Volunteers from the Astoria Park Alliance raked up and disposed of leaves at Astoria Park on Saturday, March 21.
Photo by Alice Moreno
On Saturday, March 21, over 60 volunteers of all ages gathered around Astoria Park, with their rakes and garbage bags in hand. They had one mission: to clean up the leaves scattered around the park.
Over 60 volunteers of all ages came together to clean up the leaves in Astoria Park. Photo by Alice Moreno
The Astoria Park Alliance hosted its first park clean-up of the 2026 season. For 19 years, volunteers enlist themselves every other week from March until November to perform a variety of tasks, such as litter clean-ups at the park and shoreline, leaf raking, garden maintenance and more.
Hundreds of bags filled with leaves line up Astoria Park. The leaves will be turned into compost.
The alliance began in 2007, when the founder, Martha Lopez-Gilpin, was dismayed at the amount of litter seen after the Fourth of July celebrations at the park. The alliance began as a small group that grew over time, eventually obtaining its 501(c)(3) status in 2017 and establishing the group as a nonprofit organization.
The Astoria Park Alliance flag waves proudly next to the bags filled with leaves. Photo by Alice Moreno
“We have people kind of up and down the age spectrum and from all kinds of backgrounds, but the common unifying theme is everybody loves the park,” said Anthony Liberatoscioli, the organizer of the clean-up and chairperson of the Astoria Park Alliance. “And everybody wants to do what they can to make it a better place for the whole community.”
Volunteer ages range from high school students, who are working towards their volunteer hours, to seasoned volunteers who have been working with the Astoria Park Alliance for years. Photo by Alice Moreno
Many of their volunteers are high school students completing their volunteer hours, whereas others are seasoned volunteers for nearly a decade. For Angie McCormick – a volunteer since 2017 – she sees the first clean-up of the season as the beginning of spring.
Angie McCormick rakes the leaves. Photo by Alice Moreno
“I think it’s just a cool way to be a part of your community, because it’s like instant gratification,” said McCormick. “Like you can look back at what we just raked, and you can go, ‘oh, wow, there’s grass there.’”
Andy Alkhram and his son, Aidan Alkhram, pick up leaves. Photo by Alice Moreno
Cleopatra Benetos (in grey), Katie Macchio (in pink), and Marlow Fodera (in purple) help each other with collecting leaves. Photo by Alice Moreno
Hubert Piotorwski (left) collects leaves as Aleksandra Kruzzel (right) holds the bag. Photo by Alice Moreno
Aside from the park clean-ups, the Astoria Park Alliance hosts a variety of free events, such as two movie nights a year (with the first on June 5) and a classic car show.
High schooler Josie Lando cleans up leaves as part of her school’s volunteer hours. Photo by Alice Moreno
Laura Picalla places the leaves in the bag. Photo by Alice Moreno
Sofia and David Troupp collect leaves at Astoria Park. Photo by Alice Moreno
“We see this park as kind of the neighborhood’s backyard,” said Liberatoscioli. “And the neighborhood’s backyard should be a place where people gather.”
To view more of the Astoria Park Alliance’s work, visit their website at astoriaparkalliance.org/, and follow their Instagram at instagram.com/astoriaparkalliance/