On Sunday, June 1st, 2025, from 8:30 to 12 pm, AYLUS Oakland Gardens held its 161st event at Kissena Park. We worked with Roxana, the supervisor of Kissena Park, and Ada. During this event, we focused on cleaning up the park and removing invasive species.
Our primary goal was to remove invasive species that were growing around Kissena Park. At the start of the event, we split into groups around the park, and Roxana taught us how to identify invasive species and native species as well as how to use the tools that they generously provided for the event. We used shovels, spades, and pitchforks to dig out the invasive plants, shook them to remove the dirt, and placed them in plastic bags. In addition, we used loppers to help cut off parts of the invasive plants, making the rest of it easier to dig up. During the event, we made sure to carefully distinguish between the invasive species and native plants in the area, taking extra care to not accidentally dig up any native species. We also made sure to wear gloves during the event.
We also worked next to the lake, where we focused on removing English Ivy and rosebushes using the loppers. This was done so that visitors would have a better view of the lake. Some of our volunteers finished removing the invasive species in their area and were dedicated enough to help other groups clean up their section of the park as well.
Toward the end of the event, we were visited by Sandra Ung, a member of the New York City Council for the 20th district, which includes Kissena Park. She expressed her support for our mission and congratulated us for our work beautifying Kissena Park.
We would like to thank all of our volunteers who showed up to the event. We would like to especially thank our dedicated parent advisor team, who both directed us and helped out with the hands-on work. Our parks are cleaner and healthier because of you! We would also like to thank City Councilwoman Sandra Ung for showing up to our event, as well as Roxana and Ada for allowing us to work with them again. We eagerly look forward to the opportunity to work with them in the future!
Our Volunteers:
Jia Qi Liu (Angela): 3.5 hours
Hong Hao Liu (Alfred) : 3.5 hours
Sophia ShiHan You : 3.5 hours
Yifei Mei : 3.5 hours
Justin Qiu : 3.5 hours
Queenie Qiu : 3.5 hours
Ioknor Lin : 3.5 hours
Ioklee Lin : 3.5 hours
Ricky Song : 3.5 hours
Brandon Lin : 3.5 hours
Luke Chen : 3.5 hours
Katrina Zhang : 3.5 hours
Kaitlyn Zhang : 3.5 hours
Jayden Chen : 3.5 hours
Anson Gao : 3.5 hours
Yuhan Lin : 3.5 hours
Gina Gao : 3.5 hours
Sophia Xu : 3.5 hours
Anthony Xu : 3.5 hours
Leon Chen : 3.5 hours
Hanna Chen : 3.5 hours
Bowen Chen : 3.5 hours
Anthony Lin : 3.5 hours
Yiming Chen : 3.5 hours
Evan Li : 3.5 hours
Stephanie ShiRan You : 3.5 hours
Kaisa Wu : 3.5 hours
Tian Xiang Ding : 3.5 hours
Ivan Cao : 3.5 hours
Dylan Chen : 3.5 hours
Eason Lin : 3.5 hours
Alexander Lu : 3.5 hours
Vicky Liu : 3.5 hours
Sophia Lu : 3.5 hours
William Liu : 3.5 hours
Kaden He : 3.5 hours
Nuo Heng Chen : 3.5 hours
Nuoyan Chen : 3.5 hours
Yu Jie Zhu : 3.5 hours
Jasmine Qu : 3.5 hours
Joanna Qu : 3.5 hours
Terrence Cao : 3.5 hours
Ruien Song : 3.5 hours
Ruixuan Song : 3.5 hours
Matthew Lin : 3.5 hours
Elina Lee : 3.5 hours
Cynthia Shi : 3.5 hours
Tiffany Kong : 3.5 hours
Henry Jiang : 3.5 hours
Adrian Jiang : 3.5 hours
Eric Zheng : 3.5 hours
Austin Li : 3.5 hours
Nerissa Xu : 3.5 hours
Paxton Xu : 3.5 hours
Zihan Shi : 3.5 hours
Haoze Gao : 3 hours
Ruolin Gao : 3 hours
Ryan Wu : 3 hours
Alana Lin : 3 hours
Runyi Liu : 3 hours
Parent Adviser Team:
Teng Fei Liu: 8 hours
Hsinhui Liao: 8 hours
Cui Fang Li: 8 hours
Report written by: Anthony Lin
Reviewed by: Jia Qi (Angela) Liu
