Number of Participants: 3
Hours Donated: 10
Value of Time Served: $254
Event Type: Environment
Sport: Other
Date: September 24, 2021
Location:
Northport
NY, USA
About:
Students of Northport High School’s Environment Team (E-team) are continuing their work to protect the environment by working with Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment (CCE). E-Team members Skyla Fabbricante, Catarina Rasizzi, and Tom Secrest volunteered with CCE by assisting their team in notifying North Babylon homeowners of an opportunity to have Suffolk County pay for sewer hook-ups to the homes in the Carlls River watershed.
The objective of Suffolk County’s sewer expansion program is to protect our waterways and to reestablish the health and functionality of wetlands. The wetlands protect Long Island mainland from flooding and storms, something that is becoming increasingly critical to the area.
To prepare for this opportunity, students participated in a one-hour training with professional CCE staff and learned how to discuss the issue with community members.
When describing the experience, student Skyla Fabbricante said “I felt good about myself knowing that I’m doing something to make the world a better place, even if it’s really small.”
Fellow student Catarina Rasizzi called it a “very fun and cool experience”, and expressed and eagerness to participate in similar activities.
“Our students learned that doing something good for their environment and the future of Long Island’s waters sometimes involves stepping out of their comfort zone,” said E-team Adviser and English teacher Tom Franco. “Going door to door and talking to people about important community issues takes guts. They learned valuable communication skills and did a great job.”
CCE anticipates that students will have an opportunity to expand upon this program in additional communities on Long Island in the future.
Photo caption: Northport High School Environment Team members Skyla Fabbricante, Catarina Rasizzi, and Tom Secrest at Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment headquarters in Farmingdale, where they volunteered to assist in informing homeowners in North Babylon on how they could obtain a free sewer hookup through a grant Suffolk County received form the federal government.
Photo courtesy of the Northport-East Northport UFSD