The National Wildlife Federation has recognized SUNY Jamestown Community College’s Jamestown Campus as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
“Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy has been trying over the last year and a half to encourage our entire Chautauqua County to strive for providing more sustainable wildlife habitat for wildlife,” said Rebecca Nystrom, board president of Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. “We’re very thrilled that JCC is one of our newest partners in this, and we all need to do these good things. We’re not only doing it for now, we’re doing it for the future. We’re proud of JCC.”
The campus met the requirements of the National Wildlife Federation, which include providing ample native plants for food, abundant water supply, cover for wildlife to use as shelter, places to raise young, and sustainable practices that ensure soil, air, and water stay healthy and clean.
Janis Bowman, professor of biology and coordinator of Environmental Science at JCC, said that the college has a long history of modeling sustainability in the community, and for students. Bowman has worked tirelessly during her teaching career to ensure JCC is a leader in environmental and conservation efforts. She was recently awarded the Joan P. Shevory Citizen Forester Award for her work pursuing and maintaining JCC’s Tree Campus certification for 14 years.
In addition to being a certified wildlife habitat, JCC also boasts sustainable features on the Jamestown Campus including the Science Education Center, which meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification standards, a Monarch Waystation that is registered through Monarch Watch, and a Zero Sort recycling program.
“As an institution of higher learning, we have a responsibility to model sustainable approaches that support our natural world, especially in a time where habitat loss is having such a negative impact on ecosystems,” Bowman said.
The new certification was announced during Arbor Day celebrations on the Jamestown Campus in April. Speakers at the event included Daniel DeMarte, president of SUNY JCC; Eddie Sundquist, mayor of Jamestown; Bowman; and Dan Stone, manager of Jamestown Parks. A plaque honoring the certification can be found in a memorial garden near the campus pond, among trees planted in honor of the late JCC professors Royal Steubing, Ted Smith, and Andy Kibler.
“I’m proud to support all the work that you do in conjunction with our Parks Department,” Sundquist said at the celebration. “We continue to try to help out as much as we can to continue preserving nature here.