Community News

Freeport's CoLoKi hosts Earth Day garden party

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The sweet smell of cinnamon lingered in the air April 22 at the first CoLoKi Inc. Earth Day Celebration off Bennington Ave in Freeport. Attendees leisurely walked up and down the steps of the Freeport Trailer with white Styrofoam cups in their hands, enjoying homemade arroz con leche (rice pudding), while children worked on arts and crafts.

Every spring, the day laborers at the Freeport Trailer, most of whom work construction jobs, plant a community garden to grow vegetables that they can cook in their own kitchens to feed themselves. This year they decided to host an event inviting the community to take part in their Earth Day celebration.

Members of the Freeport community engaged in the festivities by sponsoring a plant in the garden, which included their names. Others came to learn about seed starting kits and try out the food that the workers had prepared for them.

“We invited the community to our celebration because we wanted them to see what we do and meet with the guys. It’s really that personal interaction that holds us all together and brings people as our supporters, our friends, but most importantly the hirers of our workers,” said Liz O’Shaughnessy, of Merrick, founder and executive director of CoLoKi Inc.

Throughout the morning, workers were seen preparing the soil to plant their vegetables, while others were excited to meet Nassau County Legislator Laura Curran, who is running for county executive on the Democratic ticket. Curran chatted with the workers and attendees during her visit.

While in the kitchen, one of the workers prepared a beef soup, which he said was the best that anyone had ever tasted.

Laughing and joking around, a group of guys, Miguel Angel Garcia, Patricio Velasquez Martinez, Jose Antonio Turcios and Narciso Cruz, teamed up to add the finishing touches to the soil before the seeds were planted.

“We’re almost done, and when this garden grows, there’s going to be a lot of vegetables ready to eat straight from the garden,” said Turcios in his native Spanish, as he wiped his brow.