The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced $1.8 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants for 55 nonprofit land trusts across the state. Representatives of the DEC and the Land Trust Alliance unveiled the grantees at an event in Skaneateles, in Onondaga County, in recognition of Earth Week, a weeklong celebration of New York's commitment to protecting our environment, conserving open space, and increasing access to the state's vast and magnificent natural resources. The grants are funded through NYS’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), and the Land Trust Alliance administers the Conservation Partnership Program in coordination with DEC.

The Western New York Land Conservancy was recently awarded $50,000 from the Gallogly Family Foundation to help create the Stella Niagara Preserve, a new, publicly accessible nature preserve along the Niagara River in Lewiston, N.Y. The Land Conservancy has now received more than $2.7 million of the more than $3.2 million needed to create the Stella Niagara Preserve. Additional donations from the community are needed soon if the Stella Niagara Preserve is to become a reality.

The calendar says that winter has come and gone, and thoughts are quickly turning to outdoor activities. Nearby London, Ontario, boasts many natural areas throughout the city that are open year-round, including popular destinations such as Kilally Meadows, Meadowlily Woods, Medway Valley Heritage Forest, Sifton Bog, Warbler Woods and Westminster Ponds ... all awaiting your visit!

Natural areas include wetlands, meadows, forests, valley lands and other relatively undisturbed lands that are home to many different plants and wildlife. Some locations even contain rare plants, wildlife or landforms. In fact, many of these natural areas are considered environmentally significant on a local, regional, provincial or even national scale!