The sun shone down on the Garden City Bird Sanctuary on Saturday as members of the board and residents celebrated the fifth anniversary of the transformation of the sump on Tanners Pond Road into a bird sanctuary.

Eight years ago, according to Rob Alvey, president of the board of directors of the Garden City Bird Sanctuary, the Land Use Committee of the Village of Garden City's Environmental Advisory Board began an inventory of all the open space in the village. The purpose of this committee was "to establish a local greenspace for the demonstration of environmental stewardship through education and volunteer community services." At that time the committee identified a five-acre county stormwater basin as being a site that needed work. What occurred was the establishment of a protected nature refuge next to Nassau Haven Playground. The first cleanup of this site, five years ago, was conducted by a group of middle school students and Girls Scouts. In the last five years hundreds of bags of trash have been dragged from this site and over 2,000 people have volunteered their time and efforts to making this transformation from sump to bird sanctuary a success.

The goal of the Garden City Bird Sanctuary is to establish a fully functioning nature refuge for song birds through the use of native plants and trees which provide food and cover.

Since the initial establishment of the Garden City Bird Sanctuary, it has been the recipient of the Outstanding Ecological Program Award from the Long Island Leisure Services Association, the 1010WINS Radio/Genovese Drugs Merit Award for being an outstanding volunteer community effort, an Environmental Beautification Grant and a Certificate of Appreciation from USEPA for the work in protecting wetlands and natural resources. Six Boys Scouts have completed Eagle Scout projects at the bird sanctuary and school and church groups use the site for environmental education and community service. Kyle Smith, while a student at Garden City High School, was named an INTEL Science Talent Search Semifinalist for his project on "How to Start a Nature Preserve" with research done at the Garden City Bird Sanctuary. It has also become a model for other towns and villages who have decided to embark on similar projects.

In celebration of all the success due to the hard work and dedication of those involved over the last five years, bulletin boards for the purpose of displaying maps, information on birds found in the sanctuary, and photos were donated; new benches were installed; new flowers, trees and shrubs were planted; and additional birdhouses, built by Boys Scouts, were donated. In addition, Garden City High School's Environmental group, H.O.P.E. (Hands On Protection of the Environment) held a walk-a-thon, a picnic was held, the Garden City Community Theater performed, and presentations on plants and birds were made.

Dozens of adults and children enjoyed the many activities that were held this weekend to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Garden City Bird Sanctuary. Because it is a bird "sanctuary" the site must be protected from overuse by humans so wildlife can flourish, but it is opened at various times and by appointment for the public's enjoyment. To arrange for an escorted tour call 326-1720 or write to: Garden City Bird Sanctuary, P.O. Box 7507, Garden City, NY 11530-7507.