News

Mendon Foundation 2025 Annual Newsletter – December 2025

Dear friends, neighbors, and outdoors lovers, Happy Holidays! I hope you all have had a wonderful 2025. The Mendon Foundation has enjoyed a spectacular year continuing to successfully manage numerous green spaces in our surrounding communities including our land trust properties and over 16-miles of the Lehigh Valley Trail. Our six land trust properties are in better shape than ever. Hiking trails have been cleared and maintained throughout the year. Extensive water mitigation projects were Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Totiakton Trail Repair & Cleanup – November 2025

In 2007, Honeoye Falls Troop 10 scout, Stefan Napp, worked with the Mendon Foundation on his Eagle Scout project. Specifically, Stefan and his team of volunteers built a trailhead, stairs and a foot trail on the south side of the Lehigh Valley Trail to the Honeoye Creek. This path is known as the Totiakton Trail and is located between Rochester Junction and Great Bend Park. Since that time, Mendon Foundation volunteers have maintained the Totiakton Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Mendon Foundation names Lewis Nature Preserve – November 2025

This month the Mendon Foundation voted unanimously to officially name one of its land trust properties. The Mendon Foundation had received 26-acres of beautiful wooded land from Dr. Evelyn Lewis back in December 2001. This property remained unnamed over the last 24-years and was often referred to as the Mendon Foundation’s “Pittsford-Mendon Center Road property,” “Lewis property,” or “Honeoye Haven.” This month the Mendon Foundation officially named the property the “Lewis Nature Preserve” in tribute Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

French Drain Installation – Taylor Road Property – November 2025

A team of Mendon Foundation volunteers worked diligently this week to install a French drain on the entrance trail to our Taylor Road property. This Spring was exceptionally wet and as a result a short section of the trail had standing water and mud until the month of June. This prevented us from being able to mow the hiking trail loop until much later in the season than we wanted. We hope that this water Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

History comes to life at Rochester Junction – September 2025

A successful week of the long anticipated informational historical signage at Rochester Junction on Plains Road has been completed. Bud Grindle and Diane Ham, assisted by Rod Ham, have designed and installed twelve 10” x 12” site signs as well as a large overall informational sign at the location where the Lehigh Valley Railroad mainline crossed the tracks going north to Rochester and south to Hemlock giving it the name–Rochester Junction–beginning in 1892. These signs highlight Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Mendon Foundation at Greenway Cycle Challenge – September 2025

An enthusiastic group of Mendon Foundation volunteers participated at the 2nd Annual Greenway Cycle Challenge on September 13, 2025. Mendon Foundation volunteers took up position at Wadsworth Junction which is the intersection of the Genesee Greenway SP and the Lehigh Valley Trail. The volunteers cheered, rang cow bells and noise makers, and had encouraging, and sometimes comical, signs encouraging the cycling participants. For those that stopped to chat, Mendon Foundation and Lehigh Valley brochures were distributed, Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Mendon Foundation’s President speaks at Honeoye Falls-Mendon Senior Citizens Club – September 2025

Brad Carlson, President of the Mendon Foundation was the guest speaker at the Honeoye Falls-Mendon Senior Citizens Club on Tuesday September 9th in the Mendon Community Center. A catered lunch from Honeoye Falls Marketplace was served at 12:00pm and Brad spoke in front of a full house of approximately sixty (60) individuals at 1:00pm, followed by a questions and answers session.  Brad’s Mendon Foundation presentation provided the following information: If you missed this event, you Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Mendon Foundation’s 1st Perennial Plant Swap at Mendon Festival – September 2025

The Mendon Foundation hosted its first Perennial Plant Swap on Sunday September. 7th at the Mendon Festival at Mendon Station Park from 12:00pm to 5:00pm. The event was a great success with perennial plants such as Black-eyed Susan, Day Lillies, Shasta Daisies, Butterfly Bush, Hula Dancer Echinacea, Hydrangea, Spiderwort, Rose of Sharon, various colors of Iris, and more were all present. Community members brought perennial plants from their own gardens and swapped them for others Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

Black Diamond 5K & ½ Marathon Races – August 2025

Over 200 runners, enthusiastic supporters and dedicated volunteers gathered on the Lehigh Valley Trail in Mendon on Sunday, August 24th, for the fourteenth annual Black Diamond Express Half Marathon and 5K Trail Races. This year’s event drew one of the largest fields in the 14-year history of the races with runners coming from as far away as Chicago, IL to challenge themselves and support this local cause. Proceeds from the races support the Mendon Foundation, a regional non-profit that helps Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago

The Mendon Foundation Recognizes Cindy Lau – August 2025

The Mendon Foundation would like to recognize Cindy Lau, one of its long-time dedicated volunteers. Cindy has lived in the Mendon community since 1995 and has volunteered for the Mendon Foundation for the last 25 years! Cindy plants and tends eight (8) gardens along the Lehigh Valley Trail at Mendon Station Park and Rochester Junction. She loves working with the other Mendon Foundation volunteers, and when she is not doing that, she enjoys discovering local Read more

By Mendon Foundation President, ago