The summer afternoons are slowly arriving in New York City and a good way New Yorkers spend their time is outside in local parks. One of the many parks in Bayside is Linnaeus Park, located a few blocks away from Cardozo. On May 7, to help honor Earth Day and give back to the community, Journalism Program students, NJROTC cadets, and local politicians teamed up to organize a park clean up.
Linda Lee, a council member for the 23rd district in New York City, acknowledged that she came to help clean up the weeds and ensure that everything in the park is cleaned up in celebration of Earth Day.
“Linnaeus Park is probably one of the more, neglected parks because it’s in the middle of all these houses and so I’m not sure how many people but that’s why we wanna make sure we beautify it and get rid of all these weeds so that, students, families, baseball teams, soccer teams, can come and utilize it,” she explained.
Lee also emphasized that there is more work to do for our environment — city and state wise. She believes in policies that put green and earth-friendly efforts first. “Making sure that we are creating sustainable energy, that we’re not polluting the air as well as what we’re putting into the ground, and I think that there is a lot of education still that needs to be done in the community and so that’s why it’s important,” she said.
“It’s at least one day during the week where we can all get together and be mindful of it and hopefully it will stay with us.”
Lee also gave a shoutout to Hudson, an intern in her office from St John’s University, who created the event all by himself, coordinating with local schools and programs.
Peter Georgatos, Assistant Principal at Cardozo, spoke about the partnership with Lee’s office, as well. “Lee is a big supporter of Cardozo high school and when her intern Hudson mentioned this idea to clean the park, I thought it would be a great opportunity because we need to give back to the community that supports us when we need them,” he said.
“It’s all about forming relationships so I thought that was a win-win situation, especially since the park is really close to our school and I’m sure our kids in the school have been to that park at least once or twice in their lifetime,” Georgatos added.
Being part of an event like this important, not only for the community, but for the students to have some experience with community service and giving back.
“I believe that at the end of the day, if you don’t want to help your community then what good are you? Georgatos asked.
The clean up was an overall success, as cadets and students joined together to pull weeds, clean up litter left behind by park visitors, and give back to the community. Lee’s office staff provided the materials needed, and even organized a food truck for the students after their job was done.
If you are looking for ways to give back to the community or earn volunteer hours, be sure to speak to your Cardozo program advisers about upcoming events like this.
