Neighbors

Cleaning up the bird sanctuary

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Forming a chain of support, Matthew Valverde, right, grasped Alexander Tepedino’s hand, middle, to keep Christopher Gregory from falling into the water as he pulled debris from the East Meadow bird sanctuary during a semi-annual cleanup on Nov. 4. Matthew Gregory, top, and Aidan Finneran looked on.
Forming a chain of support, Matthew Valverde, right, grasped Alexander Tepedino’s hand, middle, to keep Christopher Gregory from falling into the water as he pulled debris from the East Meadow bird sanctuary during a semi-annual cleanup on Nov. 4. Matthew Gregory, top, and Aidan Finneran looked on.
Donovan Berthoud/Herald

The Coalition of East Meadow Community Organizations’ semi-annual bird sanctuary cleanup yielded fantastic results on Nov. 4 as local leaders, school officials and Boy Scout members joined together to clean up the preserve.

More than 20 years ago, CEMCO partnered with the county to transform the storm recharge basin into a bird sanctuary to promote the preservation of wildlife. Today, the sanctuary is home to several wild animals, but it continues to be plagued by litter. But CEMCO President Joseph Parisi said that CEMCO will continue to clean up the preserve through its semi-annual trash pick-up.

This year, members from the Boy Scout Troop 469 rolled up their sleeves and plucked trash from the waters to help keep the sanctuary clean for wildlife. Members of the Kiwanis Club of East Meadow, East Meadow Chamber of Commerce and the East Meadow School District, along with community leaders, joined together to collect bags of trash.