{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/cf9j38mr19/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Ashley Cruce Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAshley Cruce is an environmental educator at the Queens Botanical Garden. Cruce, who moved to Queens in 2007, explains that the borough's ample green space and the large garden space in Cruce's Jackson Heights apartment complex were major factors in deciding where to live. Cruce describes the importance of addressing environmental issues at micro, intermediate, and macro levels in order to make impactful change and discusses the environmental and socioeconomic significance of composting and community gardens.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCruce highlights the successes of two community gardens (one in East Elmhurst and one in Jackson Heights) and the environmental work of various organizations including the Veggie Nuggets youth environmental group, the Queens Climate Project, the Queens Solid Waste Advisory Board (QSWAB), the Jackson Heights Beautification Group's JH Scaps community composting project, and the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust. Cruce reflects on serving as an educator to school groups and being hopeful in seeing how young people recognize the seriousness of and take action on environmental and climate crises.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/40518"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2023-02-02 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Video"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Ashley Cruce (Interviewee)","Daniela Trapani (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["This interview was conducted as part of the Hunters Point Environmental Education Center Program."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1970s-2023 (temporal)","Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, and Queens Botanical Garden, Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAshley Cruce is an environmental educator at the Queens Botanical Garden. Cruce, who moved to Queens in 2007, explains that the borough's ample green space and the large garden space in Cruce's Jackson Heights apartment complex were major factors in deciding where to live. Cruce describes the importance of addressing environmental issues at micro, intermediate, and macro levels in order to make impactful change and discusses the environmental and socioeconomic significance of composting and community gardens.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCruce highlights the successes of two community gardens (one in East Elmhurst and one in Jackson Heights) and the environmental work of various organizations including the Veggie Nuggets youth environmental group, the Queens Climate Project, the Queens Solid Waste Advisory Board (QSWAB), the Jackson Heights Beautification Group's JH Scaps community composting project, and the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust. Cruce reflects on serving as an educator to school groups and being hopeful in seeing how young people recognize the seriousness of and take action on environmental and climate crises.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/197/241/small/PXL_20221109_181204296%283%29_aviary.jpg?1689190597","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Hunters_Point_Ashley_Cruce_and_Daniela_Trapani.mp4"]},"duration":3027.09,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/197/241/small/PXL_20221109_181204296%283%29_aviary.jpg?1689190597","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/197/241/original/Hunters_Point_Ashley_Cruce_and_Daniela_Trapani.mp4?1689188545","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":3027.09,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Do you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Queens Memory informed consent and copyright permission form that I shared with you over email?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=0.0,12.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yes, I do.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=12.0,15.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Thank you. Okay, this is Daniela Trapani with, uh, Ashley Cruce. We are recording on February 2nd, 2023 for the Queens Memory Project. Ashley, could you say your full name and spell it please?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=15.0,30.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yes, my name is Ashley Cruce. C R U C E A S H L E Y.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=30.0,39.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Thank you. Okay. So the first question I wanted to ask you, Ashley, is, um, what got you interested in environmental efforts?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=39.0,49.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Well, I actually, um, grew up in a rural area of North Carolina and I think that experience, um, just being in the country and, and there were cows actually in my grandmother's backyard, you know, from a field. And I think being able to just play in the woods and have a lot of free play and free time, um, affected my upbringing. And, um, from, you know, as young as elementary age, I remember being kind of crazy about recycling and would go out and hunt down cans out in the, uh, kind of cornfield areas of, uh, Indiana. Cuz I, I grew up most of my life in, um, the Midwest in Indiana.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=49.0,100.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: That sounds wonderful. Um, very far from where we are now in New York City. Um, what is your personal connection to Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=100.0,108.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Well, um, as I said, I've, I've grown up in North Carolina and I lived in Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, Arizona. So I've lived in uh Missouri, so I've lived in a lot of different places and just came to Queens in 2007 with my husband. Um, and that was, uh, to, for him to get a great job at the New School. And so he actually knew enough about New York City because he had lived in Manhattan, in lower Manhattan, um, during his youth. And he knew that Queens would be the only place I could survive, that there was, there was, that was the borough, that there was enough nature, um, that I would be okay cuz we had been living in St. Louis, Missouri and we had a backyard and that we lived near a botanical garden and those were places that were really important for me and, and gardening. So he knew that Queens and especially Jackson Heights, where we live, was a good fit because of all the gardens in the, um, the co-ops here, the Garden City apartments. So, um, so that's what drew us to this area and I do love it. And we have a big block-long interior garden where I live at Dunolly Gardens, and that helps me survive in an urban, uh, you know, an urban setting like New York City.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=108.0,198.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Good, good. Yeah, it's, it can be hard to find at times, but yeah, there's, there's so much nature in Queens. Um, I feel like every day I learn about a new place in Queens where there's so much greenery. Um, so I'm glad you're, you're happy where you are. Um, so moving more to, um, the environment and nature. Um, the next question I wanna ask you is, um, what do you think is the most pressing environmental concern?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=198.0,226.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Of today? Well, you know, and it's interesting, I tell kids cuz I do teach as an environmental educator at Queens Botanical Garden, and I tell kids that, you know, the pressing issue of my days growing up were, was the rainforest destruction. And that, that was, you know, the thing that was the biggest issue. And now it's, it's climate change, but it also includes rainforest destruction still. Um, and, you know, I feel like, uh, everybody's had their just heads buried in the sand since the seventies because we've known about all of these issues, and yet there's been so little done to address them. So it just feels like we are kind of just, you know, ignoring it and letting so many other things come before the, the planet. Um, and so, you know, those same things we're facing now. Um, and I do feel like, um, you know, Queens and New York City we're already, you know, living it firsthand. So, and I have lived a lot of different places in the country and seen floods, and I thank goodness have not had to deal with, uh, droughts or wildfires like they have in California. But, you know, we had Hurricane Sandy or, and that was pretty intense and since have had, you know, more flooding with major rains. So, um, I feel like people cannot ignore it anymore. So that's really a on my, you know, on my, um, agenda now to, to focus on.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=226.0,333.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Right, right. Focusing on climate change. Um, how have you seen this, um, issue manifest in your work?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=333.0,343.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Well, um, I mean, I, I've been happy to be a part of some of the BP, the Borough President's, um, um, like Office of Urban Sustainability Groups. And, um, there's efforts at Queens Botanical Garden where I work and the compost projects, you know, to, to make the connection between, um, you know, organic waste going to landfills and how that increases emissions. So, you know, my work is directly affected in that we're, you know, trying to educate people about, um, the ways they can change things in their daily life. Um, and also just how buildings, how, you know, how you live. Um, New York City, you know, has so many massive, um, buildings, and that is one of the major ways that, um, you know, emissions and just environmental, um, sustainability has to be improved through buildings and, um, you know, cars and, and emissions from, um, just all sorts of, you know, daily use of, um, of energy.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=343.0,423.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. Um, I'm thinking about, you know, where you're talking about the, the nature and community gardens in your neighborhood in Jackson Heights. Um, I wanted to know why, uh, why you thought it's important to have environmentalism related projects in, uh, a local neighborhood?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=423.0,440.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah. Well, I think, um, you know, I'm, I'm really of the perspective that you do have to keep, keep the, the micro, the meso and the macro levels in mind. And that, you know, sometimes if you, if you obsess on one of them, you're not really doing, um, right by the issue. And that's, you know, for instance, um, I came up, I came up in a age when environmentalism was all about, oh, you know, collect cans and recycle them when, you know, we realized that that is, that is a drop in the bucket compared to what corporations could be doing to actually deal with the, you know, it's called, um, producer, um, responsibility. So it's like putting the burden on the producers of all the plastic and the cans and the bottles, and instead it's been put on the consumers. And so, you know, I feel like sometimes we get distracted by the, you know, micro level and people feeling like, oh, you know, you can make a difference by one by one, um, change.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=440.0,518.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: And, you know, that's just not true to a large extent. And so, um, it helps people connect to issues. And so like composting and doing things like that in your home and it, that can help you, it's not going to solve the climate crisis. And we deal with this directly in Jackson Heights with our composting projects, many different sites. And what, what we find is that, yes, it's an important way for people to connect and to plug in because it's so much a part of their life, but it's not enough that you have to, you know, make sure that the city at large is doing composting so that it's, it's on a scale that makes a difference, or that you're also doing advocacy to make sure that, you know, your council people and the mayor puts enough money in the sanitation budget to actually do composting on the large scale.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=518.0,581.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: So, you know, we've, I've been in this fight now, you know, for over 10 years, um, with composting and, you know, I've seen, um, such limited support for it. Um, you know, to the point that here it is 10 years later and I'm a master compostor, and we still don't have citywide composting. You know, it's, it's just, and we're like one of, supposedly one of the most advanced cities, you know, in the country. And so to me that's, yeah, it's disappointing. But, um, you know, we were, there's a lot of people fighting for the right things, but, um, you know, again, you've gotta figure out what's the best level between the micro meso and macro to really make change.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=581.0,640.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah, I, I really like your comments about, um, you know, it, it's helpful on a personal level and, and a small level to do it, but yeah, there needs to be massive change and initiatives put in place to, um, make, really make a difference environmentally. Um, speaking of composting, I wanted to talk to you more about that. Um, why is composting important for environmental, environmental longevity, and how do you think composting affects climate change?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=640.0,672.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Well, um, as I said, I did my master composting a certificate at Queens Botanical Garden in 2012. So I've been doing this for over 10 years. And, um, and I also was a big compostor before because I'm a gardener, so, so it ties into, you know, taking, not wasting anything. And, um, I think about, uh, like George Washington Carver, you know, who said nature wastes nothing. And so really it's looking at the example of nature and taking every organic bit that that is in our world, and making sure that it goes back to the earth in some way. And so, basically, humans are trying to copy nature by doing composting. And, um, you know, in, in a, the city like this New York City, there's at least 35% of our garbage is organic matter that can be composted. And so if you don't compost that amount, and we're talking millions of tons of, you know, leaves and food scraps and, um, you know, soiled paper, that that can be, you know, composted.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=672.0,755.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: There's just so many things in the trash way or the waste stream. If you don't compost those in some fashion, then it's gonna go to a landfill. And what we've seen is the landfills are in poor communities, so we're shipping our garbage to Virginia, um, Pennsylvania, you know, and there's all these, uh, racial envir, you know, like environmental racism issues because of the communities that can, that have to take people's trash are, you know, desperate themselves. And they're putting themselves, unfortunately, at risk for higher rates of asthma and all sort in higher emissions. And, you know, we see this right here in New York, in New York City with trash transfer stations in like Southeast Queens and, um, and Newark, I've, I've directly heard from some environmental, um, justice people who say, you know, they're dealing with New York City's, um, trash. And so it's, you know, it's just, if you don't deal with, um, you know, that organic matter, it's putting it onto somebody else.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=755.0,832.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: And in, in most cases, it's somebody that, um, doesn't have other, you know, um, options or has less power in the overall scheme of things. So, I mean, if your compost waste goes into a landfill, it creates methane, and so that makes the trash actually more dangerous and have higher emissions greenhouse emissions. So that is why it's so important to take that out of the equation and to, you know, do composting on a much larger scale. And, you know, again, that can be in your backyard, it can be in your back, in your co-op like we do here. It can be at a community compost site. It can be, you know, at a school or a church. I mean, there's so many different places it can get done. And then now the city is committing, you know, especially here in Queens to doing Queens wide composting, and we're supportive of that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=832.0,897.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: But I don't necessarily like, you know, the, where it's, they haven't been as transparent about, about where it's going and how it's actually being handled. And so, you know, there's a lot of us who have been composting in co-ops and community sites for over 10 years. We're gonna continue doing it because we know where it's going and there's no emissions being produced. Um, and it's also hyperlocal. So we get the compost and we use it in a garden. So, you know, there's kind of different levels, again, with, you know, how you can deal with your organic matter and, you know, but the city does need for people that don't have an option like we do for composting at a co-op or at a local site, they need to deal with it on a, you know, on a larger scale.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=897.0,954.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Right. Yes. I've, I've received material about composting in Queens, and, um, but I, I think it's a great point that you're raising of looking into where it's going, um, and doing more research into that too. Um, you touched on this, but I wanted to ask you about, um, what is waste in our neighborhoods and how it affect, how does that affect, um, our, our communities?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=954.0,980.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Well, um, you know, I mean, there's, you mean sources of the trash or is that what you mean?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=980.0,992.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Um, yeah, it's kind of a broad question. Uh, well -","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=992.0,996.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: I guess, I mean, one thing about Queens, which is interesting, and I think the, the mayor and the borough president's office decided to, you know, strike out and do all of Queens in the curbside for three months was because we have so many trees, okay? So we have a lot of leaves. So, so they could show, uh, millions of compost curbside collected because they knew it was gonna be a lot of leaves in the fall. And yes, we have a lot of trees and leaves, and we're very lucky compared to some other boroughs. Um, but so, so that is a big portion because previously most people were putting leaves in the trash because only sanitation would give us like two days where you could put out leaves and know that they were going to actually be composted, all right. Twice a year, you know? So that's not much.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=996.0,1058.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: And co-ops, like us, we have over 60 trees on the interior of our property, and we have 50 trees on the block on the outside. So we would deal with all those leaves. We keep a lot of them, we give them to our landscaper, takes them, and we're assured that, you know, they're gonna be composted. And then we would also collect leaves to get put out for sanitation those two days of the year. So, you know, now we're glad that the, the curbside composting is taking garden waste, cuz we also have a lot of garden waste weeds and vines and, um, you know, just plants that are annuals and the leaves. So, um, you know, like that is a big, big portion of organic waste. The other thing is just, you know, one thing I've seen through like the Queens SWAB, the Queens Solid Waste Advisory board, they've had some great talks, um, with architects and other speakers that, that highlight how much waste is comes from construction sites. And that is massive if you think about how much we build and how dense things are. And nobody's talking about that as a major, major source of waste. Um, so, you know, the food scraps in, in anybody's household really depends on how much you cook. You know, in my household it's about five pounds a week. Um, and so, you know, like it's great to be able to not have that go in the trash, the black trash bags.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1058.0,1172.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. Um, I'm glad we got, we, I'm glad we went over that question actually, to learn about the different types of ways people don't think about. Um, great. Um, the next question I wanna ask you, wanted to touch on community gardens, um, and their importance in, um, neighborhoods in Queens.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1172.0,1190.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: All righty. Well, I'm a big, big fan of community gardens and I, um, I'm part of a Brooklyn Queens Land Trust Garden in East Elmhurst. And I have been since 2011 and I've been, I'm on the board of the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust and we have 37 gardens -","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1190.0,1209.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Wow.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1209.0,1209.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Between Brooklyn and Queens. Seven are in Queens. So I'm one of those proud seven. And, um, I've also, you know, I consider our co-op garden a community garden because it, it's run in, in a similar way, even though it's privately owned. Um, so I'm a big fan of, you know, having community gardens so that people can be close to nature cuz it is one important way. And, you know, Queens doesn't have as many community gardens because we didn't have the, um, the kind of land pressures like in the Bronx, in Manhattan, um, where a lot of those were kind of burnt out, Brooklyn too, where they were former houses that were kind of let, um, they got, you know, they, um, they got demolished or they were burnt, like in the Bronx, you know, the Bronx is burning, so there's, there's more vacant land in other boroughs that then became community gardens.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1209.0,1282.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: But in Queens there's, there's just much fewer, um, of that kind of land. So, you know, these are spaces, they're not very big, but, but if I use like Macintosh Garden in East Elmhurst as an example, I mean it's, uh, it's been a garden since, um, 1978. And so, you know, it was a, it was a, a lot that the African American, um, neighbors in that area, they cleaned up themselves. Somebody was dumping construction materials and, you know, bricks and stuff. And they, as a community neighborhood association came together to claim it. And so that's a common story is that people feel like, you know, they value those spaces, they wanna grow vegetables and fruits that are culturally important. Um, you know, like in, in their case, uh, a lot of the African Americans are originally from the south, and so they're able to grow foods that are part of their, you know, culture.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1282.0,1353.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: And so we have a lot of southern, um, crops like okra, sweet potatoes, collard greens, um, you know, in addition to, you know, now we have, we have a wider variety of like herbs and bok choy and um, um, you know, flowers. So it's a really, really great space where just regular people can grow food, but also, um, flowers just to, to unify the neighborhood. Um, but you know, I I really love community gardens and this is a big part of like, my work too. So it's, it's one area where I, I wanted to bring my background in social work and anthropology together with horticulture. And so that was an important like career change I made so that I could bring those together. And so working in community gardens, you know, you're not alone. You have to be able to work with diverse groups and all ages and people of different beliefs and attitudes. And so that's part of the, the beauty of it too, is working with other people.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1353.0,1434.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah, I think that's great. Um, I like what you said about bringing, um, your different backgrounds in together into this like building community, but also helping, helping the environment, um, and to see the diversity of Queens reflected in, in the community gardens as well. Um, how, how do you think community gardens support creating a better climate for our world?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1434.0,1459.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Well, um, you know, a lot of the gardens are these little, um, micro bio, you know, like biodiversity is there. So like at our garden we have lots of pollinators. We have a huge range of plants, um, like I said, fruits, herbs, trees, fruit trees, um, vegetables. And so it's a, it's, it creates like biomass in the middle of a dense like neighborhood. And so it helps with, um, all the great benefits of urban trees. So you have, you know, shade, there's nesting and habitat for, for wildlife, we have carpenter bees, which make their little nest in our wooden gazebo. So we're trying to coexist peacefully with them. Um, you know, so it, it, it helps. We also do composting there and um, you know, we, we are a dropoff food scrap dropoff site like once a month, so composting is another great, um, you know, impact that community gardens can make.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1459.0,1532.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Um, we also, some of them have bees, you know, honey bees, so that's, um, and chickens. And I'm thinking about some different community gardens of, uh, Brooklyn Queens Land Trust's, you know, that some will have, um, livestock honeybees, um, water, water harvesting systems, you know, so some have solar panels, um, solar powered, um, one of our community gardens in Brooklyn has a composting toilet and it's solar powered little fan inside of it. Yeah. So it's pretty exciting to see all the different things people do. Um, and I'm trying to think, there was something else I was thinking of, but you know, like it, it just, it the, they are little oases and, you know, have bring biodiversity and all the different benefits of just having little pockets of nature in the middle of a city.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1532.0,1600.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Absolutely. Um, I like what you said about how they're, they're also like habitats for different wildlife. Um, and it seems like they're kind of also like a site for innovation from different environmental innovations, so that's amazing. Um, you mentioned this before and I yeah, I definitely wanted to ask you, um, could you talk more about your work at Queens Botanical Garden?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1600.0,1624.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: I can, and I just, I wanted to say one quick thing about, um, another exciting garden effort in, in Jackson Heights. Um, and this kind of goes to the fact that, you know, not all neighborhoods have community gardens and, um, Jackson Heights is one of those in which, um, there's, there's not a public garden anywhere. Um, and except now I was so fortunate to work with a group called The Veggie Nuggets, which is a youth environmental group. And, um, in my talk I did a talk for QPL in the Hunters Point Education Environmental Education Center, and it's called Fork to Flower. And we actually had their video cuz they did a PSA on composting. So I encourage you to, you know, to check them out at, they're called we The Veggie Nuggets on Instagram. And I had the pleasure of working with them to develop a new garden on 69th Street.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1624.0,1693.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: And it was alongside, um, near the Jackson Heights, it's called JH Scraps Community Compost Site. And what's the reason I bring it up is because that was the first opportunity that a lot of those youth, and they were middle schoolers, had to working in a garden and so it was, they were creating an urban garden from scratch cuz there was just grass there and some trees. And so that was a really great, uh, learning experience, you know, for me and them to just see how do you carve out a new space and what does it mean in, you know, it's a very industrial kind of part of our neighborhood. It's right by the freight trains and the BQE. And so it's, it's, you know, and there's often a, there was a lot of trash, you know, put out of people's cars along that way.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1693.0,1752.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: So they, it's just amazing how like, they transformed what used to be a pretty shabby part of our neighborhood into just a beautiful area and they created a mural, a climate emergency and composting and kind of gardening themed mural. So I definitely encourage you to check it out. Um, you can see it on Google Maps and the New York City tree map, which is, um, if you look up 69th Street and like around 35th Avenue, you can see pictures of their mural in, in the, um, on the tree map. So that's been a really, really positive experience for me. I kind of was there one of their volunteer, um, you know, just kind of leaders on forming an urban garden and learning about composting. So that, um, you know, and that kind of brings, I did it as a volunteer, but it really brings forth the kind of work I do, um, like at Queens Botanical Garden as an environmental educator.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1752.0,1821.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: And I also, um, am a, have been a consultant garden, um, gardener at places like Queensbridge Houses with Riis settlement house and a senior garden for over 10 years. So I really, um, you know, like bringing urban nature and what I call, um, you know, poll, people, pollinators, and, um, you know, just that connection plants, pollinators and people together. So [laughs] to just, you know, to find as much nature in their lives as they can. Cuz it really does help people's like mental health, it helps your physical, uh, experience and health. So, um, so I don't know, you want me to talk more about like what I do at Queens Botanical Garden?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1821.0,1879.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Sure, yes. That was, that was wonderful by the way. I actually, I lived near 69th Street, so I'm definitely gonna go check -","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1879.0,1886.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1886.0,1887.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: The, the mural. That's amazing though. But yeah, it brings, brings together the environmental education, youth activism and like environmentalism all in one. That's amazing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1887.0,1897.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah. Yeah. You should interview them cuz they are they, and I mean they, I've worked with them for two years and they, I swear I thought, okay, they'll be bored with this by the summer. You know, we start in January, they'll be done. And they, so here it is two years later and they're like even more amazing and, um, you know, they're active with the Queens Climate Project. Um, so I, you know, that's something else I'm involved with, so I can definitely connect you. Um, but they would be great for as part of your interviewing for this project.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1897.0,1934.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yes. Thank you. I will look into them also. And also Queens Climate Project. That would be great. Good. Um, yes, I'd love to hear more about your work at Queens Botanical Garden, your consulting, whatever you, whatever you'd like to talk about.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1934.0,1948.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: All righty. So, um, I, I guess like I mentioned that I, I kind of had a, made a career change. I used to work in higher education and social work and so in St. Louis I worked at St. Louis University and then when I came to New York, I worked at Hunter College School of Social Work, and, you know, that's a great field. Um, but I needed a change. I, like I said, I wanted to bring my hobbies cuz I had been doing gardening and this kind of stuff for 25 years, but it wasn't my profession. And so what I wanted to do was bring together the social work and sort of anthropology side with horticulture. And so in about 2011 I made that change. And, um, so that way I was able to start seeking out jobs and I first started working with the Horticulture Society of New York and that I worked in Queens schools in, um, forming some new gardens.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=1948.0,2016.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: So we actually formed, I think built about eight different, uh, gardens through the Greening Western Queens Fund. And that was part of the settlement with ConEd over the blackout that had happened in Queens and just how that had impacted those communities. So it was like Astoria, Woodside, um, Long Island City, I believe. Um, yeah, so, so that was my first foray into working with in schools and school gardens. And so when I, and I was connected with Queens Botanical Garden as part of the Master Compostor certificate. So, but I didn't go to work for them until 2014 as an environmental educator. But, um, it's a great garden again, another oasis, you know, and, and it helps me to deal with living in a city by having that as like an office. You know, like you get to walk around a garden for, you know, most of your morning, uh, with kids.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2016.0,2087.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: And so, so we, we give, uh, tours to school groups. We do workshops at the garden and also at schools, um, during the day or after school. So it's a, yeah, I really love the work and we, we, you know, I work anywhere from pre-Ks up to high school age with the majority being elementary age. So, you know, like when I had that opportunity to work with the middle schoolers, I had worked with a few different middle school groups, but, um, they are just the most impressive group of middle schoolers I've ever encountered, The Veggie Nuggets. So, you know, and I've, I've been around a lot of kids through yeah, this kind of work, so they just still amaze, um, and are just so committed. And, you know, again, they really live out this example of micro meso macro because they do advocacy at the state. They go lobby, you know, they do videos and PSAs and, you know, and they work locally on composting and gardening. So they somehow are able to really like, tie it all together. So they're, they're, they're great role models for, for, you know, climate activism.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2087.0,2170.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. That's amazing. Um, is it the same group that you've worked with, um, um, for, for this long or -","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2170.0,2180.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah, for the most part, they have stayed together. And what's amazing is that they all started out here in Jackson Heights at a school called Renaissance Charter. But what happened is that they couldn't do their composting grant. They had gotten a grant, and I can't remember if it was GrowNYC, like a school's gardening grant or if it was another source, but, so they reached out to the community, so they, they looked around to see, well, who was doing composting and who could they work with? And so that's how we got connected. Uh, at JH Scraps, they came and learned how to do basic, all the steps in composting. And so that's really how they got, you know, got introduced to us and then they wanted to do a garden. And so we worked with them, um, on, you know, um, doing what's called like a survey or a site assessment where you look at the sites and you evaluate them for all of the pros and cons that they, um, have for being a gardening site.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2180.0,2251.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: So, yeah. So, and I do that, you know, I've done that for a living, so I'm able to take those skills and then share it with them and it's just, you know, a great mentoring opportunity. So, um, yeah. Yeah. But I mean, again, I, I work part-time at QBG, and so I'm able to do a lot of other things as a volunteer, you know, with community gardens and with compost sites, and also here at my own co-op. So I'm, I, I do have the luxury and the privilege of, you know, not working full-time so that I can give a lot of, um, you know, time and effort towards these kind of environmental, um, issues and efforts.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2251.0,2298.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. It's, it's nice to have that flexibility of, of working in different with the, the community garden, the education, like all those different facets. Um, that's, that's great. Um, I wanted to shift back to a topic we already talked about, which was climate change. Um, you might have already answered these questions, but, um, I wanted to ask you how you see climate change affecting, uh, places like Queens, um, and why it's important to start addressing climate change today here in the here and now?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2298.0,2332.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah. Well, um, as I mentioned that, um, you know, I was here during Hurricane or Super Storm Sandy and saw what happened to the Rockaways and, um, you know, just how devastating that was and also to lower Manhattan. So I think that was the first experience I had and sort of wake up call, but it didn't affect me directly in Jackson Heights. Um, but you know, also seeing the more recent flooding happening, like seeing like Queens Boulevard, you know, seeing it on the radio or the tv, seeing pictures of people, you know, and cars flooded. Um, that's pretty, you know, pretty tragic. And then, and then people dying in flooded basements, you know, I mean, I know people in Flushing who, who live near people who, you know, perished and that there are a lot of neighborhoods that, you know, the, the sewers are, are old.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2332.0,2402.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: And so, you know, any kind of flooding and storm surge just directly affects people's, um, homes. And, you know, we keep seeing this over and over again on like, um, Long Beach and, um, the Rockaways and what's that Breezy Point, you know? So like I, because I don't have family here, you know, I have one cousin, but it's not like, um, I know a lot of people who live in those kind of areas, but, you know, I, I do have friends that have family in different parts, so like, it just feels like it's knocking on people's door much more closely now. And because I listen to the Queens SWAB, like I attend their meetings. I'm not a member, but they address this a lot. Um, the Queens Solid Waste Advisory Board, and also the BP's, um, Donovan Richards, um, you know, the Office of Urban Sustainability. So I feel like I'm, you know, I hear more about, um, the impacts that it's having on Queens and, um, you know, like we just gotta start putting money towards it and, you know, making policies that address it, and it just feels like everybody is moving too slow.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2402.0,2494.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. Yes, definitely. Um, it's interesting to hear you talk about the, the Queens um, SWAB organization, and, and that seems like it's a, an avenue though to understand what's going on in Queens and, and kind of be in the know a little bit about environmental initiatives. Um -","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2494.0,2513.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah, and anyone is welcome to go to their meetings and, um, I mean, I follow it primarily because they deal with compost and trash transfer and sort of the environmental justice issues, um, so that it's a really good source for that. Um, but you know, they often don't actually get asked by policy makers like they're supposed to, so there's, you know, they, um, it seems like they get sidelined and they don't actually, um, get tapped like they should, you know, when it comes to like designing the Queens curbside program.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2513.0,2559.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Right. Even though that's their, that's their role as an -","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2559.0,2563.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah. They, they're set up and, you know, to advise the borough president each, each borough has a SWAB and that, and they, and there's a representative from the BP's office, and yet from what I hear, they, and the compost projects were just totally sidelined when it came to designing this, these curbside program. And the Queens one just kind of came out of nowhere and nobody was even aware that it was being planned, much less being advised or being consulted about how to, how to do it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2563.0,2604.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Right. Seems like a missed opportunity. Absolutely. Yeah. Um, uh, along the same lines, are there, and you've already mentioned some, but are there other organizations that you would recommend people, um, learn about and, and get involved in that can help, uh, that are creating positive environmental efforts?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2604.0,2627.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah, so I did mention, um, several, um, already, but I would say, um, you know, the Queens Climate Project is, is an all volunteer group. Um, but they have several task forces and we're, we have a compost task force that is under them. They have a building, like a Green Buildings initiative, excuse me. And they do a lot of advocacy at the state level and, um, at the city council level. So, so that's been an important organization that I've worked with just in the last maybe two, three years at most. The, you know, the, the compost projects are really important for my work. So the one at Queens Botanical Garden and Big Reuse, Big Reuse is, um, based in both Brooklyn and Queens. Um, so they are very important. The QSWAB, the Queens Solid Waste Advisory Board.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2627.0,2696.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Um, I mentioned The Veggie Nuggets are great, so check them out. And, um, I mean, I'm involved with JH Scraps, which is a community composting site in the neighborhood, which is under the umbrella of Jackson Heights Beautification Group. That's a nonprofit. Yeah. So, um, and JHBG does a lot of great work from tree care to, you know, neighborhood greening at schools, at parks, um, and, you know, JH Scraps is, is our community compost site. So, you know, that is a great organization for sort of a local focus. And, you know, Brooklyn Queens Land Trust for me is an important organization and Trees New York, I just became a citizen pruner, um, oh, this year. Yeah, last year. Um, it was part of a Brooklyn Queens Land Trust Tree Committee effort. And so that has been awesome to be involved with, with them and to add that to my sort of portfolio of environmental, um, knowledge and skills, because we do a lot of work on our trees here at our co-op. And that's another way like that people can, if you are helping trees just on your block where you live, you are helping the urban forest. So, you know, that's another one of those things, like you can do a small act, but it actually is a bigger, you know, effort overall.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2696.0,2798.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. I mean, those are great. I actually, I, I've interviewed someone who's a member of the JHBG, so I'd heard of them before in, in the tree pruning.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2798.0,2806.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Oh, good. Probably Len Maniace.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2806.0,2808.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Uh, yes, I was, yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2808.0,2811.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah. Awesome. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2811.0,2814.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Um, okay, well to wrap up, I wanted to just ask you one last question. Um, so the question is, um, it's a big one, but I'm hoping to hear from you about what you're most hopeful for in terms of environmentalism and our climate.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2814.0,2833.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Well, I, I guess I'll go back to, you know, just seeing youth, like The Veggie Nuggets, um, sort of embrace these issues and the, the seriousness and I mean, they give me a lot of hope because they definitely take serious the, you know, climate emergency and then, then put it into action through so many different creative ways. And I think they, you know, really get people excited and it makes it accessible because if you see like, oh, middle schoolers are doing this, like, why am I not doing it [laughs]? And, but they, they actually do so many of the things that, um, you know, that we're all been trying to do, they do them so much better, you know, so [laughs] so very hopeful that, uh, you know, that we do have more climate activists coming up, um, who aren't listening to the excuses of adults. And, um, you know, they're just, they're just tired of all the, you know, the, the excuses and just, you know, navel gazing and, and just, you know, the, the stalling. Cuz it just, I like, I, I feel like I, you know, lived through the, the child of the seventies and we knew about all these problems then. And yet I feel like it's still just, we're stuck and, and just so little is happening. So I'm optimistic, but very cautiously optimistic cuz uh, yeah, the people in charge and who have the kind of, you know, money and power to, to, to do things just don't seem to be, um, committed at this point.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2833.0,2941.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah, I agree with you. It's, it's hard to be positive, um, but I think The Veggie Nuggets and, and all the youth activism happening, um, I feel inspired after talking to you and, and wanting to get more involved. So, um -","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2941.0,2956.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Good, good.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2956.0,2957.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Thank you so much for doing this interview and I hope, um, you know, people who watch it also really get inspired and, um, get involved with these organizations that you've mentioned.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2957.0,2966.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I can send you different, um, you know, people's names, the, from these different groups cuz I think they would be awesome to include. And that's not, you know, not all of them were part of the environmental, um, you know, the, the Hunters Point series, but I feel like there's still a lot of good people to tap. So I will share their names and contact with you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2966.0,2994.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Thank you. That would be amazing. Yes. We're, we're, we're, um, always hoping to collect more stories and hear from people, um, especially doing all this local work in Queens. So that would be incredible. Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=2994.0,3006.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Okay. Good, good, good.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=3006.0,3008.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Okay, I'm gonna stop the recording. Um, Ashley, if you could just hang on for a few more minutes, um, and, but thank you so much again for doing this.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=3008.0,3017.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Ashley Cruce: Sure. That was fun. I hope I didn't, you know, natter on too long about any one thing, but -","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=3017.0,3024.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241/transcript/49527/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: No, no, it was perfect.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/99484/file/197241#t=3024.0,3027.09"}]}]}]}