Volunteers at the bird sanctuary The Emmaus service group from Chaminade High School spent a day at the Garden City Bird Sanctuary in support of the October 23 “Make-A-Difference” Day. Brother Peter Heiskell and Brother Patrick Sarsfield accompanied a dozen young men from Chaminade’s service organization. The boys spent much of the day dragging several large white pine trees along the trails and planting them on one of the slopes. The native evergreens provide year-round nesting and roosting sites for local birds. The students then removed a tangled vine of invasive oriental bittersweet which was strangling one of the black cherry trees by “Big Sister” Corner. More than a dozen large bags were needed to package the vine for rubbish. The boys also dug out and weeded several areas of the community nature preserve so that younger volunteers for the “Make-A-Difference” program have an easier time planting bulbs and perennials.

Bird Sanctuary Directors Matt Fay and Rob Alvey welcomed the group and thanked them for their continued support. Chaminade volunteers included: Brian Allen, Andrew Mastanduono, Phil Falzone, Will Downey, James Fitzgerald, Matt Wierzel, Joe Leahy. Will Brown, Steve Bondi, Uchenna Kema and Jim Gregg. “Make-A-Difference Day” is a national day of volunteer community service. For information contact Rob Alvey at 326-1720.