Squirrel Appreciation Day
Squirrel Appreciation Day
Let’s go a little nuts! … Greater Olean Chamber recognizes city’s mascot
OLEAN - Although this date has been on each of its annual squirrel calendars they produce, Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce will (finally) recognize Friday, January 21, 2022 as National Squirrel Appreciation Day.
“Each year, when the 21st rolls around, Chamber staff says ‘darn it – why didn’t we do something to celebrate this day?!’ So now, we are getting the word out and we want all to celebrate this nutty day,” stated Meme K. Yanetsko, GOACC COO.
In 2001, wildlife rehabilitation specialist, Christy Hargrove, founded National Squirrel Appreciation Day in Asheville, North Carolina. Christy created this day to encourage kind attitudes towards our bushy-tailed neighbors by setting out food and water for squirrels, and even allowing them to play with that birdfeeder you normally don’t want them touching.
The GOACC office really didn’t pay any attention to local squirrels until Amy Sherburne and her ‘Woodland in the City’ committee began placing the four-foot replicas throughout the city back in 2007. “When Amy presented her idea to the Chamber, the office jumped onboard and had a local artist that created our Nutty O’ St. Nick,” said Yanetsko. “It probably was the next year, 2008, when GOACC began producing/printing our annual calendar of squirrels.”
Other items followed - squirrel guide book, squirrel tees, plush squirrels (and although Olean is famous for its black squirrels, GOACC could only find brown and gray ones for sale!), squirrel earrings and now squirrel scarves.
The Chamber’s unofficial mascot, Sven, is a gray squirrel that has appeared at their Allegheny River Running Fest and for a brief moment at the Santa Claus Lane Parade.
“So as the Chamber has capitalized on our squirrels, we wanted to promote this day in appreciation for putting Olean on its squirrel map!” reported Yanetsko.
How to appreciate the squirrels on National Squirrel Day (gathered from the National Wildlife Federation):
1. Feed Them, and They Will Come - Have your child smear peanut butter on a pinecone and hang it up! Don’t throw stale bread away; put chunks of it on your deck or porch railings. Your kids can keep watch and enjoy the show.
2. Get Your Revenge by Making Them Work for It - You can appreciate squirrels and still put them through their paces. You know that they are going to get to your bird feeder somehow; it might as well be entertaining. Need some inspiration? Check out this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWU0bfo-bSY[/youtube]
3. Shoot ‘Em - Don’t panic, we’re talking about cameras here! Squirrels have crazy antics and abilities. They can jump 10 times the length of their bodies. Keep a camera handy. Perhaps you and your kids can capture some great action shots.
4. Don’t Confuse Your Holidays - As we mentioned, National Squirrel Appreciation Day is January 21st, but so is National Hug Day. Please don’t combine the two; keep your appreciation at a distance.
Erica Dreher, GOACC Membership Manager added, “We might generally look at squirrels as being an unnecessary nuisance, but their existence is actually beneficial to the environment. Squirrels plant seeds (initially meaning to store away nuts to come back to when they’re hungry) which eventually grow into trees, thus assisting with forest renewal. They’re nature’s gardeners!”
To close out National Squirrel Appreciation Day, GOACC leaves you with some national squirrel appreciation day stats: 25% of nuts are stolen; 74% of buried nuts are never recovered; there are more than 200 squirrel species; squirrels can leap across a space ten times the length of their body; and the first documented introduction of squirrels occurred in Philadelphia’s Franklin Square in 1847.
GOACC also encourages all to use these hashtags on 1/21/22 in regards to the day: #NationalSquirrelAppreciationDay #Squirrel #SquirrelDay.
Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce, located at 301 North Union Street in downtown Olean, has been the leading business organization in the greater Olean area since 1906. Their business plan reflects activities related to lobbying local and state leaders and developing programs, to support workforce development, small business owners, large corporate entities, non-profit organizations, manufacturers, and area residents. For more information, please call 716-372-4433 or email member@oleanny.com.