WELLESLEY ISLAND, New York (WWNY) – After a washout in 2019 and a cancellation due to COVID-19 in 2020, the 42nd annual Autumn Fest was back on the grounds surrounding the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center at Wellesley Island State Park.
There were activities for people of all ages like interactive bird demonstrations, a station to make apple cider, and a build your own scarecrow contest.
“We decided to make it bursting out the bag, and that we decided to kind of make it pumpkin themed with all the vines,” said scarecrow contest participant Samuel Duffany.
Some of the younger kids enjoyed the pony rides and petting zoos, including Octavia Tucci.
“My favorite part about today was doing horseback riding,” said Tucci.
A major theme of the event is environmental education, giving people a chance to learn more about their surroundings and how they can protect it.
A mission local nonprofits can help with.
“People of all ages are trying to learn how to keep our waters clean and protect the planet, so it’s definitely very important for us to come to events,” said Chelsea Broughton, an education intern with Save the River.
“There is a lot more people here than we see on our trails, so getting the word out that our trails exist, that our programs exist. We do a lot of children’s education, teen education, so it’s really nice to see families and tell them about what we do,” said Sarah Trick, Watershed Coordinator at Indian River Lakes Conservancy.
The funds from the festival go a long way, especially for programming throughout the year. The park being able to bring in local school districts for field trips.
“It’s all about the community, showing them what we do and help we can help the community as well as the environment,” said Andrew Kane, President of the Friends of the Nature Center.
Park officials say Autumn Fest is just a larger scale of what they host on an every weekend basis, urging the public to come learn more about the local environment.
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