Twin Lakes community residents are ready to reap the rewards of a one-year long pond cleaning project. Residents banded together last summer to achieve a year-long cleanup project which has had stunning results.
Lake Sterns is now trimmed and decorated with various aquatic plants, and residents will now tackle Lake Michaela’s overgrown infestation.
Paula Gaudio, a Twin Lakes resident who lives on Lake Sterns, initiated the cleanup.
With the desire to improve her community and to address the invasive species, Gaudio did research and contacted the Environmental Protection Commission (EPC).
She first gained approval from the Home Owners Association (HOA), informed and rallied other residents who came together and privately invested a total of $18-$20,000.
“The goal was to create a wildlife habitat and beautify the lake for everyone,” states Gaudio.
Michael Albrecht, a Twin Lakes resident of seven years, joined the project with hopes to gain back his view of Lake Sterns that he once had before the overgrowth.
Playing major roles in the project, Albrecht and his 12-year-old son, Spencer, continue to offer their time and skills to the project.
“It’s a great father/son effort that has helped make a difference in the environment, community and our own family,” says Albrecht.
He owes much of his motivation for the project to his enthusiastic son.
“There’s no better motivation as a dad when your son wants to spend time with you while working together on a project that so many other families can enjoy,” Albrecht says.
Through the cleanup, Albrecht and Tom Mack, another resident of Twin Lakes, discovered two small ponds by Lake Sterns.
More than 4,000 various aquatic plants and 35-40 trees surround the lake front, giving new shelter to wildlife.
Pleased with the success of the cleanup, residents are moving the process across the street to Lake Michaela, the central lake of the neighborhood.
“Now that we have the knowledge and experience, we feel it is the right thing to do to,” states Gaudio.
The Lake Michaela project began April 2008 and is projected to finish in July 2008. Investing around $24,000 into Lake Michaela, residents are seeing great change and coming together.
Both of the lake projects will continue to require maintenance that the HOA board is currently researching.
“It’s a very educational process, and it adds value back into everyone’s property, and, hopefully, everyone in the community can enjoy it for years to come,” states Albrecht.
For more information, go to http://www.tlbhoa.org/assessments.html.
