Lancaster, N.Y. (WBEN) - With exactly one month remaining until the Total Solar Eclipse sweeps through Western New York on April 8, final preparations are being made to not only welcome an influx of visitors to the region, but also educate local residents on what to expect that Monday.
For Tim Collins with the Buffalo Eclipse Consortium, he has actively been out-and-about in the Western New York community educating businesses and residents along the "centerline" of the Path of Totality for the eclipse on what will happen through the direct path of total darkness if they remain close to home or their place of work.
The expectation for April 8 is for a large number of people to gather in spots along the centerline of the eclipse to take in the longest possible amount of total darkness with the eclipse. Collins says educating people with this information will hopefully go a long way with residents then informing their fellow neighbors of what's to come.
"I was thinking back to some of the lessons we learned from the other cities, and they would say, 'Watch the traffic, get more glasses, the restaurants warn them about people leaving in the middle.' And I just thought maybe somebody should just get out there and go do it," said Collins on Thursday in an interview with WBEN. "Mark Percy calls it, 'Boots on the ground', and so I thought, 'I'm going to do that.' I started just around Christmas time, I actually started back in Batavia and then started working my way in a little bit. But it's been a really fun experience talking with people, and getting their reaction as they find out where they are, or they realize where they are."
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Collins estimates he has spoken to close to 400 local residents and businesses over the last several months about the eclipse's centerline, and has reached all sorts of communities throughout Western New York. He feels it's important to be out educating the community, because Buffalo is set to be the only major city in the Path of Totality where centerline passes through its metro area.
He estimates he's three-quarters of the way through meetings with local residents and businesses.
"I have a little bit of business to attend to in South Buffalo and South Cheektowaga - look out guys - and a little Bowmansville, a little Akron, maybe some Pembroke too. But obviously, as you head Northeast, it gets a little sparser so it's a little easier," Collins said. "Almost there, so it's been a fun trip, and hoping to be finished by next week."
See Interactive Google Map of Eclipse - Centerline in blue (ZOOM IN)
In his travels, Collins says this project has been a fun one for him to interact with people of all ways of life along the centerline for the Total Solar Eclipse.
"It doesn't take that much time, and you're only spending maybe 15 minutes, at most, with someone, unless they really want to talk about it and maybe it's a little longer. One gentleman invited me into his home to sit on his chair in his living room for 30 minutes, so you get all sorts of reactions," he said.
When conveying his message across to residents and businesses, Collins found it more difficult to get through to people early on with the eclipse not being talked about on a regular basis. However, since around February, people are taking more notice, which has made his job much easier.
"It was like flipping a switch," Collins said. "Suddenly, I'd knock on the door and say, 'I want to talk about the solar eclipse.' 'Oh, yeah, I heard about that!' Like, finally, somebody's hearing about it. Great. But just the reaction people have had have just been like, 'Wait, what?' I mean, they act like they won the lottery, so that's how I came up with they won the 'Solar System Lottery', and one of the residents actually mentioned that. So I just kind of took that into my usual speech."
Collins adds the more people he talks to, the more they love the idea of not having to go anywhere come April 8.
"You don't really need to go anywhere. If you don't want to, you don't have to. So it kind of removes an obligation, many people thought they had to go somewhere specific to see it. Only as long as you don't have trees or buildings in your way, you're good," he said.
As for those Collins has encountered along his journeys, many have been appreciative of the information that has been shared to them, whether or not they had been fully aware of what's to come outside their doors in another 31 days.
"I think it's awesome it's going to be here. I'm glad I found that out, because I would have never known. I thought it was going to be in the Falls, it was supposed to be one of the best places. But it's great to know," said Lancaster resident Michael Ivory with WBEN.
Ivory further says he had no idea there was even a website that mapped out the centerline of the eclipse that could show people where exactly people would be getting the best views of the eclipse.
"I didn't know they had the line mapped out the way they did, I thought it was gonna kind of be close, but now it's great to know. I mean, I guess you can predict anything now with this technology," Ivory said.
When he was younger, Ivory got the chance to witness an eclipse sweep through the Western New York region, but nothing to the degree of the Total Solar Eclipse this April.
"I don't think it was a full eclipse, so I'm excited to see it. I'm excited for my son to see it, so it's something different. I guess you don't ever realize what you have until it's here, so it'll be pretty neat," Ivory said.
While it's a rewarding experience to further educate residents of the Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, Collins admits he gets excited when he interacts with those who are more up to speed and prepared than others.
"I actually went to a home in Cheektowaga, and he was in his garage, so I didn't have to knock on the door or anything. He was doing some woodworking, and I said, 'I'm not selling anything, I'm not trying to talk you into anything. I just want to talk about the solar eclipse.' He goes, 'Oh, well, what do you want to talk about?' I was like, 'Well, I just wanted to let you know about what to expect, and I want to talk to you about the centerline.' He goes, 'Oh yeah, I know my house is on it. I know that my house is there, I've already got people coming over. I bought everybody glasses already, and we've already got our beer stored away for our party.' I was floored," Collins exclaimed.
So what advise does Collins have for the entire Western New York region, whether you're closest to the centerline for the Path of Totality or not? He feels it's important to keep a positive outlook on the event, even if the weather may not play into our favor on April 8.
"It could turn out to be a great day, maybe it's not, but don't get lost on it. You'll still see darkness if it's cloudy. If we have broken clouds, that's all we need. We don't need the perfect blue, sapphire sky. It would help, be nice. Doesn't have to be warm, doesn't have to be like last weekend, but if you're not on centerline, I wouldn't really worry about it," Collins said.
Collins also says just because he hasn't come to your house, it doesn't mean you're not already in a good spot to view the eclipse.
"If you look at a map and you do find centerline, you can click on the map and it'll tell you how much totality you have, and then you can make your own decision from there. But you're going to find that you're going to get a really, really good amount of totality, wherever you are here," he said.
One other piece of advise from Collins: If you happen to be hosting an event, no matter how big or small, plan to do something after totality to stay off the roadways to help avoid a massive logjam in the moments immediately after the eclipse.
More information about the April 8 eclipse can be found at the Buffalo Eclipse Consortium's website: