Celebrating Earth Day in Elmont

Carla Ojeda, 11, left, and Roxanne Edwards, 11, worked together on April 21 to sweep a parking lot located along Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont.

Helaina Regen-Tuero/Herald

Elmont students were all smiles while participating in the Elmont Dad’s Club’s “Clean Up Elmont Day” on April 21.

Helaina Regen-Tuero/Herald

Locals cheered after completing “Clean Up Elmont Day,” an event organized by the Elmont Dad’s Club, held last Saturday.

Helaina Regen-Tuero/Herald

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The Elmont Dads' Club, a group comprised of residents from the Elmont Union Free School District, held its annual “Clean Up Elmont Day” on April 21, in commemoration of Earth Day — an annual day that was observed on April 22 this year, in 175 countries worldwide.

From 9-11 a.m. on April 21, nearly 20 local students, as well as parents and other local residents, participated in the event. They walked along Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont, from Elmont Road School to Plainfield Avenue; and down Elmont Road, from Hempstead Turnpike to the Elmont Administration Building, picking up garbage and recyclables from both sides of each street.

The Elmont Dads' Club “Clean Up Elmont Day” has been taking place since September 2005, soon after the Dads' Club was founded.

Sunday, April 22, marked the 42nd celebration of Earth Day, which began as a grassroots environmental action that helped spur the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act in the United States.

"The kids were very proud to take place in an event to make their community cleaner, especially on Earth Day," said Anthony Maffea, a member of the Elmont district's Board of Education and leader of local Boy Scout Troop 294. Seven Scouts from Troop 294 participated in the clean-up, he added.

View all of our photos from “Clean Up Elmont Day” here.