Riverkeeper 'Spring Shoreline Cleanup' on April 21

BUFFALO NIAGARA RIVERKEEPER

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VOLUNTEERS FOR “SPRING CLEANING” ALONG WNY WATERWAYS

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is recruiting volunteers to join the Spring Shoreline Cleanup on Saturday, April 21, 2012 from 9am to noon.

With the early spring weather we are experiencing in Western New York, many people are starting spring cleaning in their homes and yards.  Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is seeking volunteers to help with “spring cleaning” of 35 parks and green spaces along our Buffalo Niagara shorelines.

Individuals as well as families, community groups, employee groups, service clubs, student groups, school clubs, scouts, churches, and volunteer groups can help remove the unsightly trash and debris that has accumulated over the winter.  This trash and debris is harmful to wildlife and degrades water quality.  Volunteers that participate in the movement to beautify Buffalo and Niagara’s waterways, will receive a thank you gift, and are invited to attend Riverkeeper’s volunteer appreciation picnic following the cleanup.

With 35 locations to choose from, there will be groups participating in most communities within the Buffalo Niagara area.  New this year is a team of volunteers along the Robert Moses Bike Path in Niagara Falls.  If you’re feeling adventurous, join the rugged volunteers on the banks of Scajaquada Creek in Buffalo, or enjoy the view while you help out at Isle View Park in Tonawanda.

For a complete list of Cleanup sites, to register online, and for more information, please visit www.bnriverkeeper.org or call Elizabeth Lamont at 716.852.RIVER x 19.  Please register by Wednesday, April 11, 2012.

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is grateful for the sponsorship of the M & T Charitable Foundation.
Media Contacts:
Kerri Bentkowski Li , Director of Citizen Action Programs
(716) 852-7483 (work)
(410) 446-8973 (cell)

Volunteer for the Spring Shoreline Sweep

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper asking citizens to join the Spring Shoreline Sweep to clean up the shorelines in Western New York on Saturday, April 16, 9am to noon. We encourage all volunteers to participate in the movement to beautify Buffalo and Niagara’s waterways.

Families, community groups, employee groups, service clubs, school clubs, scouts, churches, and individuals can help at over 40 sites across Erie and Niagara Counties. Sites in great need of volunteers include: Scajaquada Creek, Broderick Park, Amherst State Park, Ellicott Creek Park, South Park, Gratwick Park and more. For a complete list of sites, to register, and for more information, please visit bnriverkeeper.org/clean, or call Joy Knowlton at 716.852.RIVER ext. 19. Register by Thursday, April 7.

Site Captain registration is also open. Sites that still need captains include Beaver Meadows Audubon Center in Java, Cazenovia Creek Park, Dann Lake Park in East Amherst, Dingens Park and Street, Ellicott Creek at Ellicott Creek Park in Tonawanda, Erie Basin Beach and Marina, Houghton Park, LaSalle Park of Buffalo, North Creek South Creek Park, Ontario Street Boat Launch, Seneca Bluffs, Smokes Creek, South Park and Times Beach.

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is grateful for the sponsorship of the M & T Charitable Foundation, the Buffalo Sabres Green Team, and our many sponsors of materials and services.

Buffalo Niagara Green Expo - Volunteers Needed

Buffalo Niagara Green Expo

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 at the Walden Galleria

The 3rd annual Green Expo will include over 100 exhibitors and presenters who will demonstrate how to GO GREEN.

Western New Yorkers will learn how to lower their energy bills and carbon footprint, maintain a sustainable lifestyle, and explore what green jobs can do for WNY. Education and fun will come together in the Kids’ Zone where children can take part in exciting environmentally- themed activities. See www.bnge.org to learn more.

Volunteers will be needed to distribute posters, help with Friday evening set up, assist exhibitors, distribute posters, and make sure the Green Expo is another huge success.

If interested in being a Green Expo Volunteer, please contact:

Frank at fbarci@roadrunner.com or 626-4938

or

Mike at mlindaman@roadrunner.com or 688-3888

UPDATE, Feb.25: Solar Liberty has agreed to be a Major Sponsor for the Expo this year!

Water Plants gone Wild! Volunteers Needed

Water Chestnut plants have covered the surface of Tonawanda Creek near Ellicott Island Park and parts of the Erie Canal (see photo). This invasive plant eliminates native plants by forming a dense layer on the surface that blocks sun from reaching the native plants underwater. Water chestnut invasions also limit boating and fishing.

[Buffalo News photo - Click to enlarge]

Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER's new habitat restoration program, RestoreCorps, is to aiming to remove the water chestnut by mobilizing VOLUNTEERS in conjunction with U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Great Lakes Fish and Conservation Office which will use a mechanical harvester to remove plants for six days starting August 2nd. About 200 metric TONS of plants will be removed from a 6 acre area.

VOLUNTEERS are needed in two ways:

1. From Monday, August 2 through Friday, August 6, between 8am to 6pm daily, volunteers are needed to off-load plants from the harvester onto a conveyor system escalating up the bankside to the parking lot, where plants will be loaded into dump trucks and transported to a compost facility.

2. On Saturday, August 7 from 8:30 am-12:30 pm, volunteers are needed to hand pull any remaining plants from the shoreline and from the water by canoe, kayak, and boat. Volunteers will be trained in proper removal techniques.

To VOLUNTEER, please contact Bryan LoVullo by calling 852-7483, extension 23, or by E-mail at blovullo@bnriverkeeper.org.

For more information, see an article in The Buffalo News and additional photos at Invasive.org

A video from WIVB News is below:

Volunteers: Greenhouses & Garden Beds

[Click image to enlarge]

Volunteers: Hoop House Urban Farming

[Click image to enlarge]

Volunteers - Spring Shoreline Sweep

Volunteers Still Needed for Spring Shoreline Sweep The Spring Shoreline Sweep is this Saturday, April 17th, from 9am to noon. Volunteers will be cleaning our area parks and waterways at over 30 locations all over Western New York. Large groups, small groups, and individuals of all ages are welcome to participate! More volunteers are especially needed at Houghton Park in Buffalo, North Creek Drive Park in Cheektowaga, the north end of Squaw Island Park in Buffalo, and along Scajaquada Creek in Buffalo (meeting at the American Legion Post 1041 at 533 Amherst Street). For more info or to sign up, contact Adrienne at (716) 852-7483 or akina@bnriverkeeper.org. For a complete list of sites, a map, and to register, Click Here . Volunteers will receive a free t-shirt and after the cleanup, all are invited to a picnic at the American Legion on Amherst Street in Buffalo. Come and enjoy a free meal for a job well done!

Green Expo: Exhibitors, Volunteers, Attendees

Message from Bill Nowak:
The Green Expo, sponsored by Senator Antoine Thompson, is coming up Saturday, April 17th at the Walden Galleria Mall.
It promises to be a spectacular event !!

EXHIBITORS: It's not too late to register as an exhibitor - go to the registration tab at the top of the page at www.bnge.org

VOLUNTEERS: We can use help of course.
Our final organizing meeting for the Green Expo will be Tuesday, April 13th - 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Environmental Education Associates 346 Austin Street near where Grant turns into Military.

We will be setting up for the Expo between 9:30 and 11 PM on Friday evening and between 7:30AM and 10 AM on Saturday, Breakdown will be 5:30-7:00 on Saturday. There will be lots to do during the Expo from 10 to 6 on Saturday. If you can possibly help please come to our session on Tuesday. If you want to help but can't be there Tuesday, please send an email to Janet at janetmg@verizon.net and expect to hear from her after next Tuesday.

ATTENDEES: There are many reasons you should come to this FREE event! To find out more about the Green Expo and the Resource Conservation Program KID’S ZONE sponsored by National Fuel, Click Here.

Park and enter at the SEARS store. The Green Expo will be held nearby on the 1st floor.

Volunteers - Clean Air Coalition

To view in a Full Screen and access Web Links, click here.

[click Image to enlarge]

Volunteers - Spring Shoreline Sweep

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is seeking citizens to join the Spring Shoreline Sweep, to help clean up the shorelines in Western New York on Saturday, April 17, 9:00am to noon. We encourage all volunteers to participate in the movement to beautify Buffalo and Niagara’s waterways.

Families, community groups, employee groups, service clubs, scouts and individuals can help at 37 sites across Erie and Niagara Counties. Sites in great need of volunteers include: Scajaquada Creek, Broderick Park, Hoyt Lake, Seneca Bluffs, South Park, and more. For a complete list of sites, a map, and to register, Click Here .

For additional information, contact Adrienne Kina at 716.852.RIVER (7483) ext. 19, or akina@bnriverkeeper.org.


Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper cleanups are a part of, and made possible by, the Great American Cleanup, a nation-wide effort to Keep American Beautiful.