Environmental Conservation Club Cleans Up NYC
Tamari Kvaratskhelia ’21 and a group of volunteers rake dry leaves to be used as compost. Photo Credit: Tracy Ha
By TRACY HA
The Environmental Conservation Club has been volunteering to clean up leaves in Central Park every Saturday since November 24 to make sure the grass can get the sunlight it needs to grow.
Meeting every Monday during 10th and 11th periods in room 413, the Environmental Conservation Club constantly offers new activities and volunteering opportunities to students hoping to make a change. It also hopes to create a warm and welcoming place for students to learn ways to contribute to the environment.
Jolie Montas ’21 and Lucie Lim ’21 are the president and vice president, respectively, of the Environmental Conservation Club.
Lim said she read an article about the declining population of oysters due to climate change that detailed a project meant to help the situation. This sparked an idea to create a club to address environmental issues that could “affect the overall youth,” Montas ’21 explained.
Casey Wang ’21, a member of the club, said, “We try our hardest to help improve our environment.”
Members come together to plan activities such as volunteering at the park and beach cleanups. Through this volunteering, members learn about the many things that impact the environment. For example, during their most recent volunteering opportunities members learned about how dry leaves can be used as compost for big trees. However, the compost can be harmful to certain plants and grass due to its acid levels.
“The main goal of this course is to help make a positive impact on our environment,” said Lucas Carroll ’21. “Through this course, I learned the importance of saving water.”
“I want to create groups of people who are willing to go to places like the beach or parks and clean them,” said Tamari Kvaratskhelia ’21. “These beaches are filled with horrible and smelly trash that is not only harmful to the oceans but also to children.”
The club also visited the Metropolitan Museum on December 14 to study the growth of the communities and environment. Besides raking leaves in Central Park, they also pick up trash and plant flowers.
On January 5, volunteers went to Owl’s Head Park to spread mulch around trees to keep them warm and the soil moist. Recycled dead trees were chipped to make the mulch.
Even if you don’t want to go that far, there are everyday ways you can help maintain the earth.
Kvaratskhelia said, “I make sure I don’t litter, I sometimes pick up trash that I see outside. I also participate as an eco-intern at the Brooklyn College garden.”
At the end of the day, this club hopes to share awareness about the importance of our environment, and it’s open all students who wish to do the same.
“Please don’t litter, pick up your trash if you see any on the floor, and encourage others to follow along,” Wang said.
Marilyn Sumba and Jada Rodriguez contributed to this article.