An area which had long lost its original identity as a picnic grove began to appear again on Saturday, April 21 as 15 UTS students participated in a three day clean-up project at Forsyth Park, the oldest of Kingston's recreational areas. Other participants came from the Junior League, the city's Parks and Recreation Department, the Ulster County Alternative Sentencing Program and the Kingston branch of the NAACP.

The UTS participants were working under the auspices of the International Relief and Friendship Foundation and the Family Forum whose director, Dr. Shawn Byrne coordinated the UTS effort along with Jesus Navarro who is featured in this month's student profiles. By cutting away branches, pulling out roots and digging up trunks, the participants revealed an area of rugged beauty amid the park's trees. City Parks Commissioner Ron Woods said the clean-up was part of an ongoing effort by the city to return the parks to their former splendor. "The picnic grove was quite the place to be years ago," he said. "People would get to the park and stake out their table. It was very popular." In addition to improving the appearance of the area, Mr. Woods said that the trees and brush were also removed so that parents could more easily keep an eye on their children.

Dr. Byrne said that future plans call for the planting of flowers on the newly cleared slopes which could provide a perfect venue for the celebration of the nationally recognized Parents Day in late July.

On the day after the conclusion of this project, President Clinton and Vice President Gore celebrated Earth Day by helping to clear overgrown brush from a park in Washington D.C.

Download entire page and pages related to it in ZIP format
Table of Contents
Copyright Information