It’s “all hands on deck” for staff and volunteers when Audubon Community Nature Center prepares for their annual Audubon Lights. Last year Audubon Board Second Vice Chair Dr. Eugenie Poignard volunteered at the light trinket table.

Planning for Audubon Community Nature Center’s 2026 Audubon Lights began months ago, and now it’s time to sign up essential volunteers and sponsors.

The annual event celebrates the first three weekends of spring with a half-mile trail of lights that brighten the landscape after sunset. Dates this year are Fridays and Saturdays from March 20 through April 4.

Audubon Visitor Experience Director Katie Finch says, “Building on the success of previous years, we’re excited to introduce new elements that will make this year’s experience even more memorable. A big feature this year is the creation of a new rainbow tunnel.”

Using LED light technology, Audubon Lights highlights the incredible variety of shapes and colors found in nature — from trees just beginning to unfurl their leaves, to the silhouettes of animals active in early spring, and the subtle shift from the cooler tones of winter to the brighter, more abundant colors of spring.

Dozens of volunteers are needed for all kinds of tasks over the three weekends: to help with luminary trail lighting, admission booths, trinket sales, snack stand, clean-up, or to be a trail walker or fire tender. Audubon Lights volunteers receive a free snack and drink during volunteering as well as a free admission to Audubon Lights to use during any of the three weekends of the event. If you can help, contact Volunteer Coordinator Sharon Tefft at STefft@AudubonCNC.org or (716) 569-2345.

Sponsors for Audubon Lights 2026 to date include Ahlstrom Schaeffer Electric Corporation, Lawley Insurance, Shults Auto Group, Univera Healthcare, Warren County Chamber of Business & Industry, Wegmans, and Whirley-DrinkWorks! Individuals or businesses interested in sponsorship can contact Audubon Executive Director Aaron Sidder at ASidder@AudubonCNC.org or visit AudubonCNC.org/sponsor.

For more information about Audubon Lights, go to AudubonCNC.org/events.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa. You can visit the nearly 600-acre nature preserve, check in on the live birds of prey, enjoy the natural play space, and hike, snowshoe or cross-country ski six miles of trails dawn until dusk daily for free.

The three-story Nature Center building houses interactive displays, a collection of live animals, the 2025 Nature Photography Contest winners, and the Blue Heron Gift Shop. Visitors are welcome Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and Sundays, 1-4:30 p.m. Nature Center members and SNAP/EBT and Arts Access cardholders have free building admission daily. Building admission is also free Sundays for non-Nature Center members.

To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, call (716) 569-2345, find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook or Instagram, or visit AudubonCNC.org. Check out AudubonCNC.org/about for a quick fly-by. Get the details for submitting or voting on entries in the 2026 Nature Photography Contest at AudubonCNC.org/Photo-Contest.

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.