Leadership Greater Syracuse Graduates Working as Scientists and Engineers on Onondaga Lake Improvement Projects
More than 50 volunteers from Leadership Greater Syracuse (LGS) gathered at Nine Mile Creek on Saturday, April 27, to volunteer with the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps as part of a 2012 class project celebrating Earth Day. The environmental stewards helped enhance habitat at Nine Mile Creek, which is becoming part of a green corridor connecting habitat from Onondaga Lake to the Geddes Brook wetlands.
 Volunteers get their hands dirty as they plant native plants and shrubs. |
 Frank Moses, director of Montezuma Audubon Center, leads volunteers on a birding walk at Nine Mile Creek. |
More than a dozen LGS alumni are part of the Honeywell team as members of key alliance partners Parsons, O’Brien & Gere, and Anchor QEA. “LGS is the premier community leadership training organization in Central New York, equipping today’s leaders for the challenges of tomorrow. Its mission is to inspire current and future leaders to make a difference in the community where we live and work.”
“I’m proud to be working on the lake cleanup and am excited to share this enthusiasm with environmental stewards from LGS,” said Tim Johnson, LGS class of 2008 alumnus and senior project manager at Parsons. “My experiences at LGS were invaluable when we created the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps, an opportunity for the community to help us improve habitat and become engaged in the lake cleanup.”
On Saturday, volunteers planted more than 200 shrubs, plants, and trees and learned about wetlands and their importance in supporting the Onondaga Lake watershed from habitat experts from Montezuma Audubon Center, Parsons, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), and Honeywell.
 Experts from Montezuma Audubon Center and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) lead volunteers on a birding walk to track native species. |
“I drive by this site frequently. It’s illuminating to see exactly what’s going on up close,” said Matt Simone, LGS class of 2012. “It was exciting to learn about the outreach that goes beyond Onondaga Lake and see how our actions are interconnected.”
“Through collaboration with partners such as LGS, we continue achieving the community’s vision of a healthy, sustainable asset for future generations,” said Honeywell Syracuse Program Director John McAuliffe.
 An LGS volunteer plants a native tree to enhance habitat at Nine Mile Creek. |
Since the formation of the Conservation Corps in summer 2012, events have brought together hundreds of volunteers who have become environmental stewards and Corpsmembers.
Founding members of the Corps include Montezuma Audubon Center, Onondaga Audubon Society, Parsons, O’Brien & Gere, and Honeywell.
The Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps future activities include plantings at Upper Harbor Brook, Nine Mile Creek, and Onondaga Creek, as well as building habitat structures for attracting animals and birds. Schools, community groups, local organizations, and individuals are welcome.
To learn more about the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps or participate in future activities, please contact Frank Moses at montezuma@audubon.org or call 315-365-3588.
For more information on the Onondaga Lake cleanup, please visit www.lakecleanup.com.
