Hands and hearts at work: Buffalo unites to care for historic parks through Olmsted Month

Submitted by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy

The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy (BOPC) will celebrate Olmsted Month, a community-led effort that launches on Earth Day, April 22, and runs through May 22.

This initiative formally kicks off the volunteer season with a series of environmental stewardship events that are critical to the BOPC’s operations, forestry and horticulture teams who maintain 850 acres of historic greenspace, almost half of the City of Buffalo’s parkland.

Thanks to support from Curbell Inc., Lawley Insurance, M&T Bank and National Fuel, the BOPC will provide the necessary tools, materials and supplies that are essential to keeping parks clean, green and safe this season. The BOPC anticipates welcoming over 870 volunteers throughout Olmsted Month.

“At National Fuel, we understand that it takes both helping hands and financial support to keep a park system running,” said Summer Handzlik, director of corporate communications. “We’re proud to contribute in both ways, with hundreds of our volunteers showing up and supporting the conservancy’s mission to care for Buffalo’s treasured greenspaces.”

Volunteers play a significant role in helping to ensure that Buffalo’s Olmsted landscapes are beautiful for park users. In 2024, over 1,980 volunteers contributed more than 5,800 hours – valued at $215,000 – to help care for Olmsted landscapes.

The BOPC has seen a fundamental shift in how Buffaloanians use the parks since the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Recreation and Park Association revealed in its 2024 “Engagement with Parks Report” that more than 8 in 10 U.S. adults visited a local park or recreation facility in the past year, confirming parks are more essential than ever and worthy of continued investment.

“As demand for clean, safe, and accessible parks continues to grow, so does the cost of maintaining them,” Executive Director Catie Stephenson said. “Volunteer support remains vital and deeply appreciated, and sustaining the parks also depends on individual contributions. Gifts of $25, $50 or $100 can make a meaningful difference.”

The BOPC invites the community to get involved, whether by volunteering or making a donation, to help ensure historic parks remain vibrant and welcoming for all. Donations can be made through a spring appeal at www.bfloparks.org/donate. Volunteers may sign up at www.bfloparks.org/volunteer.

More about the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy

The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is the first nonprofit organization in the nation, through a unique public-private partnership, to manage, operate and maintain an entire urban park system consisting of more than 850 acres of beautifully designed historic parks, parkways and circles. The BOPC is an independent not-for-profit, community organization whose mission is to steward Buffalo’s historic Olmsted park system to welcome and benefit all. To accomplish this, the BOPC collaborates with community and strategic partners, advocates for quality parks for all, and enhances the park system through beautification, maintenance, and capital projects. More than 2.5 million visits occur in Buffalo’s Olmsted Park system annually for recreation, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

The Buffalo Olmsted Park System includes: six parks: Cazenovia, Delaware, Front, Martin Luther King Jr., Riverside and South; seven parkways: Bidwell, Chapin, Lincoln, McKinley, Porter, Red Jacket and Richmond; eight landscaped traffic circles: Agassiz, Colonial, Ferry, Gates, McClellan, McKinley, Soldiers and Symphony; and smaller spaces: Days, Heacock and Prospect.