Although Saturday, April 4th's weather could not decide if it wanted to be warm and sunny or windy and cloudy, the Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) members were out at Stark Park in north Manchester regardless. The CLC team partnered with the Friends of Stark Park, a non-profit group dedicated to preserving and restoring the city park for their winter park clean-up. Numerous community members volunteered by clearing the park of winter damage and preparing the grounds for the annual Easter egg hunt to be held on April 11th. More information can be found on their website, www.friendsofstarkpark.org [1] .
Kit Reno, one of co-chairpersons and clean up organizer, expressed her appreciation for the strong CLC presence. She also remarked this would be the first egg hunt in which there would be no snow to help hide the 6,000 eggs. Therefore the CLC members created leaf piles to act as Easter egg hiding places along with multitasking by gathering all the sticks for egg nooks and to make it easier for the lawn mower. Wet leaves from the roadside were also raked and bagged to prevent a slip in fall hazard from happening day of the event. Members arrived at Stark Park at 8:30 AM and left a much cleaner and healthier park four hours later.
The Manchester Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) is a year-round program which engages diverse high school students in leadership development, environmental education and outdoor skills training. The Student Conservation Association, The White Mountain National Forest and Citizen's Bank have joined together to provide a platform for New Hampshire teenagers to explore new horizons, become exposed to the wonders of the outdoors, have the opportunity to learn the value of service to others, and learn about careers in the conservation field. Throughout the city of Manchester, 15-19 year-old CLC members dedicate themselves to direct hands on service while building their leadership skills and developing their ethic of service and citizenship.