Volunteers Help to make Open Space Greener

North Shore Land Alliance thanks the many active volunteers who contribute their time and energy to help us accomplish our mission.

Sometimes word of mouth is the best way to attract new volunteers. Jim was brought to the Land Alliance by our long-time volunteer Rich Kopsco. Jim helps with preserve maintenance throughout our preserve system. He has been instrumental in the removal of invasive plants, trail maintenance, marking preserve boundaries, watering new plantings, containing bamboo at the Humes Japanese Stroll Garden – you name it. Jim’s infectious laugh and smile always help make even the toughest jobs seem a bit less challenging

Humes Japanese Stroll Garden volunteers – The Stroll Garden has open hours on weekends from May to November. But our Stroll Garden volunteers are active throughout the year. Without them, the Garden would not look as lovely as it does. Under the skillful leadership of Manager Mary Schmutz, these men and women take on a wide variety of tasks, among them bamboo cutting, removing leaves and sticks from paths, grooming moss, cleaning the Tea House and setting up for special events. This spring they completed a colossal undertaking by spreading ten yards of mulch on paths throughout the Garden. Normally carried out annually, this project hadn’t been carried out in several years and the Garden was in desperate need of it!

Cheers especially to our most dedicated Garden stewardship volunteers: Linda Darby, Anna Hokun, Rich Kopsco, Ken Krumenacker, Dylan Noble, Joel Shaw, Mary Shimono and Samantha Struebe and public program leaders Yvonne Berger, Karen De Mauro, Daniel Soerghel, Michael Veracka and Linda McLaughlin.

Hats off and thank you to our 2019 Friends Academy Independent Service Project seniors, Carl Azfelius and Chas Merrill. Best of their many contributions was their dedication to the trails at Cushman Woods.

For more information about the North Shore Land Alliance Volunteer for Open Space Program, please call 516-922-1028 or [email protected].