First Friday (Adult+)
How Does a Watershed Affect You with Bethany O’Hagan
Friday, November 7, 2025
11:00 a.m. – Noon
$8 Adults; $6 Nature Center members
$6 Children 9 – 15
Reservations appreciated, walk-ins welcome.
Join Bethany O’Hagan from Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy to learn about how a watershed affects you.
Everywhere you are in the world, you are in a watershed; they help filter and clean our lakes, rivers, and streams. And a Land Trust, like Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, is just the thing to help keep them healthy and flowing forever.
A healthy watershed is like a silent guardian for everyone, everywhere. They protect water quality, nurture wildlife, and buffer communities from environmental extremes while simultaneously supplying everyone with drinking water, supporting agriculture, and sustaining ecosystems. They are also naturally filtering pollutants from water and improving the overall water quality in all the lakes and streams we recreate and play in. Which is why they matter so much, and why Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, as a Land Trust, is dedicated to protecting the land, that helps protect our waters to help keep a healthy watershed for all generations to come.
Bethany was born and raised in Alaska. After working for 15 years in the sustainability field in Portland, Oregon, she moved her family to Chautauqua County a little over three years ago. As the Land Specialist for Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy (CWC), Bethany oversees all of CWC’s nature preserves, easements, and over 46 preserve stewards. She also serves on the County Planning Board, the board of Zonta, as Vice President of Southern Tier Girls Babe Ruth Softball, on the Jamestown Farmers Market Advisory Council. She is also an 8U Softball coach, a master gardener, and master recycler. Bethany loves camping, fishing, being outside, and canoeing with her two spunky young daughters, Husky dog, and amazing husband.
Special Information: If you’d like to bring a packed lunch, you can visit attendees and the speaker after the program.
Join Bethany O’Hagan at 11:00 a.m. on November 7 to learn more about the functions of watersheds at Audubon’s First Friday program.