Rutherford students argue for a litter-free Lincoln Woods
RUTHERFORD – Lincoln Elementary School second-graders launched a letter-writing campaign to the mayor and public after a routine cleanup of Lincoln Woods turned up four containers of trash. The students are asking residents to stop littering and for the DPW’s continued help in keeping Lincoln Woods clean.
“Everyone in Rutherford should show kindness to Lincoln Woods,” wrote Lyla. “Students in Lincoln School have been cleaning up Lincoln Woods and it’s really hard work. Most importantly, you should respect Lincoln Woods because animals live in there and people trash it like it is a dump.”
The 1.8-acre property is a teaching garden located behind the school at West Pierrepont and Carmita avenues. Composed of winding trails and outdoor classroom space, the woods are a vision project of the school community, the former Shade Tree Committee and municipal officials. Since 2010, volunteers have worked to convert the woods into a more functional space by removing poison ivy and felled trees. Funds were raised through a local walk-a-thon, a Rutherford Education Foundation grant, Lincoln School PTA and a Green Acres grant. An official ribbon cutting was held last autumn.
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After Bonnie DeBouter’s second-graders conducted a recent cleanup, they took up their pencils and pleaded to the Borough Council on behalf of the animal, insect and tree life that lives in the woods.
“Trees are homes to squirrels, chipmunks and other living things,” wrote Sophia.
In summer 2015, after officials complained about the overgrown state of Lincolns Woods, a maintenance plan was drawn up. Since then, the plan has been updated to incorporate the DPW, schools and Green Team to take care of the site.
Due to its being owned by the borough, public works is primarily responsible for Lincoln Woods, said DPW liaison Mark Goldsack.
“The Green Team, DPW and schools meet every so often to discuss what needs to be done at Lincoln Woods and what type of maintenance may be needed at that particular time,” said Goldsack. “Once the weather changes and the plants, grass, etc., on the site begin to grow, the DPW goes in every two weeks, or weekly depending on how much everything has grown, to clean the site up. The Green Team's role is to help to decide what plan they want to implement, and it really comes down to them volunteering hours. They all decide as a group what they want the woods to look like. The three groups work really well together.”
Starting this year on a rotating basis, classes are assigned weekly to visit the woods, said Principal Jeanna Velechko. Classes visit the woods to identity animal life, take soil samples and have a change of scenery. The students bring gloves and recycling buckets, donated by the Bergen County Utilities Authority, in case trash is found on their route.
“The kids take a walk in the woods, they go through the trails and if they see anything, they pick it up and put it in the buckets,” Velechko said.
The students said not only is the litter unsightly, but they are also concerned that the trash could hurt the animals.
“Lincoln Woods is a beautiful place to have fun,” wrote Eva. “First of all, when animals are looking for food, they might die if they eat the trash.”
Velechko explained that the weekly trips, and the letter-writing campaign, are a learning experience in civics.
“We want to teach them responsibility, first of all, and for the little ones, to care about the community. In order to do that, you have to start locally,” said Velechko. “It’s hard for them to think too far, like about people in other countries. It’s just too far removed for them. This is a little closer to home and something they can relate to.”
Responding to their frustration with the litter, teacher DeBouter assigned her students a persuasive letter-writing campaign.
“They were pretty fired up,” said Velechko.
The students addressed their letters to the mayor, citizens and the newspaper.
“We marched for so long at the walk-a-thon to get all that money and this is how Lincoln Woods is treated?” wrote Rory.
“Littering in Lincoln Woods is not respectful to all the students who pick up all the trash you littered,” wrote Makayla.
Improvements involving heavy lifting are handled by public works. The DPW placed signs, donated by the Rutherford Education Foundation, and big boulders, donated by the Meadowlands Environment Center, throughout the site. On their walks, the students take note of other issues at the site.
“We are working closely with the town, to touch base and ask ‘do you have extra wood chips?’ or say things like ‘it’s getting a little bare over here,’ " Velechko said.
As spring arrives, the goal is for the three groups to meet and come up with a maintenance plan that will be implemented in the next few months, said Goldsack.
A community cleanup day is also tentative scheduled for later in the spring.
Email: grantm@northjersey.com