Submitted Photo Audubon Community Nature Center has two scholarship opportunities for local students: the Ryan Exline Memorial Scholarship and the Gerald Augusto Audubon Natural Science Scholarship. The winner of the 2013 Ryan Exline Memorial Scholarship, Allison Cramer (right), records birds on the sightings list with a fellow birdathon participant.

JAMESTOWN — Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC) is accepting applications for two different opportunities for students with an interest in wildlife and nature education.

The deadline for applying for the 2019 Ryan Exline Memorial Scholarship is Monday, March 18. Since 2003, the education staff of the Nature Center has held an annual birdathon to raise money to award a $500 scholarship to an area college-bound high school senior or Jamestown Community College student who intends to pursue a bachelor’s degree in an environmental or related field.

In 2009 this scholarship award was named in honor of Ryan Paul Exline, a graduate student at Duke University who was studying for a Conservation Degree. Exline received this scholarship in 2004, using it to attend a herpetology camp in Vermont. On his return, he was instrumental in setting up some of the Nature Center’s herp programs for teens. An integral part of the Audubon family for many years, the Russell, Pa., resident was 22 when he died in 2008 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

Through an endowment established by the family of Gerald Augusto at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Audubon Community Nature Center is able to offer a unique experience to a local high school student during the summer. Applications from high school juniors in schools in southern Chautauqua County for the Gerald Augusto Audubon Natural Science Scholarship must be submitted by Wednesday, May 1, 2019.

The Gerald Augusto winner will experience “Introduction to Ornithological Research Techniques.” The student will be required to attend at least five of seven banding Saturday sessions. They will learn bird banding and nest box monitoring techniques and protocols under Penn State Dubois Instructor Emily Perlock. After producing evidence of their learning, such as a poster, slide presentation, report, or notebook, the student will be awarded $400.

More information and application forms for both scholarships are online at auduboncnc.org/scholarships. Applications can also be obtained by calling (716) 569-2345 or emailing shatfield@auduboncnc.org.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa. The three-story Nature Center building contains interactive displays, a collection of live animals, and the Blue Heron Gift Shop. Building hours are Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Sundays 1-4 p.m. The 600-acre wetland preserve with more than five miles of trails and Liberty, the non-releasable Bald Eagle, can be visited from dawn until dusk daily.

To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, call (716) 569-2345 during business hours or visit auduboncnc.org. Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways.