Volunteers Needed For ESTC Saturday Sunset Lake Planting
Helfrick: Grass will help deter geese and control algae growth
Volunteers are needed Saturday morning for the Asbury Park Environmental Shade Tree Commission’s grass planting along Sunset Lake.
Made possible through an $800 Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions [ANJEC] grant, members will be planting from 9 a.m to 11 a.m.
“The purpose of planting the grasses is to deter the geese population around the lake and contribute toward a final solution for addressing the algae that is preventing the use of the lake for recreational purposes,” member Gail Helfrick said.
In previous plantings, grass donated by residents thinning out their landscapes have been used, Helfrick said. The grant allowed for the purchase of 100 plants.
The ESTC’s ongoing volunteer cleanup and maintenance of the lake was stalled during the past two years after the health department and the NJDEP encouraged no activity around the lake due its conditions.
Health concerns were posed by the significant level of algae measured in the lake by the NJDEP Division of Water Monitoring and Standards, according to the grant application. 
The geese population fecal matter contributing to the algae growth, the Baykeepers of NY and NJ recommended the planting of sea grass.
Because the geese refer to lay their eggs at water’s edge, the grass will help keep them at bay, Helfrick said.
In 2015, the ESTC embedded 160 plants around a portion of the lake, and in March 2016 they cleared over 50 bags of trash from around the waterbody.
Sunset Lake does feed into Deal Lake, Deal Lake Commission Chair Don Brockel has said.
The ESTC is also kicking off their geese population mitigation program. Led by Chair Tom Pivinski and Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn, the addled eggs are oiled and monitored through May.
Those with nests on their property or who find nests on the three Asbury Park lakes can contact the group via Facebook.
The ESTC members and volunteers maintain public gardens, parks and lakes on a weekly basis from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturdays throughout the year. Between May and September the group adds an additional in field day from 9 a.m to 11 am. Wednesdays.
The committee meets 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month in City Council Chamber, located at 1 Municipal Plaza.
To donate grass and for more information, visit their Facebook page.
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