Mid-summer is typically the time of year that my family reunion occurs, and we come from Texas and Massachusetts and Virginia and closer to settle into Venango County for the weekend. It is where the now-elders grew up and where the childhoods of the cousins were bonded together. Their stories ...

When we think of the color blue, what comes to mind? A cloudless sky? Our wondrous open spaces? Crystal-clear water? The color blue has not been the color we have seen in our lakes in recent years. Excessive algae and plant growth have turned our lakes from blue to green, and dealing with ...

Audubon just wrapped up our first week of summer day camp, which means I spent a decent amount of time outside with 8 – 11-year-olds exploring, hiking, and playing in the woods and wetlands. Along one of these hikes, one of the campers stopped to look at a daisy and found a small, white ...

Growing up in Chautauqua County, I always believed that I would one day leave and relocate to a larger city with more to offer. My hometown of Fredonia, New York, while charming in a small-town way, was never a part of the future I imagined myself to have. However, once I left to pursue my ...

Baby birds on the ground, turtles in the road, and fawns seemingly abandoned by their mothers. It is that time of year when all sorts of wildlife seem in desperate need of our help. But do they really need us? Most of the time, the answer is easy: no. Seeing a helpless animal, especially a ...

The grasses, ferns, and flowers have really hit their stride and they are continuing to grow taller as we head into summer. As I was out with a group of sixth-graders on a field trip to Audubon, one of the students commented offhand that the plants around us were like a miniature forest under ...