Friday, July 18, 2025
Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages joined forces with Rewild Long Island and the Franklin Square Public Library to host a low-waste project in celebration of Earth Day on April 26.
The project involved transplanting native plants into new flower pots and painting their pea pods.
Attendees of all ages participated in the community event to honor and celebrate Earth.
“Earth Day means to celebrate the earth’s birthday, to honor the earth for helping us and our community,” said Eleanor Libus, a young child decorating a pea pod at the event.
“It’s when we help the environment grow,” said Charlotte Libus, Eleanor’s sister.
Solages organized the Earth Day project for the past four years with the help of her office staff.
“I still have my native plants from this project from three years ago, and it’s flourishing in my garden, which is pretty neat,” Solages said.
In the second year of the event, Rewild Long Island started getting involved as a collaborator. Library employees and volunteers also help out by setting up the room, providing paints, and supervising the children as they create their projects.
“She really does the job,” said Sabrina Yazdpour, co-chapter lead for Rewild’s South Nassau chapter, about Solages. “She doesn’t just talk the talk. She’s doing everything for us.”
The key to this project is the choice of native plants, according to Solages.
“We’re not only encouraging young people to think about their consumption, but also to plant native plants,” Solages said. “It’s so easy to just go to Home Depot and buy a geranium. It’s another thing to plant a native plant to help flourish and strengthen our biodiversity in our communities.”
The project involved several species of flowers that could grow into a range of sizes. Since transplanting was necessary for the project, participants got to feel the soil in their hands, giving them an authentic gardening experience.
“Rewild makes it a point to have people connect to each other and to our local ecosystem,” Yazdpour said. “To make sure we’re understanding native plants, the issue of watering, the importance of using native plants to filter our soils and eliminate the runoff and protect our aquifers.”
While a smaller pot keeps the plant from growing too large, the biodegradable pea pods, which participants transplanted the seedlings into, are meant to be planted directly into the earth.
“Most of the materials are earth-friendly,” Solages said.
Solages explained that the team recycles everything and washes all the paintbrushes to use for the next year. They also use compostable plates and spoons for cleaning and painting. “We try to be earth-conscious while we do it,” Solages said. “But also understanding that there’s little kids here too.”
Solages also emphasized that this celebration is meant to be a community-building event. She said they chose to do the event in Franklin Square to attract more children and families.
That community exposure is a key reason why Eleanor and Charlotte’s father, Samson Libus, brought them to the event.
“For me personally—to have them socialize,” Libus said. “I think these events are important for that purpose. To let the kids come somewhere and be part of the community. For them—they do this to make a mess, enjoy themselves, have fun, do something interesting.”
