On March 22nd, 2025, AYLUS Oakland Gardens held its 140th event at the Voelker Orth Museum. We were accompanied by Maureen Reagan and her team from Green Earth Urban Gardens, as well as community worker Sarah and museum director Debby. During today’s event, we focused on beautifying the museum’s exterior to provide visitors with a more pleasant experience. The event lasted from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and around 50 members showed up to this event.
Sarah is a prominent member of our community, working on projects all across New York City. She primarily works at the New York Botanical Garden, and this was her first time joining us in contributing to the beautification of the Voelker Orth Museum.
The Voelker Orth Museum, located in Flushing, features a picturesque frame house. Built in 1891, this house has been passed down through three generations, from German immigrant Conrad Voelker to his granddaughter Elisabetha Orth, who unfortunately passed away in 1996. Seven years later, the house was opened as a non-profit museum honoring the family’s local history. The museum, now directed by Debby and her team, serves as a dedicated space for year-round house tours, exhibitions, performances, talks and workshops, and educational programs. It also features a Victorian-style garden that offers a sanctuary for wild birds.
Our first tasks for this event were to enhance the museum’s outskirts and driveway. Our members were split into various groups designated for garbage pickup, mulching, pruning, and raking. The garbage pickup group was tasked with circling around the streets to collect any trash left by passersby. Some members held black bags, while others used trash picker tools to gather the garbage. The mulch group was responsible for carrying mulch bags from a nearby truck and then spreading the mulch evenly along the surrounding road verges. Once members in these two groups completed their tasks, they assisted the remaining groups.
Under the guidance of Sarah and Debby, the other groups pruned and raked the beds near the driveway. Many of these beds contained newly budded plants and flowers that would enhance the overall appearance of the museum’s garden once fully developed. Throughout the event, our members had to be careful not to trample the flower beds on the property. Because of this, Sarah and Debby gave our members specific instructions to prune and rake dead branches, leaves, and other debris from the flower beds while preserving the healthy plants for future growth. We also pulled weeds from the beds and collected excess plant waste into garbage bags. Some members were assigned to transport large flower pots from inside the house to designated spots around the garden. They met at the front gate and followed the instructions of our guides.
Within the flower beds were some unique plants growing alongside the flowers. Sarah explained that many of these plants could be used for cooking. For example, garlic chives have an extremely strong scent, while rosemary features a herbal and minty fragrance. There were also some, such as budding flowers that appeared to be garlic at first glance. Overall, the variety of flora found within the garden contributed to a pleasant view for this museum.
After our group successfully completed the tasks in the front half of the house, Maureen and her team arranged a break time for our members. In the museum’s garage, we were welcomed with tables featuring chandelier-shaped holders for small snacks such as cookies and cakes. Maureen also went around serving refreshing iced tea to everyone. Once again, we are grateful for Maureen’s efforts to ensure our members stayed hydrated and energized throughout the event. She consistently goes out of her way to treat our members at every event, and we truly appreciate her kindness.
After our break, our members reassembled in the backyard field to continue the day’s work. Our new tasks included cleaning flower pots, planting flowers, pruning, and raking. When the large flower pots were brought out from the house, our guides noticed that some plants were contaminated with a disease that covered the flowers with a white powdered substance. If this substance spread to other plants, this disease could potentially contaminate the entire garden. To prevent this, the cleaning group used spray bottles and paper towels to carefully wipe off the white powder. They continuously refilled water from hoses and worked on this task for the remainder of the event.
Our younger members in the planting group each received a small flower pot to be planted on the other side of the driveway. After lining up, our members were provided with trowels and followed Maureen’s instructions to dig out adequate space to insert the plant bulbs into the ground. These bulbs would soon grow into beautiful flowers along the driveway. Once the members finished planting, they returned to the backyard to assist with additional tasks.
In the backyard, our groups carefully pruned and raked each flower bed, similar to what we had done near the driveway. We went around extracting dead leaves and branches from flower bushes while ensuring that no buds were trampled. Along the back of the yard were some taller branches, which were pruned using clippers to prevent overgrowth. A few members also joined Sarah to tidy up the front gate of the house by pruning taller branches.
As our event neared its conclusion, we gathered all trowels, clippers, and other tools to be deep-cleaned with paper towels, soap, and a hose. Before wrapping up, our members gathered in the backyard to take a group picture with the museum as a backdrop. Although the area we worked on was relatively small, we successfully completed a variety of tasks to enhance this local museum.
We would like to extend our thanks to Maureen, Sarah, Debby, and all other helpers for providing us with the tools and guidance that made this event possible! While you have expressed your appreciation for our help, we are equally grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with you and hope to work together again in the future. We also want to express our gratitude to our parent advisor team for their continued support of our members. Finally, we would like to thank all the AYLUS Oakland Gardens members who participated today. Your efforts have contributed to the preservation of the Voelker Orth Museum, ensuring it will be enjoyed by visitors for years to come!
Our volunteers:
1. Brandon Lin: 3 hours
2. Aiden Lin: 3 hours
3. Hong Hao Liu: 3 hours
4. Eric Zheng: 3 hours
5. Patrick Yeung: 3 hours
6. Benny Yeung: 3 hours
7. Karis Lau: 3 hours
8. Sophia You: 3 hours
9. Stephanie You: 3 hours
10. Ryan Wu: 3 hours
11. Alexander Lu: 3 hours
12. Tian Zhu Xie: 3 hours
13. Justin Cheong: 3 hours
14. Ivan Cao: 3 hours
15. Steven Zhu: 3 hours
16. Bowen Chen: 3 hours
17. Terrence Cao: 3 hours
18. Emerson Chen: 3 hours
19. Kaisa Wu: 3 hours
20. Nuoyan Chen: 3 hours
21. Nuoheng Chen: 3 hours
22. Shirley Chiu: 3 hours
23. Anson Gao: 3 hours
24. Yuhan Lin: 3 hours
25. Vicky Liu: 3 hours
26. Alana Lin: 3 hours
27. Katrina Zhang: 3 hours
28. Kaitlyn Zhang: 3 hours
29. Sophia Xu: 3 hours
30. Anthony Xu: 3 hours
31. Jerry Shan: 3 hours
32. Zhiheng Zhou: 3 hours
33. Aaron Shi: 3 hours
34. Derrick Gao: 3 hours
35. Opal Tsai: 3 hours
36. Amber Tsai: 3 hours
37. Henry Jiang: 3 hours
38. Adrian Jiang: 3 hours
39. Yu Yan Fan: 3 hours
40. Ian Lee: 3 hours
41. Elian Lee: 3 hours
42. Matthew Lin: 3 hours
43. Ella Tai: 3 hours
44. Nerissa Xu: 3 hours
45. Queens Li: 3 hours
46. Sophia Li: 3 hours
47. Orion Zheng: 3 hours
48. Queenie Qiu: 3 hours
49. Felix Lin: 3 hours
50. Kaden He: 1.5 hours
51. Sophia Lu: 1.5 hours
Parent Adviser Team:
Cui Fang Li (Fannie): 4 hours
Teng Fei Liu (Faye): 4 hours
Hsinhui Liao (Karen): 4 hours
Report written by: Brandon Lin
Reviewed by: Jia Qi (Angela) Liu
