[ back ]
Group raising awareness
(by Erin Patricia Griffiths - August 19, 2008)
 |
|
Staff Photos By Joe Camporeale
Hillsdale Councilman Michael Giancarlo dumps the first wheelbarrow full of dirt into a planting box in the new community garden located in McSpirit Park. The garden was created by a new group called Earth Scouts and other community volunteers.
|
Passion for the environment and a desire for change in the world has inspired action in one local resident. Aditi Sen, a marketing research analyst and mother of two, has founded a new children’s program called Earth Scouts to educate children about the present environmental issues plaguing their community and the world.
The group is open to Hillsdale residents, ages 7 to 17, as well as parent volunteers. The mission of the group includes raising awareness, fostering hands-on activities, and the adoption of a more sustainable lifestyle. “There are lots of people with me moving, coming forward, becoming a part of it,” said Sen. “Awareness is getting there, but the gap is how people can do something about it. Earth Scouts is a group that can foster communication.”
The group held its first meeting on Earth Day, April 22, and attendance during monthly meetings since inception has reached up to 30 members some months. “People are getting more aware, conscious, and want to do something about it. We create a forum,” said Sen.
The goal of the group is to discuss current environmental issues through presentations, handouts, and statistics, and to then provide a hands-on activity that can help the group to understand how to solve the problems. The Earth Scouts intend to continue holding monthly meetings, which will either be preceded or followed by an activity or trip to enhance learning. Some of the topics on the agenda include hazardous material collections, alternative energy, and a continuing discussion of plastic and recycling.
One of the programs that Sen hopes to initiate is an e-mail pen-pal partnership, which would connect children from around the world with different backgrounds to foster the exchange of ideas, establish contacts, and address the world’s problems at a personal level. “The ideal situation would be the whole idea spreading,” said Sen. “We might be able to learn from other towns, local connectivity, and understanding what is happening in your backyard,” she continued. “Once you start creating that interest you get the momentum.”
To begin promoting the goals of the group, the Earth Scouts have started a community garden project in Hillsdale. After approaching the mayor and council about acquiring a piece of property within the borough to begin their garden, the Earth Scouts were provided with a stretch of land located in the McSpirit Park on Glendale Avenue to begin planting a natural, organic garden using only non-industrial materials and nutrients.
In preparation for planting the garden, the group took a trip to an organic farm in Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., where they learned about how to execute the natural, organic growing they intend on doing in the garden and tie in the learning conducted in meetings into an activity.
The Earth Scouts held their groundbreaking ceremony on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 16. With over 20 volunteers and assistance from Mayor John Sapanara and Councilman Michael Giancarlo, the group built eight boxes and filled them with soil provided by the Hillsdale DPW to prepare for planting seeds.
After dumping the first wheelbarrow full of soil into a planting box, Giancarlo reflected on the garden project and the community involved in its development. “Maybe it calls for a time where we start going back and looking upon each other and helping each other at a local level,” said Giancarlo. “Because Hillsdale, like any other town, is a town of neighborhoods. And this is a great neighborhood here.”
Sen attributes much of the project progress to Sally Denbeaux, a resident of Hillsdale. “I thought it would be nice to have a community garden that everyone could come and use, and this is a learning garden,” said Denbeaux. “Aditi [Sen] came up with the idea, and I am totally on board with all of that [environmental awareness].”
 |
Earth Scout volunteers were hard at work on Saturday during the construction of a community garden in McSpirit Park.
|
Alice Urbiel, a 12-year-old resident of Hillsdale, was happy to have her hands dirty and to be working hard on the project. “I think it is really fun,” said Urbiel. “If groups keep coming together and making gardens, and talking about that stuff, more people will be aware,” she continued. “And more people will start thinking about it, which is already happening. But if more and more people start doing it, then more and more will get involved.”
Councilman Max Arnowitz, who attended the ceremony, was pleased to see that the community was working together to provide a new place for children to spend their time. “Hillsdale has a phenomenal sports program, and I have always felt that we have been lacking in things other than sports, the arts for example. And this is such a great, great example of what can be done in our town,” said Arnowitz.
The Earth Scouts will be working to create a Web site to spread their ideas across the nation and the world. Sen hopes that the site will become a resource center for others who are interested in planting their own garden or beginning an environmental learning group that fosters activity, awareness, and the adopting of behavior that would help to decrease the carbon footprint human beings are leaving in the world.
Despite a full-time job and fulfilling her roles as wife and mother, Sen is determined to continue promoting awareness of environmental issues. “I can stay up until midnight without feeling tired because it is my passion. Passion is a space where it comes easily,” said Sen. “I just think that time is running out. It is one of these things that cannot be pushed to the backburner anymore.”
Erin Patricia Griffiths' e-mail address is GriffithsE@northjersey.com.
[ back ]
