Our Mission
Buffalo Audubon leads and inspires Western New Yorkers to connect with and protect the natural world through bird-focused activities, advocacy, and habitat restoration.
Who We Are
Established in 1909 by a group of dedicated conservationists, Buffalo Audubon is a regional, independent organization and chapter affiliate of the National Audubon Society, dedicated to the promotion, enjoyment, and protection of the natural world through education, advocacy and community conservation. Our office headquarters are located at Beaver Meadow Nature Preserve in beautiful North Java, in Wyoming County. Scroll down to meet our team!
Buffalo Audubon leads and inspires Western New Yorkers to connect with and protect the natural world through bird-focused activities, advocacy, and habitat restoration.
Who We Are
Established in 1909 by a group of dedicated conservationists, Buffalo Audubon is a regional, independent organization and chapter affiliate of the National Audubon Society, dedicated to the promotion, enjoyment, and protection of the natural world through education, advocacy and community conservation. Our office headquarters are located at Beaver Meadow Nature Preserve in beautiful North Java, in Wyoming County. Scroll down to meet our team!
Our Local Impact
We protect over 1,000 acres of habitat on seven preserves throughout Western New York.
We made over 17,000 contacts with our community in 2023 through onsite visits, nature education programs, and immersive nature experiences for people of all ages.
We lead large scale conservation and habitat improvement projects in Niagara and Erie Counties, including invasive species management at Buckhorn Island State Park, and the construction of Tern Island, 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 all audiences while continuing to build on and celebrate the legacy of Beaver Meadow. Here is Executive Director, Ed Sirianno, in the Buffalo News discussing Tern Island.
We engage the public in community science projects that contribute to conservation work, and as advocates and stewards for and of the natural world.
We protect over 1,000 acres of habitat on seven preserves throughout Western New York.
We made over 17,000 contacts with our community in 2023 through onsite visits, nature education programs, and immersive nature experiences for people of all ages.
We lead large scale conservation and habitat improvement projects in Niagara and Erie Counties, including invasive species management at Buckhorn Island State Park, and the construction of Tern Island, 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 all audiences while continuing to build on and celebrate the legacy of Beaver Meadow. Here is Executive Director, Ed Sirianno, in the Buffalo News discussing Tern Island.
We engage the public in community science projects that contribute to conservation work, and as advocates and stewards for and of the natural world.
Meet our Staff
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Ed Sirianno
Executive Director [email protected] Ed is delighted and proud to serve the Buffalo Audubon Society as Executive Director. He joins 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." Ed serves on the Foundation and Alumni boards of St. Mary's College of Maryland, The National Public Honor's College. He earned a BA from St. Mary's and an MA from St. Bonaventure University. |
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Kate Watson
Director of Operations [email protected] 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 Kerr
Bird Advocacy Coordinator & Senior Naturalist [email protected] 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 wildlife is around. He also enjoys raising his two sons to appreciate the wonderful natural landscape of Western New York. |
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Breton Sloan
Conservation Stewardship Coordinator & Senior Naturalist [email protected] Breton grew a love and appreciation for the outdoors from a very young age. He grew up in rural Oklahoma on a 3,000 acre farm with an abundance of wildlife at his fingertips. He served four years with the United States Marine Corps out of high school and then continued his education at Oklahoma State University, where he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Wildlife Management and Ecology. Soon after, he began his career as a Game Warden with the Oklahoma State Department of Wildlife. His favorite part of the job was educating the public about the state’s natural resources. He spent nearly 6 years as a warden before relocating to the Buffalo area with his wife and two children. In his spare time, he loves hunting, fishing, hiking, and spending time with family. He is elated to be able to continue his passion in outdoor education and conservation with the Buffalo Audubon Society. |
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Lynn Westcott
Director of Development [email protected] Lynn is a senior-level development professional who brings 24 years of nonprofit experience to Buffalo Audubon Society. She worked on the development team at Child & Family Services for six years, and led the Alzheimer’s Association WNY Chapter’s development team for 12 years. She has demonstrated, successful experience in grant writing, corporate relations, event planning and execution, collaborative relationship building, donor cultivation and stewardship, and volunteer management. Lynn’s love of the outdoors led her to Buffalo Audubon and Beaver Meadow, and she is thrilled to be part of the team and work in such a beautiful place. As a proud native Western New Yorker, Lynn and her husband live in Amherst where they raised their three children. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Geneseo and an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. |
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Sydney Bucholtz
Communications & Visitor Experience Coordinator [email protected] Sydney is grateful to bring her passions for the natural world and communications to her role on the Buffalo Audubon Society team. Beginning as a volunteer with Buffalo Audubon, she is continuously inspired by its commitment to connecting communities with nature, and the way it does so through unique, authentic programming and education. A graduate of Naropa University's ecopsychology master’s program, which combines studies of ecology and psychology, she is passionate about connecting with the natural world and helping others do so, as well. After graduating with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and psychology from Canisius College, she worked as a staff reporter with the Lancaster-Depew Sun newspaper, a weekly publication owned by The Buffalo News, where she also wrote freelance feature stories for Buffalo News Gusto – its life, arts, and entertainment section. As an adjunct professor with Villa Maria College and Genesee Community College, Sydney has created and taught numerous courses in digital media, journalism, public relations, social media, digital strategy and analytics, supplemental English, and digital storytelling, as well as served as a featured speaker. Most recently, she has provided a range of creative marketing services – from strategic copy to web design and social media branding – as an inbound content developer with a HubSpot partner marketing agency and through her self-employed design business, respectively. |
Buffalo Audubon Society
Beaver Meadow Nature Center
1610 Welch Road, North Java, NY 14113
585.457.3228