More than 2,000 Long Islanders enjoyed the festivities at Captree State Park as Assemblyman Joseph Saladino hosted the ninth annual Marine and Outdoor Recreation Expo on Sept. 15.
Attendees learned about sustainable sources of energy as well as ways to protect the planet, especially the island’s marine environment. There were demonstrations in camping, boating, water safety, renewable energy, wildlife and environmental education, fly fishing, arts and crafts, face painting, clowns, touch tanks, balloon animals and plenty of rock and roll. But it was the boy and girl scouts that stole the show.
The boy scouts from Troop 5 in Massapequa served up piping hot chili for the families to enjoy.
“The kids love it and we give everyone our world famous chili and try to get the young kids interested in the scouting program,” said Scout master Russ Palumbo. “Scouting teaches kids how to behave themselves, how to teach and learn procedures, and to figure out how to handle things and do it to the best of their ability.”
The Girl Scouts also put in a strong showing with three Golden Awardees explaining their projects to the visitors. Marina Sapeta, an eleventh grader from Plainedge High School had a very unique project.
“I want to put a handicapped swing into Marjorie Post Park,” she said. “The closest one now is in Eisenhower Park. There are two types, one where you take the person out of the swing and the other is a platform swing where you put the entire wheelchair on the swing and they can be completely independent. I am looking for different opinions on what people want to see,” she continued.
Sapeta has already been funded for the project by the Massapequa Parks Department. Classmates Lauren Szalay and Reanna Sacks also showed off their projects.
‘My project is focusing on native plants and how important they are to the ecosystem of Long Island,” said Szalay. “I first got into this project when I read an article about how if there had been more native plants on Long Island maybe there would not have been as much damage during Sandy because plants would have been more established and less uprooted.”
Sacks said her project involves starting a college process club.
“I want people to know about getting into college, careers, majors, tuition and scholarships,” she said. “People don’t know what they are doing when they go into college, they just think it is a good idea and don’t know how to get a major that is going to help them in life and get a job. They are paying for high end colleges that may not be that much better than the community schools.”
Alexa Smoller going for her silver award explained her project.
“This is Hurricane Awareness and how to involve kids in helping out in getting prepared, getting out safely and creating a go kit,” she said.
The day was enjoyed by all as a family friendly event but also imparted the importance of environmental preservation for future generations to come.