Volunteers Gather for Historic Restoration on Governors Island
SCA celebrated the one-year anniversary of ConSERVE NYC by bringing together 100 volunteers for historic restoration at Governors Island National Monument.
SCA launched the ConSERVE NYC initiative on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, with the goal of mobilizing 1000 volunteers in 12 months to build resiliency in New York City’s parks and green spaces. One year later, ConSERVE NYC has overwhelmingly succeeded in these goals. The initiative has held events across all five boroughs and engaged over 1,100 volunteers — 75 percent of them under age 25. In the process, ConSERVE NYC service projects have improved public lands in New York City for over 21 million annual park visitors.
At one of the year’s largest events, over 100 volunteers rode the ferry to Governors Island to tackle historic restoration projects at Fort Jay and Castle Williams. Teams of volunteers cleaned windows and educational displays, pulled weeds and mulched and watered seedlings, and conducted safety surveys around the monument to help support future restorations to the site. Aligning with the anniversary of 9.11, the event was part of SCA’s nationwide effort to recognize the 9.11 National Day of Service and the 20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps.
At the close of the event, SCA staff recognized volunteers who had made year-long commitments to ConSERVE NYC — including students Sam March from Park East High School in Harlem, and Sam Willner from Bard High School in Brooklyn, who each attended nine ConSERVE events over the course of the year.
Among the day’s volunteers were New York Harbor Parks Commissioner Joshua Laird and his son. At the close of the project, Commissioner Laird thanked volunteers for their service throughout the year and encouraged them to return for further explorations at National Park sites around New York Harbor. “We have been excited to join SCA this year for ConSERVE NYC events,” he announced, “and we look forward to continuing this successful partnership in the future.”
See more photos from the September event at Governors Island National Monument.