On November 4th, 2023, members of AYLUS went to the Nature Discovery Garden at Bethpage State Park to clear trails. Along with other branches of AYLUS we worked from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM.
The members of AYLUS diligently worked clearing invasive plants like English ivy and green brier from a trail at Nature Discovery Garden. The Nature Discovery Garden is an educational garden built on the massive Bethpage State Park. The garden was built to educate students at the nearby school and to act as an outdoor classroom. Victor Azzareto, the park’s horticulturist, thought of building the garden; due to last year’s success, he wanted to expand it. He envisioned adding a trail with more perennials and native trees. But first, we needed to clear a trail, that’s when we came in. One team was armed with clippers and rakes, working to remove invasives. The people with rakes were a machine going strong, filling buckets with leaf litter and plant matter. Another team was armed with saws and a chainsaw, they removed branches and trees in the way. It was a brutal extermination of plants. If you were a plant on the trail you were not safe. We worked so fast that we were done 45 minutes. We then emptied out the buckets of leaf litter onto the golf carts. With the final amount of time we needed to clear the piles of invasive plants, we exchanged our rakes and clippers for pitchforks. We shoveled and stabbed at the pile, putting the vines and branches onto the golf cart. Our work is important because it ensures a safe outdoor environment for the students.
Hunter Chen (2.5 hours) & Natalie Tsui (2.5 hours)
Reporter: Hunter Chen
