WAWARSING – On Saturday, November 21, a group of volunteers made their way to Lippman Park to volunteer their time planting trees, shrubs, and bushes around the upper end of the pond where the dredging was done earlier this summer. The group, comprised of Boy Scouts and adults, worked so well together that it was obvious that the experience of the adults and the enthusiasm of the Boy Scouts made for a successful day for all those involved. The volunteers were Kevin Greiser of the DEC-Estuary Department, Sharon Whispell and Joyce Smith of the Shawangunk Garden Club, Troop 28 Boy Scout Leader Tim Bilyeu, Boy Scouts Zachary Bilyeu, Elias Lugardo, Zacharias Lugardo, Thomas Fergison, Charles Reid, and Andrew Reid, and the Reids' father Kevin.

According to Greiser (who was an Eagle Scout himself), "we planted 15 silver maple trees, two smooth alders, four sycamores, six black willows, and a variety of serviceberry, buttonbush, silky dogwood, red-osier dogwood, witch hazel, swamp rose, sandbar willow, elderberry, and cranberry bushes, totaling 125 plants, bushes, and trees." Kevin is assisting with the NYSDEC "Trees for Tribs" program, which is "Replanting the Streams of the Hudson Valley." These trees will protect water quality, fish and wildlife, and also reduce erosion and flooding.

Greiser coordinated the placement of the donated items around the pond and gave a very thorough demonstration of the proper way to plant all the trees, shrubs and bushes. Thanks go out to Anthony Avery, Sr., and Charles Cromwell of the Highway Department for dropping off a truckload of mulch from the landfill.

The Boy Scouts clearly enjoyed the project, and hopefully this will grow into something that will include other projects at the park for them. They will earn credits toward merit badges that are the ladder upon which they climb through the ranks toward the ultimate goal of earning the Eagle Scout designation. Although it is not necessary to progress to this level, their goal is to learn many of life's lessons along the way.

At day's end, there was good conversation, feelings of accomplishment, and a bonding of those who did not know each other before the day began. Anyone wishing to learn more about the Boy Scouts of America, please contact Tim Bilyeu (Troop 28 Scout Master) at 647-1513.

Kevin Greiser also dropped off another 75 plants and bushes later that week with a diagram to finish off the project. Finishing touches were done Saturday, November 28, with the help of Town Alternative Sentencing Officer Richard Constant and his group of individuals assigned by the court to work off their sentence in a productive way.

In other park news, Douglas Nikkila, Hank Duval and Jeremiah Brown have laid out two more miles of multi-purpose trails totaling around 3.5 miles thus far. These trails can be used for mountain biking, cross country skiing, snow shoes, running, or just a reflective walk in the park. We have ordered three-inch color-coded round trail markers to define the trails and signage to inform our visitors to the park of such trails. I can't thank them enough for their initiative, knowledge of trail design, and "get the job done attitude" that can only translate into a positive recreational and economic benefit for our residents. Plans are in the works for events to be held at Lippman Park in 2010.

Regarding Kanfer Park, under the leadership of Highway Superintendent Gil Davis, Foreman Mike Yonker and his crew of Anthony Avery, Sr., Anthony Avery, Jr., Charles Cromwell, and Todd Booth have taken a major step in repairing the maintenance access road on Kerness Road. Visitors to the park will access the park from Old Greenfield Road in Greenfield Park. There is still some more work to be done, like constructing a culvert at the bottom of the road entering the park in order to divert the water from washing out the road.

In addition to the aforementioned work, Tommy Coniker, Jason Budd, and Fred Dupont also have been working on the Kerness Road access. They cut the brush along the road, ditched the road, and built a headwall to reconstruct the road from the 2005 flood.

Special thanks go to all those involved in promoting our park. We are very fortunate here in the Town of Wawarsing to have such generous volunteers and employees that are willing to go that extra mile in making things happen.