On April 23, 2023, AYLUS Twin Cities celebrated its 1-Year Anniversary with an Earth Day Trash Pickup at Lake Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis. The event lasted from 10 AM – 12 PM, totaling 2 hours of service. The volunteers started at Thomas Beach to pick up trash like plastic, styrofoam, and paper but were able to clear garbage from about half of the area surrounding the lake. This experience was not only special because it was commemorative and had a great turnout, but it also gave us an opportunity to make our society cleaner and more beautiful. This Earth Day project reminded us of the responsibility we all have to preserve the environment, and working together and hearing others’ gratitude for our work only increased our bonding with each other and our community.
Participants: Kaining Zhang(3hrs), Megan Wang, Fiona Chen, Penny Pang, Alice Ling(3hrs), Zoe Wicklund, Isabel Chen, Alexx Tran, Tony Liu, Kai Huang, Curtis Ying, Zachray Li( 4hr), Olivia Peng(3hrs), Hannabella Li, Janie Sha, Isabel Cheng, Christine Chen, Claire Cao, Jeffrey Chen (3hrs), Ahan Devgun(2.5hrs)
Here sharing with you the Env protection Call from our young member Zachray Li (11 yrs old)
The Environment Around Us
On 4/23/2023, I went to Bde Maka Ska Thomas Beach to pick up trash. At first, Hannabella and I were picking up trash near the beach. We didn’t see that much, so we continued down the beach. We picked up trash along the path and occasionally along the shoreline. I mostly picked up little pieces of plastic and cigarettes. I went down by the shore and saw a dead fish. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it probably died from eating plastic. As we continued along the shoreline, we looked for plastic. For every piece we picked up, there was at least one more. Hannabella and I continued slowly down the shore and Jen Zhou joined us. More than half of the trash we collected was within a 10-foot range. We found mostly unidentified plastic bags, candy wrappers, and a few plastic bottles. We even found a whole beer bottle. We found two more dead fish, but they were smaller. The other AYLUS members had their collections of different trashes.
Through this experience, I learned how much plastic there is around us. It is not only on the ground, either. It is in bodies of water, in the sky, and even underground. It is also in animals, too. Creatures like turtles eat plastic bags, thinking they are jellyfish. Chemicals pollute rivers and harmful gasses pollute the sky. The ozone layer is thinning because of all the CO2 we put in the air. Garbage patches in the oceans are getting bigger. There could be more garbage than fish in the ocean by 2050.
As you can see, pollution has a big impact on the Earth. Let’s all do our part and help save the environment!
