Wetlands Cleanup at Udalls Cove Set for May 7

The Udalls Cove Preservation Committee is looking for volunteers to take part in its annual cleanup at Virginia Point early next month.

The committee, one of the borough’s oldest preservation groups, will host its 42nd annual meeting and cleanup at Udalls Cove at 10 a.m. on May 7.

The group will hold the meeting near Aurora Pond, which is named after the late Aurora Gareiss, who founded the committee. At the meeting, updates will be provided on restoration efforts at Virginia Point.

The committee will also honor Lucille Helfat, Arthur Kelley and Thomas Gaines, all three of whom died during the past year, for their restoration, preservation and conservation efforts at the cove.

For the cleanup, attendees should meet at Sandhill Road, which is located between Douglaston and Little Neck just west of the Little Neck Rail Road station.

Participants will help remove bottles, cans and floatables along the cove’s shoreline.

Two years ago, the group removed invasive species and replanted native species of trees and shrubs as part of a $17,000 restoration project.

But on June 24, 2010, a micro-burst swept through northeast Queens, knocking down hundreds of trees and destroying some of the plantings at Udalls Cove.

The preservation committee has invested $10,000 to clear away fallen trees at the park’s trails.

State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, and state Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, D-Bayside, are expected to attend. Representatives of the city’s Parks Department will also be on-hand.

Udalls Cove Park stretches from Northern Boulevard to the freshwater wetlands around Aurora Pond and salt marsh at the edge of the eastern arm of Little Neck Bay.

Volunteers for the cleanup should wear long pants and sturdy shoes or boots. Trash collection bags will be provided, but attendees should bring their own work gloves.

A free picnic lunch will be provided at Douglaston’s Memorial Field at noon.

For more information, call Udalls Cove Preservation Committee President Walter Mugdan at 718-224-7256 or visit www.LittleNeck.net/udallscove.