By Kimberly Brown
Suffolk County deputy presiding officer, Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), officially launched Tuesday the Park Stewardship Program, where community volunteers are selected to oversee local parks that do not have staff.
County nature trails are in need of assistance as illegal dumping and vandalism are often discovered on the paths where local residents take their daily walks.
“The responsibilities of the stewards would be to pick up trash and to notify the parks department if there is vandalism or dumping,” Hahn said. “We’ve had very high profile dumping issues, so it’s good to have eyes and ears on the ground.”
The stewards are also encouraged to help with signage to assist local residents with navigating through the trails.
Hahn said it is important to create more signage to help residents such as mothers with children to ensure they know how far the trail is to reach a particular scenic spot.
County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) expressed his gratitude for Hahn’s program, as his involvement in preserving Long Island parks dates back to 2006 when he won support for the transfer of the 365-acre former Kings Park State Hospital property to New York State parks department.
“This is very near and dear to my heart, I walk through here regularly,” he said. “This is the kind of thing that starts off small but may develop into a group where we can raise money so we can make improvements to the park.”
The falling of trees throughout Long Island trails since Hurricane Sandy in 2012 has been continuing many years later. The president of Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference, David Reisfield, has taken it upon the Greenbelt organization to remove hazardous trees on trails that caused concern for residents. “This, to me, is the best thing,” he said. “We go out every Tuesday and cover three to four miles of trail, but the more volunteers the better. I could not be happier.”
According to Hahn, stewards are not expected to cut down trees but are welcomed to use clippers for branches that may cause blockages on the trails.
“It’s important that people get to go out and experience this, and sometimes a candy wrapper or a water bottle can mar that experience,” she said. “So, having stewards that are there to help pick those up is a good thing.”
If community members are interested in becoming a part of the Park Stewardship Program they can visit the county’s parks website at suffolkcountyny.gov/departments/parks and sign up online.
