Events

Spring Ephemerals at Niagara Escarpment Preserve

Date: Friday, May 2

Time: 3:00pm-5:00pm

Each spring, a vibrant display of ephemeral wildflowers blankets the forest floor at our Niagara Escarpment Preserve. These early bloomers, including trilliums, cut-leaved toothwort, squirrel corn, and many others produce some of the most striking flowers of our native flora. They emerge quickly to take advantage of the abundant sunlight before the tree canopy leafs out. What makes this hike truly special is the preserve’s location on the Niagara Escarpment, a unique geological formation that creates distinctive growing conditions. The escarpment’s rich, calcium-laden soils and cool, shaded microclimates support a remarkable diversity of plant life, including rare and regionally significant species.

Join our Stewardship Director, Josh Balisteri, for a guided tour of this extraordinary landscape and experience the fleeting beauty of spring ephemerals in one of Western New York’s most ecologically significant preserves!

THIS EVENT IS FULL. REGISTRATION IS CLOSED

Guided Bird Walks: May

Join us for a series of guided bird walks with expert birder Andrew Gaerte throughout the month of May. Each week we will visit one of our beautiful nature preserves, giving you the chance to experience the peak of spring migration. We will observe a variety of songbirds, and learn about bird identification, behavior, and habitat. Whether you're a seasoned birder or just getting started, these walks offer a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature and explore the rich birdlife of Western New York.

Click on the links below to register for each event. NOTE: please register for only those you can attend.

Literary Event Series: Lyanda Lynn Haupt

Wednesday, June 4, 2025
7:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Trinity Episcopal Church, Buffalo, NY

We are thrilled to welcome naturalist and acclaimed author Lyanda Lynn Haupt to Buffalo to discuss her book Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit. In this illuminating and important book, Haupt explores what it means to live with the earth in both simple and profound ways. She invokes the term "rootedness" as a way of living in concert with the wilderness—and wildness—that sustains humans and all of life.

Our human ancestors evolved with an intimate connection to their environment, nurtured and sustained by the earth. And yet today, one sobering estimate concludes that North Americans spend an astonishing 93% of their waking hours indoors or in cars. How do we find our way back to nature in a world that too often devalues the outdoors?

At the Land Conservancy, we envision a future in which forests, farms, meadows, and waterways are connected, cherished, and protected--where the many benefits of nature are shared by every living creature. In clear, precise, and beautiful prose, Haupt explores in Rooted the wonder of nature. In so doing, she provides a blueprint for how every one of us can transform even our simplest forays in nature into deep, lasting connections with the earth.

Join us on June 4th. Space is limited. Register for the in-person event below. This event will also be livestreamed. Stay tuned for details.

About
Lyanda Lynn Haupt is an award-winning author, naturalist, ecophilosopher, and speaker whose work explores the beautiful, complicated connections between humans and the wild, natural world. Her writing is acclaimed for combining scientific knowledge with literary, poetic prose. Previous books include Mozart’s Starling, The Urban Bestiary: Encountering the Everyday Wild, Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness, Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin’s Lost Notebooks, and Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds. She is a winner of the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, the Nautilus Book Award, a finalist for the Orion Book Award, and a two-time winner of the Washington State Book Award.

Praise for Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit

“With her deep Intuition and expansive attention as our guides, Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s gorgeous words create a path to the place where science and spirit meet."—Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass

“Radiant with reverence, sparkling with surprises, and brimming with insight, Rooted is a lyrical and intimate handbook on how to live a mindful, joyful, fruitful life in harmony with our sweet green earth.”—Sy Montgomery, author of How to Be a Good Creature

“Rooted feels like a literary love child of Rachel Carson and Mary Oliver. Find yourself a quiet place, preferably under a tree, and let Lyanda Lynn Haupt teach you how to embrace the ‘tangled empathy’ of living not as a dominant species, but as one of many.”—Erica Bauermeister, author of The Scent Keeper

“An extraordinary guide to wonder and belonging....In a time of isolation and fragmentation, her many insights are beautiful and much-needed invitations to wholeness and connection.”—David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees

Wildlife Crossings: An Evening with Ben Goldfarb

Watch Ben Goldfarb discuss his influential book Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of our Planet at our August 25, 2024 event in Buffalo. An Evening with Ben Goldfarb is part of the Land Conservancy community’s effort to advance a region-wide conversation about protecting forests in Western New York, and beyond, by creating the Western New York Wildway, our ambitious long-term plan to protect and connect the largest of our region’s remaining forests.

Rescuing the Planet: An Evening with Tony Hiss

Did you miss the May 25th 2023 event? Use the link to watch the presentation on YouTube. The event featured acclaimed author Tony Hiss, one of the strongest advocates for land protection in the United States, who braided the thesis of his seminal book, Rescuing the Planet: Protecting Half the Land to Heal the Earth, with the Land Conservancy's efforts to save the Floating Fen and develop the Western New York Wildway.

We Are Each Other's Harvest: An Evening with Natalie Baszile

Did you miss the June 21st 2022 event? Use the link to watch the presentation on YouTube. The eventfeatured a special conversation with Allison DeHonney (Buffalo Go Green/Urban Fruits & Veggies), Mahamud Mberwa (Bwedo Farm), Dao Kamara (Liberian Community Farming Project), and Hamadi Ali (Providence Farm Collective).

An Evening with Ed Marx of the Wildlands Network

Did you miss the October 27th 2021 event? Use the link to watch the presentation on Youtube. Listen to Ed Marx discuss the Eastern Wildway, an effort to create a wildlife corridor from the Gulf of Mexico to eastern Canada. You’ll also hear from Jajean Rose-Burney, our Deputy Executive Director, about how you can save the Allegany Wildlands.

Finding the Mother Tree: A Virtual Evening with Suzanne Simard

Did you miss the June 16th 2021 event? Use the link to watch the presentation on YouTube. Finding the Mother Tree: An Evening with Suzanne Simard included a presentation on her pioneering work and a conversation.