GVLP ReWild at The Syosset Public Library

By: Nitin Rajagopalan

YICG-GVLP Rewild Team with the all the guests who attended

This video gives an overview of the presentation that was done

On August 2, 2025, at the Syosset Public Library, Nassau County NY, over 35 Syosset residents attended an informational talk about the environmental organization ReWild. I organized this activity through the Gita Vicara Leadership Program (GVLP) of the Young Indian Culture Group (YICG). Ms. Rathi Raja and Ms. Madhu Allu are the key leaders and mentors of the YICG - GVLP program. One of the key initiatives of the GVLP Program is the ReWild Long Island Project. Through this successful lecture, many Syosset residents, teens and adults alike, learned about how

they could promote sustainability in their own backyards.

This video highlights specific moments and initiatives from the day

I designed this event to raise awareness for the necessity of native plants. In Long Island, invasive species have outcompeted native plants and have caused them to die out. In our presentation, we covered the negative effects of microplastics, invasive species, deforestation, and pesticides. We also mentioned aspects of the ecosystem in Long Island, biodiversity, "no mow zones," and endangered species. Most importantly, we emphasized the importance of following some actions encouraged by ReWild to help native species return. They include replacing some of your grass with native plants, removing invasive plants, welcoming pollinators, using bacteria instead of pesticides, creating “no mow zones” , and joining beach cleanups. After that, we played a fun game my brother and I created to

teach participants about ecological terminology. Inspired by taboo, each card contained an ecological term and players tried to describe those words to their teammates (who had to guess the word). We spent the last few

minutes of our time playing seven up and four corners!

The event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the GVLP volunteers and Syosset students: Aashna Shah, Aidan Thomas, Anjali Thomas, Arjun Rajagopalan, Naren Ranganathan, Sanvi Nair, Sanskriti Rathore, and Vishwa Vasudevan. Each one of them covered a topic of their interest, and I could not be more grateful for their enthusiasm and initiative. I also appreciate the help of the Syosset library staff, as they lent us their facility.