On August 20, 2023, members of AYLUS Bellaire volunteered for the eleventh trash clean-up at Evelyn’s Park Conservancy. It was the last consecutive cleanup before the start of school, during which cleanups will occur monthly rather than weekly.
From 5:30pm to 6:30pm, volunteers wore gloves and used old grocery bags to collect trash from Evelyn’s park. They frequently picked up plastic straw wrappers all throughout the park. In addition, small pieces of plastic, which likely originated from snack wrappers and plastic wrapping, were abundant on the small field next to the water park and the big central field. Further, styrofoam cups and cigarettes could often be found respectively in the bushes and on the grass lining the sidewalks. Members were surprised to find pieces of small clothing in the bushes of the East Parking Court, including what looked like a diaper and underwear.
Volunteers covered most of the park, including the outer area of the East Parking Court and Evelyn’s Memorial Garden. They collected about thirteen bags of trash, each bag weighing between one to three pounds.
Evelyn’s Park staff kindly invited the AYLUS Bellaire volunteers to a pizza party right after the final cleanup to celebrate their hard work volunteering at the park over the summer. Members of the Teen Ambassadors of Evelyn’s Park were also invited. The party was located outside in the tent area next to the dining area. The members were treated to pizza, beverages, soft serve, and popsicles from Betsy’s, the restaurant located at Evelyn’s Park. Games such as Jenga and Connect 4 were provided. The party continued from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Once the party ended, members helped the park staff clean up the area.
12 volunteers participated in this event (1 hour): Selina Yuan, Edward Cai, Eleanor Zong, Elaine Sun, Derek Sun, Matthew Zong, Alexander Tang, Owen Cheng, Daniel Wu, Jason Chen, Zhen Li, and Yuruo Shen.
Thank you to everyone for helping Evelyn’s Park stay clean over the Summer!
Reported by Yuruo Shen
