Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania

The mission of Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is to educate people of Southwestern Pennsylvania and encourage them to take care of nature. 

 Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve, located in the Borough of Fox Chapel, has been headquarters for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania since 1977. Beechwood's 134 acres contain more than five miles of walking trails, which are open to the public from dawn to dusk everyday, year-round. The reserve offers a variety of outdoor experiences.

The property was acquired in 1903 by state senator William Flinn, one of Allegheny County's most powerful politicians, who, after his retirement from politics, established himself as a gentleman farmer at his summer residence on Dorseyville Road. Flinn called his new enterprise "Beechwood Farms."

Like the homes of the field, pond and woodland community animals that surround it, the education building blends with and takes advantage of Beechwood's abundant natural resources.

Today, Audubon at Beechwood enjoys the completed Audubon Center for Native Plants. This center furthers ASWP's educational mission by promoting the community's use of native plant species in landscaping and gardening, in order to provide better habitat for native birds and animals and to minimize the need for harmful pesticides.