NEW CITY, NY – County Executive Ed Day and the Division of Environmental Resources presented the 23rd County Executive’s Outstanding Environmental Volunteer Award to Haverstraw resident Tim Sanders during a ceremony at Kennedy Dells County Park in New City. Tim has worked for several years on the American Eel Project at the Minisceongo Creek in West Haverstraw.

“While we have faced many challenges this year, one of the unexpected benefits of our situation is that many more residents are exploring our county parks and other natural environments that they may not have taken the time to visit in the past,” said County Executive Ed Day. “They are getting the chance to see and appreciate the hard work of volunteers like Tim Sanders.”

Volunteers like Tim are trained to count, weigh, and relocate the eels that are caught as part of this project. We relocate them above the nearest barrier to help them in their long journey upstream. But not only Tim is involved in this work, he brings along young people from Haverstraw.

“This is where Tim truly excels; he leads by example. If you have seen him, dressed in waders – in the middle of the Minisceongo Creek then you know what I’m talking about. The is a powerful example for youth in Haverstraw and North Rockland. Establishing this connection between local kids and the natural environment instills a type of community pride that is long lasting and has will affect the rest of their lives,” said County Executive Day.

A pink dogwood tree was planted in his honor at Kennedy Dells County Park.

During his acceptance speech Tim Sanders said, “it is through these different adventures and exposures that I have been blessed to work with these wonderful kids. I feel that I’m not too old to learn, and they’re not too young to teach and I try to keep that spirit with me every day. This is not just for me; I plan to bring these kids back here to see our tree.”

Legislator Harriet Cornell, Chairwoman of the Environmental Committee of the Rockland County Legislature spoke during the ceremony, “to really understand why Tim Sanders has been selected as this year’s Outstanding Environmental Volunteer, treat yourself to the sight of young children in waders counting and releasing young eels in the Hudson. Their happy faces reveal what their time with Tim means to them. He has involved children from the Haverstraw Center in this DEC project for many years, as well as getting them involved in park clean-ups and Rockland’s Planning Land Use program. Not only are these children learning about environmental protection, they are becoming stewards of their community and their world, thanks to Tim.”

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“Tim consistently goes above and beyond his duties as the Project Coordinator for the Division of Youth and Family Services at the Haverstraw Center. He is an innovator – always willing to find a new way to get young people involved and instill in them pride in their community,” concluded County Executive Day.