Celebrating Earth Day on Grand Island

31 participate in Quality Quest’s cleanup of Buckhorn

Grand Island Dispatch, April 27, 2007

An Earth Day cleanup of Buckhorn State Park, organized
by Quality Quest, drew 31 participants last Saturday.

In celebration of a beautiful Earth Day 2007, 31 Grand Island residents contributed their efforts last Saturday to the cleanup of Buckhorn State Park, from Eagle overlook to the west and Baseline Road to the east.

This event, sponsored by the Quality Quest Environmental Coalition of Grand Island, was part of a Western New York cleanup coordinated by the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper organization.

Quality Quest President Jim Tomkins of Grand Island was very pleased with the turnout. “It confirms my belief that Grand Island residents do care about their community – with a special emphasis on the quality of its environment,” he said.

“It was a great success, not just because of the colossal amount of trash collected, but by the great diversity of the participants.” Those who took part included elected officials, educators, retirees, parents and grandparents, teen-agers, senior citizens, artisans, kayakers “and last, but not least, five members of Cub Scout Pack 510 with their parent leaders,” Tomkins said.

“Earth Day also got great support from Bill Huntoon of the New York State Parks Department, Joe Scaffidi at Allied Waste, Grand Island Council members Mary Cooke and Gary Roesch, Tops Market and our own Grand Island Highway Department,” he said. “Thank you, each and every one.”

Quality Quest has organized these annual spring and fall cleanups for many years. Tomkins said the group intends to continue raising awareness of the environment “and how important it is to all of us, especially now, as the pressure to develop marginal sites, such as protected wetlands, becomes more common.”

Also, Beaver Island State Park was the site of an Earth Day tree planting on Saturday. A number of trees at the state park were downed or damaged in last year’s devastating October snowstorm, and this was part of the effort to refurbish the park’s trees. The event was sponsored by the Niagara Region Park Interpretive Programs Office.

For more information or to participate in any of Quality Quest’s efforts, contact Tomkins at 773-5268 or jtboatwork@aol.com.