On March 9, 2024, from 9:30am to 12pm, members of AYLUS Great Neck branch helped prepare the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center garden for spring planting. Our members showed their concern and support for the growing conditions of plants in the area, as well as their passion for volunteer activities. They made their own contributions to maintaining the biological system here in order to better promote the relationship between people and nature.
The former Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center was a very large beach parking lot. However, after the displacement of the beach, the change in the consumer demographic structure, the concern about the serious skin damage caused by the sun and the comfort of indoor venues, fewer and fewer people came to Jones Beach. All kinds of troubles kept people away from the beach. In order to meet the needs of renewal, a large part of the parking lot was transformed and rebuilt into a seaside meadow and pollinator garden.
In the garden, there are native plant species, such as Broomsedge Bluestem, Seaside
Goldenrod, Little Bluestem and Purple
Coneflower, which play a very important role in the ecosystem of Jones Beach and are an important and fundamental link in the food chain of pollinators. Invasive species like mugwort and phragmites affect the growth of these beneficial plants. The original ecological environment of Jones Beach has been destroyed.
In order to give pollinators a better chance to green the garden, we cut off the part of the plant that grew last year and removed wild flowers and grasses so that the plants get enough sunlight and area to grow. We hope to help the ideal planting become fully established and give them every possible advantage to compete with invasion.
After two and a half hours of joint efforts, volunteers remove d invasive plant species and protect local species a big step towards success. In this event, members contributed their own efforts to the flourishing of resident plants in the area, helped pollinators provide a better pollination environment, made the local ecology more stable and sustainable, and promoted the world’s environmental protection process. Let nature, energy and people coexist and benefit each other.
Participating members include:
Zoe Xia, Guo Shaoyu, Andrew Qian, Maggie Xiao, Bob Xia, Syro Tan, Yingxiang(Xavier) Liu, Felicia Liu, Yuya Liu, Tinglan Chen, Shiyue Zhang, Steven Ni, Matt Yang, Eva Westbay（2.5hrs)
