Jamestown, NY – Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC) Program Director Jennifer Schlick was delighted to present a prize in person to one of Audubon’s 2017 Nature Photography Contest winners.

Kyra Bettwy, a seventh grader who lives in New York City, spends summers with her family visiting her grandparents, John and Marie Plumb, and enjoying the outdoors in Randolph, New York. She saw the announcement of the Photography Contest online when she was signing up to run in Audubon’s Wild 5K Run/Walk in July.

The categories for entries in the contest are Landscapes, Plants, Wildlife, and Audubon Community Nature Center, with Adult and Youth Divisions in each category.

Jamestown, NY – Whatever your age, whether you like to run or if walking is more your speed, there’s a spot for you at Audubon Community Nature Center’s Wild 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, July 29.

Race day schedule is

• 8-8:45 a.m.:  Same-day registration
• 9 a.m.: Race begins
• 10:30 a.m.: Award ceremony begins for those who have completed the race

Prizes will be awarded to the first three overall male and female walker and runner finishers. Age group awards will be given to the top three finishers in each for runners and top finisher in each for walkers. Age groups are 12 and under, 13-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70+.

Jamestown, NY – Audubon Community Nature Center awarded its 2017 Ryan Exline Memorial Scholarship to Heather Zimba of Jamestown, New York.

Every spring since 2003 Audubon’s Education Staff has raised scholarship funds through their Fledgling Birdathon. Participants look for as many species as possible over a 24-hour period, and generous supporters pledge an amount, either per species or in total. The end result is a $500 scholarship. 

This scholarship is named in memory of one of its very first recipients. Ryan Exline was an integral part of the Audubon family for many years, where he assisted with gardening, eagle care, live animal care, and educational programs. A resident of Russell, Pennsylvania, he was pursuing a master’s degree at Duke University when he died in a car accident. His love of nature and of nurturing future generations of “nature nerds” lives on through this scholarship.