Volunteers Get Dirty on Earth Day to Restore Hurricane-Damaged Youth Garden

Earth Day 2013 at New York City’s Gateway National Recreation Area was a day for partnerships.

Home Depot, National Park Service and NWF volunteers all converged at the Ecology Village garden this week to restore a site badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy.  Once it is rebuilt, the garden will be used for school group educational programs and for growing native plants for relocation around the park.

The event is part of a series of a restoration events hosted by the National Wildlife Federation. These “Ranger Rick Restores Days” bring together tri-state businesses to restore coastal habitat damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Yesterday, the Home Depot volunteers put in some serious labor and donated materials for the restoration project.

Partnering for Success

A highlight of the day came from a unique partnership with a new NWF volunteer, Ronald Zorrilla. Along with 3 friends he volunteered his trail building knowledge to create new wooden pathways for the garden.  Ronald and his friends are starting a new nonprofit organization aimed at introducing NYC kids to the outdoors. These volunteers put in a day of hard work, but also learned something from a large and established organization like the National Wildlife Federation about forwarding a hands on project that has impact.

At the end of the day everyone thanked everyone else as all participants seemed to feel that they were given something by someone else.  Just goes to show that the best successes are usually based in partnership!

Watch this news clip to learn more about this great event and stay tuned for more “Ranger Rick Restores Days” highlights.