Squirrel Appreciation Day
Squirrel Appreciation Day
Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce encourages everyone to celebrate!
The love of squirrels is so strong in the Olean area (especially GOACC staff) that Meme Yanetsko (when in Texas) stopped at the Berdoll Pecan Candy and Gift Company in Cedar Creek, Texas to pose with Ms. Pearl - their 14-foot squirrel mascot!
OLEAN - It’s that time of year! The calendar has rolled around to January and here at the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce, we will recognize Saturday, January 21, 2023 as National Squirrel Appreciation Day.
Not an official event to go to, GOACC officials want all to recognize and thank the squirrels that share our community. 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 bird-feeder you normally don’t want them touching.
Okay, so squirrels can be found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica - what’s the big deal? “Squirrels here in Olean owe all their celebratory status to Amy Sherburne and the Woodland in the City committee,” stated Meme K. Yanetsko, GOACC COO.
The Woodland committee began placing the four foot squirrel replicas throughout the city back in 2007. A few squirrels were added each year and grew to 30 in number. However, due to retirement and relocation, the squirrels currently are 28; the most recent addition in 2019/2020 is Sparky, the official transformer creator of Eaton Cooper out on Dugan Road, Olean.
When Amy presented her idea to the Chamber for their own, the office jumped onboard and had a local artist create our Nutty O’ St. Nick. It probably was the next year (2008) when GOACC began producing/printing the annual squirrel calendar. Other items followed - squirrel guide book, squirrel tees, plush squirrels, squirrel earrings and now squirrel pens and bookmarks.
Oh, so why squirrels? “Woodland noticed that the Olean area has an abundance of black squirrels. According to the National Wildlife Federation, one in 10,000 squirrels are black,” added Erica Dreher, GOACC Membership Manager. Woodland wanted to recognize this unique fact of the Olean squirrels and began this project.
What does one do to celebrate National Squirrel Day? Create a bird feeder specifically for squirrels; go on a squirrel-spotting walk; build a squirrel obstacle course; dress your dog up as a squirrel; say the word “squirrel” a lot; and share these facts below about squirrels with your friends, family and coworkers…
Ten Nutty Facts about Squirrels:
Squirrels can find food buried beneath a foot of snow.
A squirrel’s front teeth never stop growing.
Squirrels may lose 25 percent of their buried food to thieves.
They zigzag to escape predators.
Squirrels may pretend to bury a nut to throw off potential thieves.
A newborn squirrel is about an inch long.
Humans introduced squirrels to most of our major city parks.
Squirrels are acrobatic, intelligent, and adaptable.
They get bulky to stay warm during the winter.
Squirrels don’t dig up all of their buried nuts, which results in more trees!
GOACC also encourages all to use these hashtags on 1/21/23 in regards to the day: #NationalSquirrelAppreciationDay #Squirrel #SquirrelDay. For more information, please call 716-372-4433 or email member@oleanny.com.
The 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, call 716-372-4433 or email member@oleanny.com.