Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins Partners With Youth, Community for Earth Day Park Cleanup Event

New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins kicked off Earth Day by partnering with the Westchester Parks Foundation to sponsor a park cleanup event for nearly 50 youth and teens at Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

The event drew 49 youth, including 15 members of Sen. Stewart-Cousins’ own Youth Advisory Council, to spend a few hours tending to the park and giving back in support of our beautiful natural resources as part of WPF’s countywide Pitch In For Parks initiative. Members of the Westchester Youth Alliance, White Plains Youth Bureau, and the YWCA of Yonkers PEARLS program also took part in Saturday’s event. While Sen. Stewart-Cousins was unable to attend Saturday’s event as the State Senate was in session to enact the state budget, the event went off without a hitch.

“This is the fourth year that I’ve teamed up with my Youth Advisory Council and other community groups to join the Westchester Parks Foundation for Pitch In For Parks, and it’s always been a great success,” Sen. Stewart-Cousins said. “I thank Joe Stout and the Westchester Parks Foundation for hosting this fantastic event every year, and I look forward to another great event next year.”

Youth at Saturday’s event cleared fields of invasive species, with some even putting on waders to go out into the mud and shallow stream to pick up debris. Participants from the YWCA PEARLS program applied a fresh coat of red paint to a footbridge in the park. WPF Executive Director Joe Stout visited with the group while they ate lunch and spoke about the park, and County Legislator David Tubiolo also stopped by and talked with those in attendance. 

“Westchester Youth Alliance was honored to partner for the second year with Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins Youth Advisory for a day of volunteerism at Tibbetts Brook Park,” said Nisa Geller, Executive Director of the Westchester Youth Alliance. “The youth joined with teens from all over the county to remove invasive species from the park and spent time learning about how they can contribute to the local environment.”

Earth Day is Monday, April 22, 2024, a day set aside for awareness and service about our planet and the ways we can look after our natural world. Sen. Stewart-Cousins said she hoped Saturday’s event helps inspire attendees to do even more.

“Every day should be earth day, and I hope everyone takes a moment to think about our planet and do what they can,” Sen. Stewart-Cousins said.