For our 242th event, the AYLUS Oakland Gardens Branch visited Alley Pond Park from 1:45 pm to 4:15 pm on Wednesday, 8/5/2026 to learn about nature all around them. Not only that, but our members cleaned up the park after the learning session to ensure that it thrives. Removing the trash ensures that the wildlife does not ingest the garbage and that it is sanitary for visitors.
Our members first gathered near the baseball field across from Alley Pond Park. There, our members learnt a lot about plants, animals, and bugs from Ariana Cassa-Lee, Friend of Alley Pond Park. She taught us many things, such as information about monarch butterflies. They only lay their eggs on milkweed plants, so conservationists, such as herself, collect their eggs early on to let them hatch and grow up safely, away from wasps and predators, before re-releasing them into the wild. To demonstrate, she released a mature monarch butterfly she raised in safety.
Not only did we learn about the monarch butterfly, we also learnt about many creatures such as the pollinators and many other miscellaneous creatures. Ariana was very kind and respectful, answering all of our members’ questions about these wonderful beings that live around us.
Once we finished our bug walk, our members crossed the street to go to the pond and clean up the trash there. We split into two groups and went in opposite directions to cover ground as quickly as possible. Halfway through the cleaning, Ariana joined one of the groups to investigate a large bird diving into one of the trees. The large bird turned out to be an osprey, along with its mate. Our members enjoyed this unexpected visit very much.
We would like to thank Ariana Cassa-Lee for hosting this event and teaching our members a lot about many different creatures. We would also like to thank the public and the NYC Parks Department for keeping the park clean, as there wasn’t much trash for our members to pick up.
Our Volunteers:
1. Hong Hao Liu: 2.5 hours
2. Sophia You: 2.5 hours
3. Jia Qi Liu: 2.5 hours
4. Vicki Lin: 2.5 hours
5. Enda Zheng: 2.5 hours
6. Sophia Xu: 2.5 hours
7. Anthony Xu: 2.5 hours
8. Stephanie You: 2.5 hours
9. Brian Wu: 2.5 hours
10. Selena You: 2.5 hours
11. Luke Chen:2.5 hours
12. Ian Lee : 2.5 hours
13. Elina Lee: 2.5 hours
14. Vincent He : 2.5 hours
Parent Adviser Team:
Fannie Li: 5 hours
Karen Liao: 5 hours
Faye Liu: 5 hours
Report by: Hong Hao Liu
