by Deborah Patton, ParkTender Volunteer at the 95th St Entrance Gardens
When a new park facility opens, it means more helping hands are needed! In 2023, Riverside Park Conservancy launched a new state-of-the-art Compost Compound at 95th Street. And today, volunteers like Leila Lau and Gerri DiBenedetto are part of the Compost Compound’s goal: processing organic material and turning it into nutrient-rich compost that can go right back into Riverside Park’s gardens and landscapes.
Leila started volunteering at the Compost Compound a year ago when it had its first pile of compost ready to sift in June 2024. She invites everyone to learn more about the project online, or better yet, come visit the compound in-person.
“See how Mother Nature (with the diligent help of Conservancy staff) turns collected park debris, in stages, miraculously into rich material for soil,” Leila says. “I get to witness this, sift compost for use in the park, and help the park staff tend and keep beautiful the gardens around the area.”
Starting a year ago, Gerri DiBenedetto is also a new volunteer and works in the compound’s surrounding gardens. She appreciates what the compost delivers:
“I use the compost piles as mulch to avoid weeds growing back. The compost project is really impressive with its massive infrastructure that divides the debris into various breakdowns — from the beginning with branches and leaves to beautiful black ready to use compost.”
She adds, “I am proud of the area that the park has transformed in just a few short years. The staff works really hard are so dedicated.”
Leila is on a self-imposed sabbatical from her corporate career and is enjoying life. Her time is very precious to her, and she takes her weekly commitment to the Compost Compound very seriously. Gerri left the city during the pandemic to live upstate in her weekend home, and when she moved back to the city last year, living near Riverside Park was a priority. As she puts it, “The park has kept my hands dirty and my heart open.”
Riverside Park Conservancy is dependent on volunteers not only to ensure that the park continues to flourish, but also to offer a community of shared purpose. Gerri’s experience has given her some grounded advice for potential volunteers:
“If you use the park, help out! The amount of work needed is enormous, and the community needs your help. How fortunate are we to have a beautiful park by the water? It’s a special place in the New York concrete jungle, and it needs constant hands to maintain its beauty.”
Leila describes the Conservancy’s volunteer program as an unforced, strong, and quiet community, where individuals who love and enjoy the park can feel a deeply rooted purpose and give back.