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18th Annual Canal Clean Sweep

New York’s Largest Earth Day Celebration Along the Canalway Kicks Off Friday, April 21

Photo Submitted

Audubon Community Nature Center has named four judges for its 2023 Nature Photography Contest, where Youth and Adults compete for $1,600 in prize money. Pictured is the 2022 winner in the Adult Landscapes category, “Cheaha Sunset” by Christopher Baker of Madison, Alabama.

Jamestown, N.Y. – A panel of four judges will choose the Adult and Youth winners in the categories of Animals, Plants and Landscapes in the Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC) 2023 Nature Photography Contest. All winners receive a $200 cash prize.

Three honorable mentions will also be named.

Two additional $200 cash prizes are awarded for the Adult and Youth photos receiving the most Community Choice votes online. A photo could receive both the Community Choice and a judged award. Full details of the competition are at GoGoPhotoContest.com/

ACNCPhotoContest2023, where you can submit photos and see the 2022 contest winners.

Judging the entries will be Ron Durant, Wanda Krack, Tom Morack and Bill Smith. With decades of experience as photographers, all have judged photography contests as well. Details of the background of each can be found on the Judges page on the competition website. ACNC will print the winning photographs to exhibit in the Nature Center. Winning and honorable mention photographs will be displayed on the contest website and announced in a widely distributed news release.

The sooner photographs are submitted, the longer the public can vote for them for the Community Choice awards. Photographers are reminded to encourage friends and family to vote for their photo(s). All the social media buttons are there for postings.

Deadline for submissions is Sunday, July 2, 2023.

Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways. To learn more, visit AudubonCNC.org.

Easter egg hunts and other eggceptional traditions

Sunday, and eggs became, once again, important and nutritious staples — especially for poor families that couldn’t afford much meat. Eggs also were given to the church by medieval English villagers and also to the lords of the manor. Royals eventually got in on the act, and decorated eggs were distributed to the household in a tradition that was one of the earliest to include eggs.

Egg hunts and more recreational resource for locals and visitors alike.

Volunteers are encouraged to register today, as groups across New York State repare for the 18th Canal Clean Sweep, to be held April 21-23, 2023. Canal Clean Sweep is an annual cleanup event held across the New York State Canal System and Canalway Trail. With more than 100 events and more than 2,500 volunteers expected along the more than 400-milelong Canalway Trail system and the 524-mile-long Canal system, Canal Clean Sweep is New York's largest Earth Day clean-up event. This weekend provides opportunities for thousands of residents to give back to their local communities and to show pride in one of New York’s most iconic cultural and recreational resources.

Clean Sweep is scheduled to coincide with the annual Earth Day celebrations on Saturday, April 22.

Canal Clean Sweep will be one of a number of events held around the state to recognize the ongoing commitment to improving the health of our natural environment, in addition to being part of a nationwide celebration to encourage people to get outside and enjoy our exceptional trails and trail systems.

To register, click on a pin on the interactive map by visiting www. ptny.org/canalsweep to sign up for the event you would like to attend. Make sure to note the date and time as most events occur the weekend of April 21-23, but some clean-ups might be earlier or later. Please keep in mind that volunteers can only register for public events through the interactive map. Those that are attending a private event should contact the host directly.

Canal Clean Sweep 2023 is organized by the non-profit Parks & Trails New York, in partnership with the New York State Canal Corporation.

Easter is celebrated in various ways. Traditional religious commemorations include Saturday evening Easter vigils and Sunday morning Resurrection masses. Parents may spend Easter weekend putting the finishing touches on Easter Bunny baskets, and many families favor a combination of traditions.

Since religious as well as secular imagery and traditions have melded to form the Easter most individuals recognize today, a mix of customs may be part of your Easter festivities. Among them will be colored eggs, egg hunts and possibly even egg rolls. Just how was the Easter egg tradition hatched?

Pre-Christian societies

Before Christianity was as widespread as it is in modern times, many societies associated eggs with spring and new life. Many birds and animals lay eggs early in spring, and these eggs tend to hatch upon the arrival of the warm weather, budding flowers and buzzing insects.

Ancient Persians are believed to have painted eggs for Nowrooz, their new year celebration that would fall on the spring equinox each year.

Eggs also have been part of Passover celebrations. A hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water is served at a Passover seder, symbolizing both new life away from oppression and the Passover sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem, according to Chabad.org.

Lent, Christianity and eggs

In medieval times, eating eggs was forbidden during Lent, when both dairy and meat were avoided.

To reduce waste, eggs laid during Lent were boiled or preserved in some way.

The fast ended on Easter

Some historians suggest that egg hunts can be traced back to German Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who organized egg hunts for his congregation. The men would hide the eggs for the women and children to find. This symbolized the story of Christ’s resurrection, when the tomb was discovered by women. The eggs also represented Jesus’ new life and his emergence from the tomb.

Egg hunts are not the only egg-related games that were hatched for Easter celebrations. According to the website Learn Religions, some European children go from house to house begging for Easter eggs, like children may ask for treats on Halloween. The custom is called “pace-egging,” a term derived from the old word for Easter, “Pasch.” Egg rolls also are symbolic of rolling away the stone from Christ’s tomb. Various countries have their own rules on egg rolls. In Germany, for example, children roll their eggs down a track made from sticks.

Easter eggs are an integral symbol of the holiday that hold both secular and religious meaning.

The 2023 Canal Clean Sweep will take place following a full year of trail use since the completion and opening of the Empire State Trail, a 750-mile multi-use path spanning the state from Manhattan north to the Adirondacks and west along the historic Erie Canal corridor to Buffalo. Over the last few years, the Canalway Trail system has seen unprecedented use, reflecting significant investments made as part of the completion of the Empire State Trail, and increased interest and participation in outdoor recreational activities due to COVID-19. Through the efforts of volunteers across the state during Canal Clean Sweep 2023, communities will ensure the Canalway Trail system will remain a pristine

Canal Corporation irector Brian U. Stratton said, “The devoted volunteers who join us in celebrating Earth Day by helping preserve the landscapes and ecosystems along the Canal system and Empire State Trail are vital to ensuring that every visitor can enjoy and experience all that New York’s canals and trails have to offer. We are exceptionally grateful to the thousands of volunteers who have already signed up for this year’s Canal Clean Sweep, and to our partners across New York who contribute to the success of the event every year.”

“Canal Clean Sweep unites residents in canalside communities across 524 miles along the Erie, Oswego, CayugaSeneca, and Champlain canals. With nearly 100 events registered so far, we are so appreciative of the overwhelming support that stewards provide each year to prepare Canalway and Canalway Trail for the summer months,” said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Parks & Trails New York.

“I am excited to be part of the 18th annual event to celebrate Earth Day and showcase the canal system as a major recreation and tourism destination.”

About Parks & Trails New York Parks & Trails New York is the state’s leading advocate for parks and trails. Since 1998, PTNY has been working in partnership with the New York State Canal Corporation to help canal communities plan, develop and promote the Canalway Trail. PTNY organizes Cycle the Erie Canal, an eight-day bicycle tour along the historic Erie Canal that attracts more than 650 participants each year. In 2021, the organization published an updated version of the popular guidebook, Cycling the Erie Canal: A Guide to 60 miles of Adventure and History along the Erie Canalway Trail. Learn more at www.ptny.org. About the New York State Canal System

The New York State Canal Corporation runs the New York State Canal System, which includes the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca canals. Spanning 524 miles, the waterway links the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain. In 2017, the Canal Corporation celebrated the 200th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the Erie Canal, which occurred in the city of Rome on July 4, 1817. The Canal System includes the Canalway Trail, a network of approximately 400 miles of multi-use trails across upstate New York. The Canalway Trail follows the towpaths of both active and historic sections of the New York State Canal System as well as adjacent abandoned rail corridors. Together, the canals and trail create a world-class recreationway that is a vibrant, scenic, and unique New York resource. To learn more about the New York State Canal and Canalway Trail System or to obtain a free map, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit the Canal Corporation’s website at www.canals.ny.gov.