Members of AYLUS Syosset participated in a park clean up on New Year’s Day at Sunken Meadow’s hiking trails. Members started off the day by taking a guided tour around the park’s boardwalk, beach, forest and freshwater habitats, lasting about an hour. We spent the next three hours circulating back around the trails to pick up trash we saw along the way. Despite it being a hard and tedious hike, members worked together to help each other and find as much trash as possible. Much more trash was collected than expected, with the most commonly found items being glass and plastic bottles and cans, neglected dog poop bags, bottle caps, deflated balloons and empty cups and straws. At times, it was a difficult task as many bottles were situated deep in the thorns and thickets.
Millions of marine and terrestrial organisms are exposed to plastics and can suffocate, experience impaction and starve from the ingestion of excessive plastic. Not only does plastic itself have severe effects on wildlife, but when exposed to water for long periods the oceans can have fluctuations of harmful chemicals that seep out of the plastic. Thus it is extremely important to be more environmentally conscious about where we dispose of our waste and when possible, clean up after ourselves and each other.
Members who participated include:
Rachel Zhang (4 h), Jessica Albrecht (4 h), Alyssa Huang (4.5 h), Margaret Zhang (4 h), Nicole Huang (4 h), Skylar Lee (4 h), Chance Lee (4 h).
