Volunteers pick up trash at Brookside Preserve

Posted Tuesday, October 20, 2015 12:00 am

Robert Kess of Lindenhurst helped clear debris from the Brookside Preserve in Baldwin. Kess uses a walking stick and clean-up stick made from recycled wood.

Photos by Maureen Lennon/Herald

David Viana, a past president of the Baldwin Civic Association, and an aide to Legislator Laura Curran, assisted with the Brookside Preserve cleanup.

Marion Dickey, left, and Legislator Laura Curran take a break from picking up trash.

Curran and Viana fill trash bags with debris at the Brookside Preserve.

Baldwin Civic Association President Karen Montalbano was half-hidden by the trees and bushes at the Brookside Preserve.

By Adrienne Lyons

About 25 local volunteers gathered at the Brookside Preserve in Baldwin and Freeport on Oct. 10 to pick up trash and clean the waterways.

Nassau County Legislator Laura Curran organized the cleanup. On the Baldwin side, Curran said, about 10 people pitched in. About 10 members of the Friends of Freeport civic group came to the Freeport side; they were joined by about a half-dozen more individuals.

Curran said she was generally pleased by the condition of the 22-acre tract. “Every time we do it [a cleanup], there’s less trash to find,” she said. “We have to go farther in.”

According to the county’s website, the preserve is a tract of natural woodlands and freshwater wetlands that feature woods with red maple, white oak and cherry trees, along with numerous bird species, such as the wood thrush and tufted titmouse.

“I think when people go in there, they see there’s less trash, so they throw away less,” Curran said. “It’s sending a message.”

Report an inappropriate comment