Monday, October 29, 2007

New Chautauqua County Nature Preserve

Greystone Nature Preserve Off And Running
 County Executive Gregory Edwards, accompanied by his son, Bronson, opened a celebration marking two special anniversaries for Greystone Nature Preserve owners, Bill Moran and Diane Clark, shown with another visitor, left, Kay Barlow of Fredonia.
10/29/2007 - For Bill Moran and Diane Clark, nature is their thing. So, when torrents of rain recently threatened to halt an open house celebration there were no moans or groans. The couple simply moved the affair from lawn to garage, while the rain did what it is supposed to do — water gardens and fields.

The big event marked their wedding anniversary, and their adoption just a year ago, of an area of Bear Lake Road which establishes the pair as the official litter removers along that segment of the town of Pomfret's two-lane route.

Among the small group of ''country road'' visitors and entrepreneurs were Chautauqua County Executive Gregory Edwards, accompanied by his son, Bronson.

Edwards cut a ribbon signaling the official opening of the celebration. Nodding toward the pristine roadsides, Edwards urged others in the area ''to do the same thing. ... Just imagine how much cleaner it would be, if we all assumed the responsibility of keeping our roadsides and land free of litter,'' he said.

When they first met several years ago, it took only a ''litter'' time for the pair to realize they shared a passion for the earth and a mission to preserve the land, and to keep it clean.

Since tying the knot of matrimony eight years ago, they have established Greystone Nature Preserve, a rolling tract of more than 70 acres where flower and vegetable plants grow almost as high as Jack's magic beanstalk, and where they make their home at 8531 Bear Lake Road.

''Keeping the road clean,'' Mrs. Clark said, ''is really not that much of a chore. We usually take care of it, when we walk our dog.''

Trash, she said, is not merely dumped in a bag. The litter is weighed and the type of refuse recorded.

''Knowing what is being dumped, often helps us find ways of preventing types of litter,'' she said.

The two also work as nature activity coordinators at the Cassadaga Job Corps Academy.

''We love to share our love of the earth with the kids,'' she said.

Projects with students include recycling, and regular litter clean-ups along Glasgow Road, where the complex is located.

''It's wonderful to see the kids' reaction to camping, getting to know and understand nature,'' she said. ''For students from cities, the rural environment is a whole, new exciting world.''

''The preserve,'' she said, ''offers a wonderful place to introduce young people and others to birds, wildlife, plants, and trees. Greystone is our effort to preserve 72 acres just as it is ... so future generations may enjoy 200-year-old trees, and find sanctuary in a natural world, balanced and harmonic as nature intended.''
 
For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com
 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for presenting us in your blog! We've begun to mount our own web site at greystonenaturepreserve.com and we'd love to have you come visit.