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home Town earns eco-honorBy Michael DinanStaff Writer May 24, 2007 A leading environmental education group with strong Greenwich roots yesterday honored the town as a careful steward of its land, coastline and Long Island Sound. "Throughout the years of SoundWaters, from its inception, we can look to Greenwich as being a real friend," Old Greenwich resident Len Miller, founder of SoundWaters, said yesterday during a luncheon at the Greenwich Boat & Yacht Club. "It's very gratifying to see all the work that Greenwich has done and will continue to do." About 30 SoundWaters staff and board members, town officials and residents attended the free, 90-minute event, in which the nonprofit organization designated Greenwich as the first-ever "SoundHarbor." The designation recognizes efforts from volunteer groups and town workers to control erosion and sediment, collect hazardous waste, operate a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant, offer pump-out facilities for boaters and revitalize shellfish beds, said Leigh Shemitz, SoundWaters' executive director. "Greenwich both celebrates its beauty and recognizes its responsibility," Shemitz said as attendees gathered on the Grass Island club's sunny lawn to eat and hear speeches and presentations. "They do extraordinary amounts of nuts and bolts stuff: stormwater maintenance and drainage, the innovative work of the Shellfish Commission, developing conservation areas on the shore and islands, the fish ladder. They make the tie between land use management and habitat health." Three other municipalities --Ê.Stamford and Mamaroneck and Oyster Bay, N.Y. -- are also to receive the SoundHarbor designation this year, Miller said. Moments before receiving a miniature model of the SoundWaters educational schooner as a gift, First Selectman Jim Lash credited the organization as an effective advocate for a clean and healthy Sound. "They do a great job of getting the word out about things we can all do to clean up Long Island Sound, and indeed a lot of progress has been made over the last 20 years," Lash said. Founded in Greenwich in 1989, SoundWaters uses its center at Cove Island Park in Stamford and 80-foot schooner to give kids and adults a hands-on education about the Sound and its watershed. The luncheon is part of SoundWaters' weeklong celebration of Greenwich. Events so far have included school-based educational sails aboard the three-masted schooner, public sails and public charters. Speakers at the luncheon also included a representative from Rep. Christopher Shays' office, Bob Araujo of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and officials from United Technologies. Space is still available for public ecology and sunset sails from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. To register or get further information, call 406-3319 or go to www.soundwaters.org. Applicants will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis. Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
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