Aylus Great Neck Branch Volunteer at Northside Elementary School on November 9th, 2024
On November 9th, 2024, from 9 am to 11 am, our team focused on completely clearing invasive plants. These plants not only compete for nutrients and sunlight from native plants, but also destroy the ecological balance, so clearing them is of great significance to the environment. We used a special slender rake to carefully pull out these plants. After pulling them out, we laid large pieces of cardboard on the ground to prevent them from growing again. Cardboard not only inhibits the re-sprouting of these invasive plants by blocking sunlight from them preventing them from photosynthesizing, but also helps maintain soil moisture and structure and reduce soil erosion.
During the activity, everyone had a clear job. Some people were responsible for pulling out plants, while others carried cardboard and covered it in the cleaned area. Another group was ripping off tape and stickers from the cardboard boxes because they are harder to decompose. In this teamwork, we learned how to cooperate with others efficiently, and everyone’s work is crucial. This volunteer experience made us understand that environmental protection is not achieved overnight, it requires long-term efforts and careful maintenance. And we hope to continue to participate in similar environmental protection activities in the future.
Report By: Qifeng Han
Volunteers: Zoe Xia, Tiffany Zhang, Qishen Han, Qifeng Han, Jerry Li, Kevin Li, Yingxiang Liu, Felicia Liu, Yuya Liu (2 hours)
