On February 22, 2025, AYLUS Oakland Gardens Branch members went to Alley Pond Park Forest Restoration at Northern Blvd and 234th Street. This was our 135th event at AYLUS Oakland Gardens. We worked with the Stewardship team to help mulch the trees from 9:30 am to 12 pm.
During the event, Max Liu and Rebecca from the Stewardship team took the AYLUS Oakland Gardens to the site that they will be working on. While Kira took volunteers outside of AYLUS Oakland Gardens to a separate work site. When our group reached the work site there was a mulch pile, Ikea bags, barrels, and pitchforks already there for us to use. Max started by telling us how to mulch the trees and why it’s important. The mulch was made from wood chips because wood chips are organic resources that break down slowly. Mulch helps retain the moisture for the trees and prevents weeds from growing and taking nutrition away from the trees. The mulch helps keep the trees healthy and helps them thrive. Mulch can be most effective when there’s a ring of mulch around the trees. That way the mulch will prevent the weeds from affecting the trees while also not suffocating the trees. When there’s too much mulch around the tree, it will trap too much moisture and lead the trees to rot. That’s why we have to be careful while mulching the trees. The goal of mulching the trees is to have a luscious forest at Alley Pond Park. That way people can breathe in fresher and cleaner air, and have a place to enjoy their morning walks in the future.
During the event, the AYLUS Oakland Gardens Branch members split up into groups to work more efficiently. There was a group using pitchforks and shovels on the mulch pile and moving them into Ikea bags. While the rest of the members worked on taking the mulch-filled Ikea bags to trees marked with colored ribbons and mulch them. Some also used barrels and loaded them with mulch-filled Ikea bags to shorten the trips of going back to the mulch pile. There was also ice and hardened snow on the ground so the members had to move carefully to not bump into anyone or any trees. This event provides an opportunity for our members to work together and communicate with each other. While also allowing our members time to enjoy nature and breathe some fresh air. Due to our efficiency, AYLUS Oakland Gardens was able to finish and use two mulch piles. So more trees were mulched in the area.
Lastly, we would like to thank everyone for coming to today’s event despite the weather and the cold. We would like to thank Max, Rebecca, and Kira from the Stewardship team for allowing us to mulch trees and create a greener future. We would also like to thank the volunteers who came to the event despite the weather.
Our Volunteers:
1. Henry Jiang : 2.5 hours
2. Stephanie ShiRan You : 2.5 hours
3. Bowen Chen: 2.5 hours
4. Adrian Jiang: 2.5 hours
5. Austin Yuel: 2.5 hours
6. Vicki Lin: 2.5 hours
7. Ioknor Lin: 2.5 hours
8. Ioklee Lin : 2.5 hours
9. Patrick Yeung : 2.5 hours
10. Iokseng Lin: 2.5 hours
11. Brandon Lin: 2.5 hours
12. Matthew Lin: 2.5 hours
13. Ryan Wu: 2.5 hours
Parent Adviser Team:
Cui Fang Li (Fannie): 3 hours
Teng Fei Liu (Faye): 3 hours
Hsinhui Liao (Karen): 3 hours
Report written by: Vicki Lin
Reviewed by: Jia Qi (Angela) Liu
