Our mission
Buffalo Audubon Society leads and inspires Western New Yorkers to connect with and protect the natural world through bird-focused activities, advocacy, and habitat restoration.
Established in 1909 by a group of dedicated conservationists, Buffalo Audubon is dedicated to the promotion, enjoyment, and protection of the natural world through education, advocacy and community conservation. A regional, independent organization and chapter affiliate of National Audubon, we currently steward over 1,000 acres of land throughout Western New York, with our office headquarters located at Beaver Meadow Audubon Center in Wyoming County. We connect people to nature through delivery of educational programs for all ages, and seek to engage participants as advocates and stewards for and of the natural world.
Education delivery and outdoor experiences at Beaver Meadow have been our historical foundation, yet Buffalo Audubon is also engaged in large scale conservation and habitat improvement projects in Niagara and Erie Counties, currently including invasive species management at Buckhorn Island State Park, and the construction of a 14,000 square foot island in the City of Buffalo’s Niagara River Corridor for Common Tern habitat. These projects present long term opportunities to engage the public in meaningful community science efforts while increasing visibility. As Buffalo Audubon looks toward its future, we recognize and embrace the need to engage and represent new audiences while continuing to build on and celebrate the legacy of Beaver Meadow.
Education delivery and outdoor experiences at Beaver Meadow have been our historical foundation, yet Buffalo Audubon is also engaged in large scale conservation and habitat improvement projects in Niagara and Erie Counties, currently including invasive species management at Buckhorn Island State Park, and the construction of a 14,000 square foot island in the City of Buffalo’s Niagara River Corridor for Common Tern habitat. These projects present long term opportunities to engage the public in meaningful community science efforts while increasing visibility. As Buffalo Audubon looks toward its future, we recognize and embrace the need to engage and represent new audiences while continuing to build on and celebrate the legacy of Beaver Meadow.
Meet our Staff
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Ed Sirianno
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Ed is delighted and proud to serve the Buffalo Audubon Society as Executive Director. He looks forward to joining the talented staff and the many volunteers, members, and the Board as we work together to lead and inspire Western New Yorkers to connect with and protect the natural world through bird-focused activities, advocacy, and habitat restoration.
From 2001-2019, as President of Creative Communication Associates, Ed and his team at CCA earned the reputation as one of the most trusted and valued strategic marketing communications firms in the US. His experience over more than 30 years ranges from work on well-known consumer brands, ivy league and higher education institutions, and non-profit organizations.
Before CCA, Ed's spent 12 years building Sirianno Associates, a consumer advertising agency, working with client brands including Kodak, Ray-Ban, Haagen Dazs, and Michelin Tire, Zippo Lighters. Advertising Age Magazine recognized Sirianno Associates as "One of America's Top 100 Marketing Communications Firms."
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Lauren Makeyenko
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Lauren is passionate about connecting children and families with nature and the outdoors through multiple pathways. Since joining Buffalo Audubon, Lauren has worked diligently with the naturalist staff to implement and update the Education Master Plan and ensure that our educational programming is an inquiry-based immersive experience.
Witnessing a person’s curiosity triggered while investigating something in nature is one of Lauren’s favorite things - whether it be a small ant or snow on the branch of a tree. Prior to coming to Buffalo Audubon, Lauren was the Experience Manager at Tifft Nature Preserve, and co-instructed a Great Lakes Ecology course at the University of Buffalo for 15 years.
Her hobbies include sewing, crocheting, baking and making stuff! She lives in the Allentown neighborhood of Buffalo with her husband Josh, daughter Ruby and two dogs – Clarice and Sausage-Marie.
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Kate Watson
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Kate provides administrative support to the Buffalo Audubon team. As a New York State licensed wildlife rehabilitator and founder of Nora’s Ark, a nonprofit wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization, Kate clearly has a passion for animals.
Along with her nonprofit organizational and administrative familiarity, Kate has over 20 years of veterinary practice management experience. Together, these have given Kate a strong sense of devotion for the nonprofit sector. She brings her deep appreciation for how nonprofits seek to improve the quality of life for our region to her work as a member of the Audubon team.
Kate strives to provide our communities with an educational resource to promote general awareness and understanding of the needs of wildlife.
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Tom has been educating others about the natural world since he began to understand it. With the help of his neighbors as a child, he created a bug zoo from his Tonawanda backyard, and gathered other neighborhood kids to view his collections. Inspired by many family vacations to National Parks, Tom studied environmental science in college. At SUNY ESF he was part of the first class that graduated with a Natural History and Interpretation degree, selecting the major because he understood the growing need to communicate the scientific world.
Tom has spent his entire professional career in environmental education. He worked as a Park Ranger in the New York City Parks for five years, teaching school programs, leading an after school program for high school students, and monitoring piping plover habitat. Living in a major migration fly way in a dense urban environment, it was in NYC he developed a love of birding.
Tom came to Buffalo Audubon to lead the For the Birds! program for elementary school students, and now as a naturalist enjoys leading bird tours and teaching people about all nature in Western New York. If you catch Tom in his free time, you will most likely find him with a pair of binoculars around his neck, setting up his spotting scope to make sure everyone gets a chance to view whatever wild life is around. He also enjoys raising his two sons to appreciate the wonderful natural landscape of Western New York.