Submitted Photo The brothers of Delta Chi Fraternity members help construct at tipi at Greystone Nature Preserve.

Before the start of summer, some brothers from the Delta Chi Fraternity at the State University of New York at Fredonia came to Greystone Nature Preserve, volunteering their time and labor. Delta Chi’s goal is to promote friendship, develop character, advance justice and assist in the acquisition of a sound education.

Diane Clark, the director of Greystone Nature Preserve said that it has been open for the last 12 years, and the members of Delta Chi have come to help for the second straight year. Clark said the need for volunteer work has increased, and their connection with the college has continued to grow as they work closer together.

“We’re in great need of volunteers but we have a very active program where we do interns, so they’re getting college credits and learning things up here,” said Clark. “It got us closer and closer with the school and the fraternity brothers said they wanted to come up and help. … It’s good for them to get off campus and get into the country a little bit.”

Together, the fraternity brothers, along with Jeremy Woolson of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, constructed a 22-foot tipi that will be used for experiential environmental lessons at Greystone Nature Preserve.

In a normal year, Clark said that they service around 800 schoolchildren, with a sprinkling of toddlers, and even some elderly people, as they like to get people from the retirement homes there to watch sunsets together. The Cassadaga Job Corps also meets there on Saturdays.

Greystone Nature Preserve, located at 8531 Bear Lake Road in Fredonia, is a not-for-profit facility that is preserving 72 acres of the Chautauqua escarpment and offering community members of all ages and ability levels experiential environmental education. For more information about activities and classes at Greystone contact Clark at clarkmoran@gmail.com