Before leading his guided nature walks at Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, John Cecil loved to show pictures and tell children what they were going to encounter during their time together.

He always added one caveat.

“It’s nature,” he told them. “You never know what you’ll see.”

For years, the Liverpool native donated his time, knowledge and skills at Beaver Lake. His goal was always to get those who attended his walks in touch with the beauty and awe of nature.

“Did you know there’s three carnivorous plants here?” he asked on one walk in 2012, the year he was honored with a Post-Standard “Hero of Conservation” award, pointing out the three insect-eating pitcher plants, sundews and bladderworts found at Beaver Lake.

He also delighted in pointing out the numerous songbirds,

See Full Page