ILMPD 2016 – – – I Love My Park Day, is an initiative of New York State Parks celebrated annually on the first Saturday of May which in 2016 falls on the 7th of May.  It is an effort to improve NYS Parks from a grassroots perspective.  Many NYS Parks hold an ILMPD event and activities may vary greatly from one state park to another.  – – – Checking the NYS Parks website is one way to ascertain where and what some activities will be for this May 7th 2016 event.   two web addresses are:  parks.ny.gov  -and-  www.nysparks.com     Parks and Trails New York ( ptny.org ) also is a website to check for info.

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This “event post” speaks specifically to – 2016 ILMPD on the GVGSP with Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway (FOGVG) who will be working on clearing debris at one specific extant former Genesee Valley Canal (GVC) lock situate on the GVG.  This locale is situate in the southeastern reaches of Letchworth State Park, essentially at the hamlet of Oakland.   Any hikers interested in joining in to clear the extant lock of the former GVC which has now become the GVG should feel free to join in this effort. (Of note: lock 60 is a very short walk in from Oakland Rd, so this is mostly a maintenance event and not much of a hike event.)

Plans are to start the day at 9:30am, working and providing for snacks and breaks as apropos, and work until Noon, with lunch provided to volunteers at 12:30pm in nearby Nunda.  All volunteers are welcome, and if you need to leave early you are welcome to do so, easily accomplished since the ILMPD – Oakland Locks site is very near the car parking area.

ILMPD is coincidentally the same day that one of Springwater Trails’ own, Katherine (Secretary of Springwater Trails, and hiker/hostess extraordinaire), will be honored with an award at Livingston County’s 30th Annual Seniorama 2016, in recognition of the many community volunteer activities she has been involved in throughout many years.  So, … if you wish to attend both the ILMPD event at Oakland locks and the Seniorama event honoring Katherine, you’ll need to make  the ILMPD lunch at Nunda Historical Society pavilion at 12:30pm a quick lunch stop and be on your way by ~12:40PM to make it to Seniorama for the 1:30PM start time.

 

Below (between the triple arrowheads) is the info copied from the FOGVG website relevant to ILMPD – GVGSP at Oakland Locks.

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2016 I Love My Park Day – Saturday, May 7, 2016 

I Love My Park Day (ILMPD) is an exciting statewide event to celebrate and enhance New York’s state parks and historic sites and bring visibility to the entire state park system and its needs. Volunteers from across the state will participate in cleanup, improvement, and beautification events at New York State parks and historic sites.   
This year the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway (FOGVG) have selected one work site rather than three for the Genesee Valley Greenway State Park.  Volunteers will clear the last lock (#60) in the flight of Genesee Valley Canal locks that begin at Oakland Road in Oakland.  We will gather at the work site at 9:30 am.  Parking is available at the parking lot on Oakland Road and along Rt. 436 or Oakland Road.

Volunteers should bring water, gloves, pruning shears or brush cutters, insect repellant, and wear heavy shoes and protective clothing to guard against heavy brush, poison ivy, and ticks.  Snacks will be available and lunch will be provided at about 12:30 pm at the nearby Nunda Historical Society pavilion.  Volunteers will receive ILMPD T-shirts.  If questions: email [email protected] or call 585-476-2354.

Volunteers are encouraged to register at the PTNY website at http://www.ptny.org/ilovemypark/ or by calling 585-476-2354.  Registering in advance on the website is strongly recommended since it avoids the need to complete Volunteer Service and Photo Release Forms on May 7th.

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hyperlink –  http://nysparks.com/parks/189/details.aspx

The flight of Oakland Locks where lock # 60 is situate is accessed via Oakland Road just north off NYS Rt 436, in the hamlet of Oakland in the Town of Portageville (just a bit west of the Village of Nunda, NY).

Of note: On the 4/24/2016 Springwater Trails hike on the GVG, hikers learned about the former Genesee Valley Canal (GVC) and also learned some about the GVG too, at the AP&HS program presented by Tom S Cook on the GVC at the Avon Opera Block on April 24th, 2016 and then following the presentation we furthered some knowledge on the S/T hike in the Town of Caledonia on the GVG .  In fact in traveling to start points all hikers paused at and one group of hikers started their hike on the GVG at NYS Rt 5 trailhead, which was the same locale used for the 1840 party celebrating the opening of the first section of the Genesee Valley Canal.

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Additionally, the following paragraph is copied from The Genesee Naturalist, a quarterly periodical about Letchworth State Park, the Genesee Region and surrounding area.  This ILMPD info is about the broader Letchworth State Park effort for ILMPD, as delineated from the Oakland locks of the GVGSP at the southeastern reaches of Letchworth SP.

“Saturday, May 7th, 2016 at 8:00am  I LOVE MY PARK DAY.  A variety of volunteer projects are offered throughout the day: tree planting, invasive species removal, landscaping, leaf raking an canal locks beautification.  Lunch and programming with Friends of Letchworth.  Trailside Lodge.  Volunteers may preregister at www.ptny.org  (4-6 hours) (led by park staff and others)”

Below (between the triple arrowheads) is the info copied for Letchworth SP – ILMPD (copied from the NYS Parks website).

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Saturday, May 7, 2016 09:00 AM – 02:00 PM
Letchworth State Park

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hyperlink – http://nysparks.com/events/event-results.aspx?pk=79

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If perhaps you are interested in ILMPD efforts for another park location – you can start at www.nysparks.com and select the park and then select upcoming events.

Also of note, here are three upcoming hikes on the GVG.  All three are led by NYS Park staff.

* on Saturday April 30th, 2016

Nature Hike from Fowlerville Road to York Landing
Saturday, April 30, 2016 10:00 AM
Genesee Valley Greenway State Park

** on Saturday May 14th, 2016:

Quaker Road to Lehigh Valley Trail (Wegmans Hike Number 4)
Saturday, May 14, 2016 10:00 AM
Genesee Valley Greenway State Park

This hike is located in Monroe County just south of the Village of Scottsville. Take River Road South from the Village, or north from Route 20. Turn east onto Quaker Road (Rt. 251). The trailhead is approximately ¼ mile ahead. Meet at the trailhead. (3.1 miles)

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*** on Saturday June 11th, 2016: