Green Teens Keep Parks Clean with Spoken Word 

By: Diana Benlevy, Sustainability Initiatives Intern

Queens Green Teens Husain and Zahra Abd’Allah have been participating in Parks programs since they were six and eight years old, respectively. Currently, they are both members of the Roy Wilkins Recreation Center where the siblings learned how to swim and golf by participating in the NYC Parks Learn to Swim Program and the City Parks Foundation Golf program. In addition to their athleticism, Husain is a talented poet and Zahra is a spoken word artist. Together, the sibling duo participated in NYC Parks Spoken Word program at the Roy Wilkins Recreation Center. The Green Teens performed anti-litter poetry to creatively encourage the public not to litter. Watch their video here. Have you done anything creative to engage the public in environmental awareness? If so, tell us about it!

Green Teens Energy Workshops

Earlier this month the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation held Energy Workshops for our citywide Green Teens. The workshops were held at Recreation Centers in each borough, and were taught by an instructor from Solar1, an organization that offers programs promoting urban sustainability and education. The teens learned about the different ways we consume energy daily, where our energy comes from, and how it affects our environment.

 
Green Teens learning about their energy consumption.

Staten Island Green Teens are Famous!

By: Diana Benlevy, Sustainability Initiatives Intern

On August 1st, our Staten Island Green Teens encountered their first famous debut! As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC program, the teens (as well as neighbors and local businesses) were invited to water and care for several trees during the press event on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 10:30AM on Tysens Lane between Mill Road and Weed Avenue in Staten Island.

Adena Long, Staten Island Borough Commissioner at Parks introduces the Watering Campaign LIVE on NY1.

NY1 documented the event hosted by MillionTreesNYC, and our famous Staten Island Green Teens became stars as they were featured on television. Check out the link below to watch the clip: Staten Island Green Teens on NY1

Green Teens diligently care for trees in their neighborhood.

Also, REMEMBER that watering is the most important piece of stewardship you can give to young trees. They need 15-20 gallons per week in the summer or when there is no rainfall. All your efforts will pay off in return benefits as trees reduce energy costs, clean our air & water by filtering out pollutants, cool us with shade, and beautify our neighborhoods. When was the last time YOU gave back to our environment?

Green Teens are Getting Trashy!!!

By Diana Benlevy, Sustainability Initiatives Intern

This summer, the interns from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation’s Sustainability Initiatives Office have teamed up with interns from Arsenal West as well as the Green Teens in northern Manhattan to focus on one important aspect of environmental stewardship: public recycling! In an attempt to promote an anti-litter campaign, the group decided to obtain accurate measurements of exactly what kind of trash is being thrown away in Anne Loftus Playground, Dyckman Fields, Payson Playground, and Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan. In order to find out what gets accumulated in the trash bins, the team has been conducting biweekly waste audits where they sort through trash bags in certain areas of the parks (baseball dugouts, children’s playground, soccer field etc), and divide the accumulated trash into the following categories: plastic, metal, and glass (or mixed materials), paper, and actual trash. After sorting the trash, it is weighed with a sensitive digital scale and the measurements for each bag are recorded on a spreadsheet.

The Waste Audit Team posing with the recycling they rescued from the landfills!

Northern Manhattan Green Teens collecting data.

Sorting through the garbage to collect recyclable bottle and jugs.

The project will take place over three weeks. The first week, trash was sorted and baseline measurements were taken. After the first week, recycling bins will be strategically placed in locations throughout the park where the Green Teens found a lot of recyclable materials (park entrance, picnic spots, etc). To measure whether the recycling bins were effective, the team will then conduct another waste audit on the trash bins near the recycling bins. After the second week, the team will spend a weekend in northern Manhattan Parks engaging in outreach for the community. This will include public education, recycling games and prizes, demonstrations, and a visible cube of garbage. ((Curious about what that is? Come to our outreach day in Dyckman Fields on Sunday August 5^th at 3pm!)) To measure whether outreach day has been successful in promoting public recycling, the team will conduct their last round of waste audits, where they hope to find diminishing amounts of recyclable materials in the trash. This project is currently taking place, and if it turns out to make a successful impact, hopefully it can be expanded and passed on to Green Teens in other boroughs!

It's time to Spring into ACTION !!!

Here what's coming up for our
Staten Island Green Teens.

Staten Island Green Teens

A group of dedicated teen volunteers has recently done amazing work at the DeMatti Harvest Garden in Staten Island. The Staten Island Green Teens are group of teen volunteers whose mission it is to restore, recycle, engage and encourage the greening of more spaces in parks and playgrounds. The DeMatti Harvest Garden, once known as the Children’s Farm Garden and tended by “The Junior City Farmers” in the mid-1950s, is now the focus of the Staten Island Green Teens. With help from Staten Island Horticulture and Forestry Divisions, the Green Teens will clean, clear and re-energize the existing 30’ by 60’ garden space at DeMatti Park. For this spring, the goal of the Staten Island Green Teens is the restoration and planting of a low maintenance, ornamental and edible harvest garden .The group will eliminate invasive elements and begin to plant fruits and vegetables such as high bush blueberries, raspberries, kale, broccoli and mustard greens. The Staten Island Green Teens will plan a fall harvest celebration for the site and hope to locate and reunite some of the original “Junior City Farmers” for the event. The Staten Island Green Teens will also participate in a Sustainable Playgrounds design mentoring project with the Capital Team. The youth will participate in lectures, site visits to view projects in other boroughs, and a design project in the Borough—likely Greencroft Playground, which was last renovated in the 1970s

Sincerely,

Adrian Benepe

New York City Parks Commissioner

NYC Parks would like to thank the Green Teens from Queens for their community service project at Rockaway Beach and braving the cold weather. Your efforts will be recognized when our beach goers hit the beaches this summer, great job!!!

We hope your efforts will encourage others to keep our beaches clean......

Sorrentino Recreation Green Teens 

Welcome Aviation High School National Honor Society

NYC Parks Green Teens would like to thank you for your contributions to keeping our parklands clean and green. Your dedication and commitment to community service will help improve our quality of life and encourage others to pitch in to keep our city clean.

Keep up the good work!!!!!




Astoria Park Green Teens 



Green Teens from Aviation High School enjoying the day keeping Astoria Park clean.

  

Astoria Park Clean-up



Aviation High School National Honor Society