Andea DiMaio

The Audubon Community Nature Center will hold its First Friday Lunch Bunch from 11 a.m. to noon Friday, Nov. 4, featuring Andrea DiMaio.

At the 11 a.m. Audubon Community Nature Center First Friday Lunch Bunch on November 4, Andrea DiMaio will share that “The Outdoors are for Everyone!” – including folks with a disability or different body size. Her presentation will feature beautiful photos of some of her recent inclusive trips to hike the Salkantay Trail in Peru.

DiMaio points out that the mountains, trees, and animals do not care what one looks like or what they can do, but that isn’t always true about the people in the outdoors. Accessibility can be a problem. Finding proper clothing and gear can also be difficult, which can make some activities dangerous. The talk will describe how making the outdoors more welcoming to a larger range of people can benefit us all and how creating inclusive groups can bring immense healing.

The presentation will be full of beautiful photos of some of DiMaio’s recent inclusive trips to hike the Salkantay Trail in Peru and of her hikes throughout Iceland.

As DiMaio describes, “In 2015 an accident triggered a slow transition in the way I viewed my own body and others that didn’t fit the traditional ‘outdoorsy’ body type. In 2017 I started Ample Movement as a local hiking group for people who didn’t see themselves represented or felt intimidated by other hiking groups. I have expanded Ample Movement to include other forms of outdoor adventure as well as yoga. I consider myself an adventure seeker and a social justice activist, looking to learn and end all forms of oppression and to work towards liberation for all.”

In March 2019 DiMaio a Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa, with the Curvy Kili Crew (CKC) and WHOA Travel. As a result of this trip, WHOA Travel started WHOA Plus, and DiMaio was hired to be a GAL (Group Adventure Leader) for these trips. She went to Peru to hike the Salkantay Trail with WHOA+ in July of 2019 and returned there in July of 2022 to lead another group of plus-sized women on the trail. In September, 2022 she led another similar group on hikes and adventures in Iceland.

The fee is $6 for Nature Center members and children ages 9 to 15, $8 for non-members.

Reservations are appreciated and can be made by calling 716-569-2345 or through “Programs and Events” at AudubonCNC.org. Walk-ins are welcome.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren. Visit the nearly 600-acre nature preserve and visit with Audubon’s three live birds of prey, enjoy the native tree arboretum and natural play space and hike the six miles of trails dawn until dusk daily for free.

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