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Group adds to beauty of trail
By BOB JACKSON
BAZETTA
Thomas McAfoose surveyed his troops Saturday morning, gave them their instructions and assignments and then sent them into the field with the final words of caution, “Just be careful out there.”
No, it wasn’t a scene from “Hill Street Blues.” It was the beginning of the day for volunteer workers at Mosquito Lake State Park, where some 25 people gathered in the name of National Public Lands Day.
The workers, of all ages and walks of life, were divided into teams and helped with projects aimed primarily at cleaning up, beautifying and improving the area along the park’s Lakeview Nature Trail.
“We’ve got plenty to do,” McAfoose said. “Some of it’s pretty hard work.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the parkland and leases it to the state, has had National Public Lands Day each year for the past 17 years, always in September. McAfoose and Dianne Kolodziejski, the park’s resource manager, said Mosquito Lake has had scaled-back work days in conjunction with past National Public Lands Days, but this was only the second year of an actual organized effort.
“We just didn’t have the local work force here to pull something like that off before,” Kolodziejski said. She said the park now has built up a fairly stable corps of people who volunteer regularly. “They have taken this area and turned it into a showplace, really.”
McAfoose, park ranger, said last year was the first time the USACE emphasized a strong push for an organized effort such as this in its Pittsburgh District, which includes Northeast Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and parts of New York and Maryland.
He said Saturday’s project at Mosquito Lake included setting 15 posts along the half-mile nature trail, on which plaques are to be mounted indicating various plants, trees and wildlife that typically can be seen along the trail, located just off state Route 305. Workers also spread gravel and trimmed weeds along the trail, planted flowers, shrubs and trees near the park’s resource-management office and did general cleanup and litter pickup.
The nature trail includes a wildlife viewing platform that overlooks an osprey nest.
“This is the public’s land,” said McAfoose, who took over as ranger at the park just more than two months ago. “We’re giving them this day, this opportunity, dedicated to them so they can come in and help make it better.”
Nationally, some 150,000 volunteers were expected to show up at various state parks across the country for similar work days along public trails and bridges.
Volunteers who came out Saturday at Mosquito Lake were provided with work gloves as well as the necessary tools. They worked for about three hours, after which the USACE provided them with a picnic lunch.
Nearly a dozen of those who came out Saturday were with the Christian Rangers from Good Shepherd Community Church of Leavittsburg. Dressed in military-style camouflage fatigues, caps and boots, they’d come ready to work.
“We do community- service projects all over the place,” said 15-year-old Ray Ellis of Cortland, noting that Saturday was not the first time the group had volunteered at the park. “It’s what our team is about.”
“We kind of got volunteered [by our leaders]” said 16-year-old Raelyn Kennedy of Warren, laughing. “But I’m happy to be here.”
“It’s better than sitting at home playing video games,” said John Ellis, 13, also of Cortland. And with that, the three were off to begin their day of work.
Neighbors Kelsey Schuster and Tom Shay, both of Braceville, said they’re part of local 4-H groups and came out to help as part of their clubs’ focus on public service. Schuster, 16, is with the Silver Claws Cat Club, and Shay, 18, is with the Newton Duck Creek Travelers 4-H Club.