OLIVIA KAPOFI

For my community project, I chose to participate in Adopt the Park for the second time. My first community project involving Adopt the Park was at Essex County Park in Newark through Kean University Center for Leadership and Services. This volunteer project required us to both plant and remove weeds that prevent plants from growing. My second Adopt the Park project took place on Sunday, March 25, 2018, at Warinanco Park in Roselle, NJ. The activity required community service volunteers to clean up leaves, pick up trash, and move fallen tree branches.

Upon arrival at the park, we were greeted by Betty Ann Kelly, the environmental specialist at the Union County Department of Parks and Community Renewal. Ms. Kelly gave us a brief history of the park and explained the need for the student volunteers to help out in providing sustainability to the park, including by keeping it clean. She explained to us how a few years ago there were no water streams in the park, and they used pipes to carry the water to other places. The park implemented an environmentally friendly method of running the water through a stream.  Through the help of the Merck corporation, volunteers assisted in building a water stream around the park.

Unfortunately, environmental efforts such as the stream are undermined by pollution because many park goers do not clean up their own garbage. The other challenge is that the big trees during the winter release a lot of leaves and wood branches that cover wildflowers and prevent them from getting sunlight. The wildflowers function to prevent soil erosion of the land surrounding the stream.

After the introduction session, we split up into groups of four. One group was assigned to clean up the garbage, the second group was for cleaning up tree branches, another group was planting trees and the last group cleaned the tree leaves and put them in the bags. I chose the group that was picking up trash. I was surprised to see a lot of trash in the water stream and alongside the stream. It took me almost an hour and a half to finish picking up small pieces of paper and plastic bags at a 9-foot long distance. After my group finished up with garbage cleaning, I moved on to the leave removal group until it was the time for all us to head back to college.

I have always been taught to clean my city and not throw any garbage out of the car window or anywhere unless there is a garbage can or recycling bin. However, from doing community services that involve cleaning the park, I have learned that even many people who come to appreciate nature fail to understand the importance of keeping the environment clean.  In order to do my part to maintain sustainable parks, I will continue to dedicate some of my free time to participate in any volunteer community service that involves cleaning parks. Overall, this was a great community service experience that I enjoyed and learned from.