(Para traducir al español, haga clic arriba) Rochester Ecology Partners is launching a Tree Ambassador program with funding support from the University of Rochester's Institute for Human Health and the Environment. This program will build on the success of the City of...

We made extraordinary things possible in 2025. I enjoy taking time at the end of the year to look back at what we have accomplished together. As we reflect on the impact of Rochester Ecology Partners, especially as it relates to our efforts to connect youth to...

What's your million smile idea? It used to be a thing for people to ask "What's your million-dollar idea?" as if the money was the outcome. If whatever you were thinking about doing generated $1,000,000.00 you could consider yourself successful.At Rochester Ecology...

“We’re pleased to tell you that we determined you’re exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)3.” This is how the letter we got from the IRS four years ago, in the last week of October, started. Receiving this certification as a...

Campfires create community. We are having our campfire night this Saturday (you're invited!), and it has me thinking about the magic that happens when people gather around a fire.  I’ve experienced people coming together in ways that were truly not possible otherwise...

How do we tell this story? We talk a lot about this question at Rochester Ecology Partners. Every day, we see the impact of nature-based learning on children and their teachers. It is a challenge for us to accurately express what it means to see a ninth grader put...

Week one of our species spotlight shines upon the spotted salamander, or yellow-spotted salamander. Their latin name Ambystoma maculatum, is derived from the terms “amblys” (blunt), “stoma” (mouth), and “macula” (spot). Within the class of amphibians, spotted salamanders fit within the order Caudata, and the family Ambystomatidae, which encompasses all lunged salamanders.