More than 50 colleagues from the United Nations, Member States, and the New York City Mayor’s Office gathered on Randall’s Island on 18 July to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela and volunteer to help the community.
The group – wearing UN Nelson Mandela International Day t-shirts with Madiba’s image on the sleeve – volunteered alongside the Randall’s Island Park Alliance to clear invasive mugwort weed from the Apple Berm, whose apples are used each fall to make cider with local children.
The group pulled out anywhere from 500 to 700 pounds of mugwort, according to the Randall’s Island Park Alliance.
Margarethe, who is connected to the Permanent Mission of South Africa, said it was “absolutely fantastic” to be working in the ground, something you never get to do in the city. She called the experience of pulling out the weeds “rather therapeutic”, before running off to throw her immense pile into one of five collection bags.
In another area of the hill, Tianyu, who recently started with the Department of Global Communication (DGC) was staring in amazement at Ray, also with DGC, who seemed to be a human tractor, ripping out weeds by the armful. Both said they enjoyed the opportunity to work outside of the office. And to meet people like Wagner.
Looking at the river from the other side of the weeded hill, Wagner said the experience brought back memories of doing community service in high school in the Dominican Republic.
Not everyone was happy about the weeds being gone. The teams came across snails in the dirt. Dragonflies buzzed overhead. A praying mantis took a ride on a volunteer’s arm.
Miguel, with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM), said it was “very inspiring” to be reminded how much can be accomplished when working together. Isabel, from the Office of the President of the General Assembly, said she hopes the group was impactful.
The weather on the day was noticeably cooler with the heat wave finally breaking. The Randall’s Island Park Alliance provided water and snacks for the volunteers, reminding people to take breaks.
The group worked longer than the 67 minutes suggested for Nelson Mandela Day. But the time went by too quickly, according to Puvendra and Mpilo, from the South African Mission. Shirley agreed, calling the experience “awesome”.
Before long, volunteers were piling onto the M35 bus back to Manhattan.
