It keeps kids active, interacting socially with other kids, doing physical activity in a lot of cases, and just being kids. “Now the fact that this facility brings in over 4,500 kids a year to help maintain that type of experience, I think is critical in our day and age. It was a really positive experience,” he said. We got physical activity out of it, we got social and emotional growth and development out of it, interacting with kids. “We went there because they had a camp and it was something to do in the summer. Having attended the camp when he was a child, he understood the value of preserving it for the benefit of future generations and their families, he said. Dredging is expected to be completed sometime in the summer of 2024.įor Poulos, the project's necessity was not only environmental but for the good of the community as well. The $500,000 gives the YMCA, which owns the pond, the final push it needs to complete the project. Sloper Pond has been naturally filling up with silt, and eventually would have turned into a shallow marsh - making it unusable for swimmers at Camp Sloper. The funding will be allocated through a Department of Energy and Environmental Protection grant and was adopted as part of the state’s two-year budget by a 139-12 vote on June 6. Donna Veach, R-Berlin, with State Rep. Chris Poulos, D-Southington, spearheading conversations with Democratic majority leaders to secure the funding authorization in the House of Representatives, convincing his fellow lawmakers of the environmental value and necessity of preserving the pond. The bill was a bipartisan effort, first introduced by State Rep. SOUTHINGTON - YMCA Camp Sloper secured $500,000 in additional funding this past legislative session, giving the East Street outdoor center the remaining money needed to dredge Sloper Pond.

How to dredge a pond by hand