The Earth Month event is the 64th event held by AYLUS Oakland Gardens on April 14th 2024. The event was held at the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy, where we worked with Maureen to do something for Earth Month. Our group worked hard to move fresh soil and mulch into the conservancy to help the growth of the trees and plants, as well as cleaning up dead leaves for a cleaner environment.
The Olde Towne of Flushing Conservancy is a historical cemetery which was destroyed and replaced by a playground. However, due to the efforts and advocacy of OTOFBG conservancy for the past 25 years, the Burial Ground have been reclaimed from a playground to a historic site and recognized by NYC.
During the event, Maureen Regan, the Co-Chair of OTOFBG Conservancy and the founder of the Green Earth Urban Gardens Inc., a non-profit organization, brought tools for the event. She brought wheel barrows and shovels for the mulch and soil, trowels and rakes as well as garbage bags. Some of the older members help load the tools off and on the truck at the beginning and at the end of our event. We also helped set up the tent that will be used to place the snacks and supplies that Maureen bought for everyone to use. Our members were then organized into three groups based on age with the help of our parent advisors: High school, Middle School, and Elementary. Under the supervision of our parents, Ada, Roxana, and Tamara of the NYC Parks Department, and the instructions from Maureen, each group was made responsible for a task for the day.
The high school students were responsible for moving soil into designated areas in the flower bed that is bordering 46th avenue. They used wheel barrows, shovels, and rakes provided by Green Earth Urban Gardens Inc. to move all the soil and spread it around in the designated areas so that more flora are able to grow in the environment as well as maintaining the ground. Meanwhile the middle school students were responsible for moving mulch into the conservatory and mulching the trees. They used the wheel barrows, shovels, and rakes as well to make a donut shape of mulch around the trees so that the trees will be able to grow and flourish. They apply more mulch to bigger trees or any trees that needed it. Both groups made sure not to mix up the soil and the mulch as they are being used for different purposes. The elementary students were responsible for pulling out the weeds that are surrounds the flower bed and the mulch beds around the trees. The elementary kids spread out to be able to finish weeding the area before the mulch is put on top as there are many different trees being mulched at once. They had to work hard to quickly get their job done before other groups lay down the mulch so that there is no delay. We then have another group who were raking leaves on the far end of the conservatory as well as any trash, using the garbage bags to store them. Our group worked hard to finish moving the soil and mulch into the conservatory by the end of the event because Maureen informed us that people would take the soil and mulch if they were left out in the open. At the end of the event, all groups had completed their tasks, with all of the soil and mulch was moved into the conservatory and there were around 7 bags of debris that was collected.
We would like to thank the members that came to help out with the event and again, we would also like to thank Maureen and Green Earth Urban Gardens Inc. again for their guidance, help, and food during the event, and we really hope to work with you again in the future to help with the preservation of the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy. Thank you Green Earth Urban Gardens Inc. for their hard work at restoring and preserving the conservatory from the playground that it was previously to what it is today. Without your preservation and determination, the Burial Ground would not be what it looks like today, a clean and respected place for the dead to rest in. We are glad that we are able to help aid the process of preserving the conservatory. We also want to thank Ada, Roxana, and Tamara of the NYC Parks Department for being here at today’s event.
Our volunteers:
Jia Qi Liu (Angela): 3.5 hours
Hong Hao Liu (Alfred): 3.5 hours
Stephanie ShiRan You: 3.5 hours
Matthew Lin: 3.5 hours
Benny Zou: 3.5 hours
Vicki Lin: 3.5 hours
Sophia Li: 3.5 hours
Zhiyan Zeng: 3.5 hours
Zoey Zhou: 3.5 hours
Maggie Liu: 3.5 hours
Elina Lee: 3.5 hours
Anthony Lin: 3.5 hours
Huizhen Piao: 3.5 hours
Ivan Wu: 3.5 hours
Kingston Wu: 3.5 hours
Ian Lee: 3.5 hours
Ioklee Lin: 3.5 hours
Iokseng Lin: 3.5 hours
Ioknor Lin: 3.5 hours
Adrianna Zhang: 3.5 hours
Erica Li: 3.5 hours
Ling Yu Hao: 3.5 hours
Tyler Siegel: 3.5 hours
Cindy Siegel: 3.5 hours
Melody Ke: 3.5 hours
Darren Chen: 3.5 hours
Colleen Chen: 3.5 hours
Liam Cheung: 3.5 hours
Qinlin Wu: 3.5 hours
Kaisa Wu: 3.5 hours
Emily Zheng: 3.5 hours
Hannah Zheng: 3.5 hours
Brandon Lin: 3.5 hours
Alecia Zhao: 3.5 hours
Carolyn Zhao: 3.5 hours
Evaline Yuel: 3.5 hours
Pai Pai Xu (Nick): 3.5 hours
Hangxu Yu: 3.5 hours
Si Qi Chen: 3.5 hours
Mo Yu: 3.5 hours
Hannah Liu: 3.5 hours
Ryan Wu: 3.5 hours
Emily Lin: 3.5 hours
Nina Yang: 3.5 hours
Amberly Zeng: 3.5 hours
XiangXi Yu: 3.5 hours
Eric Yu: 3.5 hours
Chong Chen: 3.5 hours
Nerissa Xu: 3.5 hours
Paxton Xu: 3.5 hours
Luxin Chen: 3.5 hours
Sylvia Zhang: 3.5 hours
Evina Liu: 3 hours
Owen Liu: 3 hours
Ayden Shi: 3 hours
Darren Li: 2.5 hours
Austin Li: 2.5 hours
Austin Yuel: 1.5 hour
Parent Adviser Team:
Hsinhui Liao (Karen)
Cui Li (Fannie)
Teng Fei Liu (Faye)
Report Written by: Matthew Lin
Reviewed by: Jia Qi (Angela) Liu
