Eco Island updates shared at Grand Island school board meeting

Story and photo by Senior Contributing Writer Alice Gerard

At the Sept. 8 meeting of the Grand Island Board of Education, held at Eco Island Nature Center, Program Coordinator Cyndi Booker shared updates about the center, as well as discussing donations made, mostly during this past summer.

One of the donations, which is an ongoing project, is the Eco Island sign that was installed on July 9, 2025.

“Tom Proctor, the artist, is a professional sign maker,” Booker said. “He donated all of his time and talents for us. He’s planning on putting a back to the sign, too, so I’m going to make a matching garden to go with it.”

The purple martin gourd rack, donated by Chris Cinelli, “was installed over at the western side of Eco Island to try to introduce and bring some of the purple martins over here, too,” Booker explained. “We have a perfect location here because there is some open space. There’s also a pond. Also, the neighbor, a couple of doors down (has) a few colonies and some gourd racks over there. We’re thinking we might be able to get some extras, too.”

Local birder Tom Burke assisted in adapting the gourds for starling resistant openings.

Several mounts were donated, as well, Booker said. Tom and Nancy Burke donated a coyote mount; Connor Cinelli donated a wood duck mount; and Chris and Melissa Taylor donated a red fox mount.

“We are in the works of getting a river otter mount,” Booker said. “River otters have been coming back into our area and, sadly, one was hit by a car in the summer by the Alabama swamp. I had someone contact me from the Western New York Delta Waterfowl. They asked me if I had a permit for having animals, especially animals that are rare, for educational use, and I did. They are working on a GoFundMe page, where they are going to collect the funds so we can have the river otter taxidermied and then donated to Eco Island.”

According to the Western New York Delta Waterfowl website, “We came upon a large male river otter that was hit on the road by a vehicle out by the Alabama Swamps. Since there is no season for them in our part of the state, they are not able to be legally kept. There is very little damage to the animal's pelt, and it is the perfect specimen to have on display for future generations to see. … This is a great way to make sure generations of kids can get up close and personal to wildlife they may encounter while out being children.”

In addition, a check for $250 came from the Grand Island Garden Walk Committee,

“It’s designated for the purchase of native plants and some other plants to add to the garden,” Booker said. “For the past two years, I’ve been adding in a little more about plants because the kids do have a plant unit, following the plant life cycle. How seeds are dispersed. More importantly, how plants and animals are interdependent of each other and ways that you can see that.”

Booker said Eco Island continues to attract more teachers to plan field trips to the nature center. In 2022, when she began as the program coordinator, “I had 55 field trips, and I had 1,632 students come through (student visits). This past school year, I was up to 87 field trips out of a 180-day school year … and 2,188 students who came through.

“My mission statement is to provide the most valuable hands-on experience possible, keeping in mind the New York state science learning standards and how I can give them the best experience that they can’t have in the classroom.

“I don’t think there are any school districts that own a nature center. There are nature centers in the area, but they’re not really utilized in the way that Eco Island is.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to host the board. It’s not just my efforts, of course. It’s the efforts of the technology department, as well as buildings and grounds. I couldn’t do any of this without them, and I really appreciate their support through everything.”

Grand Island Central School District Superintendent Dr. Brian Graham said, “We are so grateful to be here in this space in Eco Island. It has a long history, and you have been a wonderful steward of this facility, Cyndi.”