Winter Wander in the Park

Wednesday, December 29, 2021 was our Winter Wander in the Park event! Taking place during NYC students’ Winter Recess week, volunteers of all ages were joined by the Urban Park Rangers of Queens - Ranger Max and Ranger Sam - for a guided tour of the Pat Dolan Trail of Willow Lake Preserve! On this educational tour, the Rangers showed volunteers how to identify different species of trees by their various characteristics such as the bark, the branches, and the shape of the tree. All the volunteers had a great time learning about our natural area from the Rangers.

After the tour, our younger stewards joined together for a craft at the playground designing their very own tree cookie necklaces. Through activities like this, we aim to encourage the youth of the community to become more engaged in the natural environment and understand the importance of stewardship and preservation even in urban areas like here in NYC. Stewards then gathered materials and tools and headed back down to the entrance of the trail, where we worked together to close two desire lines. Due to the large turnout, we were also able to remove 5 bags of litter and invasive plants from the trail!

Thank you to our 32 volunteers in attendance and the Urban Park Rangers Max and Sam!