Press

GREENFIELD, NY - Area Boy Scouts will assist New York State Museum officials this weekend Oct. 10-11 as they clean up Lester Park, a world-famous geological site in Saratoga County that features rare fossils.

Scouts from Saratoga and Rensselaer counties will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday to help kick off Earth Science Week in New York State, which begins Sunday. Renowned New York State Paleontologist Dr. Ed Landing will speak to the scouts at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Landing, who works with the Geological Survey at the State Museum, was recently featured in Earth Story, a series of documentaries produced by the British Broadcasting Corp. for the Learning Channel that described the geological forces that made the Earth what it is today.

Lester Park, a site maintained by the State Museum, is in the process of a makeover. The scouts will be cleaning up garbage and clearing moss and plants from the famous fossils and features.

The work being done will prepare the area for new signs that are being constructed by Museum staff to help people learn more about Lester Park.

"It's part of an important outdoor exhibit visited by dozens of college and university groups," Landing said. "You've got to conserve it the best way that you can."

The site, which is open to the public, is also a perfect place for earth science teachers to bring their students, Landing said.

"The fossils seen there are extremely rare worldwide," Robert Fakundiny, the State Geologist, said.

Of particular interest to researchers, are the blue-green algae stromatolite mounds. They have been illustrated in scientific publications and textbooks as classic examples of these extremely shallow marine developments.

"This is a really unusual paleontological site. They're so well-exposed and so rare," added Fakundiny.

The Park on either side of Petrified Gardens Road has been the topic of numerous scientific articles since the 1860s. It was donated to the state in 1914 by Willard Lester Esq.

Directions: From downtown Saratoga Springs take 9N west. Take a left on Middle Grove Road. Then take a left on Lester Park Road (Also known as Petrified Gardens Road). Continue for about 500 feet.