 p.m. Nature Center members and SNAP/EBT cardholders have free building admission daily. Building admission is also free every Sunday for non-Nature Center members.

To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, call (716) 569-2345, find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook, or visit AudubonCNC.org.

Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways.