Middle schooler wins environmental award

“There was garbage floating in the water, beer cans and broken glass everywhere,” Oceanside’s Zoie Napolitano said of the conditions at Silver Lake Park in Baldwin. “Since I’m an animal lover, I didn’t want the animals to suffer.”

Upset by the litter, the 11-year-old student at Oceanside School No. 5 wrote a letter to some local politicians, and soon after, she got a call from State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who helped her organize a cleanup of the park last September.

“It was really exciting because I really wanted to help,” Zoie said, recalling her initial phone call with Kaminsky. “Now that I knew that I had someone to help me…my dream would come true.”

For her efforts, Napolitano was chosen to receive an Environmental Champion Award from the Environmental Protection Agency, which each spring honors individuals and organizations that dedicate themselves to improving their natural surroundings.

She was officially nominated for the award by U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice. “Zoie saw a problem in her community, she saw a way that she could help solve it, and she stepped up to bring people together and get the job done,” Rice said in a statement. “That’s what true leadership looks like.”

This year, Napolitano was one of about 40 people to earn the award in Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and eight Indian Nations. She will accept the accolade at a ceremony in Manhattan on May 19.

“I was speechless,” Zoie said of discovering that she had won the award. “There aren’t even words to describe it, that politicians would [nominate] someone like me for a big award like this. It was an honor to win.”

Kaminsky said that Zoie cares deeply about the environment and is glad she was recognized for her hard work. “…This is the initiative and generosity we should be fostering in our youth,” he said in a statement. “I am confident that Zoie will continue to set an example for all of us by working hard to keep our communities clean.”

After Zoie cleaned Silver Lake Park with the help of roughly 100 community members, she and Kaminsky led another effort in November at Lofts Pond Park, also in Baldwin. Zoie added that she likes to visit the parks to see different types of ducks and turtles, and said she plans on cleaning more parks in the area this spring.

Her father, Richard Napolitano, and mother, Beth Zirogiannis, said they were proud of Zoie’s dedication to improve the community, adding that they were glad to see support from Kaminsky.

“Just seeing her actively involved in making a difference was even more impressive to us than the actual recognition,” Zirogiannis said.