By Jason Scheer
The event, held under a murky sky on Wednesday, April 27, was an opportunity for local children to make a difference by picking up the garbage and litter on the 17-acre Tanglewood Preserve facility. Students gathered at the preserve at 10 a.m., put on rubber gloves and got to work. They searched through leaves, rummaged through refuse and picked pollution out of the pond.
Michelle Sheridan, 6, of East Rockaway, was one of the participants making a difference. "People usually litter and do things that are bad for other people," she said. "So we're picking up garbage and putting it away."
Jesse Pace, 6, of Malverne, said he hopes that people will want to come to Tanglewood Preserve now that the area is cleaned up. "It's so dirty that no one would want to come here," he said. "But if we make it clean, then everyone would want to come because it's so nice."
Dr. Ray Ann Havasy, director of the Center for Science Teaching and Learning, said the cleanup was a tremendous success. "I thought the program was really wonderful," she said.
According to Havasy, the cleanup festivities helped satisfy two important goals. "Number one, of course, which is the purpose of Earth Day, is that these kids learned to appreciate that we all are stewards of our environment," she said.
As for the second goal, "People understood that Tanglewood is their park. It's the community's park," Havasy said. "It's for them to enjoy. That was the second message that I hope was real clear."
Furthermore, Havasy said, the young participants got a better perspective of the role our actions play in the environment. "Every little bit that everyone does, whether positive or negative, makes a difference," she said. "It really impacts us, and I think that was a message that came home to them when they were cleaning other people's trash out of the stream, off the ground and off the street. Because whether it's a positive effect or a negative effect, a little bit, when multiplied by everyone, has a huge impact."
Havasy is confident that the girls and boys involved in the cleanup day will make a positive contribution. "I really want to thank the kids," she said. "They were so much fun, and they helped so much."
A home away from home
For Havasy and the rest of the CSTL staff, the Earth Day Cleanup represented an opportunity to introduce the new-and-improved Tanglewood Preserve to the community.
And they seized that opportunity.
Havasy said that she received overwhelming positive feedback from the children and parents involved. "Now that [Tanglewood] is a usable park, we want to bring our scouts back and we want to be here," said Havasy about the response to the program.
However, the CSTL is still looking for more help from the community. For $150, residents can take part in the CSTL's Buy-A-Brick Campaign. By purchasing bricks, residents can contribute to the building of the new science center and become an essential part of the facility. The bricks, inscribed with the purchasers' names, will be placed on a special "Pathway to Learning" walkway.
The CSTL is also actively seeking volunteers from local communities with a passion for science and nature to devote some time to the preserve. Those interested in volunteering, or finding out more about the CSTL, can call (516) 764-0045.
Comments about this story? Mal-wheditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
