Making a difference at Millcrest
On June 26, help a Norwood teen make a difference at Lower Millcrest Park.
Diana Ferra Villalobos, a Norwood resident and senior at Mount Notre Dame Academy, is organizing a clean-up of Lower Millcrest Park from 9 a.m. to noon June 26. Norwood Together and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful are supporting the project.
To help, all you have to do is show up!
Here’s an essay Villalobos wrote about why she decided to clean up Lower Millcrest:
The Meaning of Millcrest
By Diana Ferra Villalobos
The one planet that allows us to live is deteriorating. Unfortunately, I did not come to that conclusion until I saw the effects of it.
In 2020, our world was turned upside-down, especially with COVID-19 and quarantining. However, we must not forget the tragic wildfires in California that had taken many souls and homes. From the moment I saw the skies turn grey, the birds fly away, and the trees turn to ashes, I knew that our only home was being destroyed. I want a better, more beautiful earth for us all. This is why my project focuses on Millcrest park.
I moved to Norwood in December 2019, but it wasn’t until this year that I frequented Millcrest. It was also this year that I attended my very first clean-up (also at Millcrest), and it came to my attention that there is a lot more garbage than I expected. I went to this clean-up and had to move around the roots and plants just so I could reach a can of Sprite. I believe that my family and I spent around three hours there, but we couldn’t get everything. I don’t want it to be that way anymore.
I want us to walk around Millcrest freely without having to see a bag of chips, cans, or beer. Not only is this dangerous for the little ones, but it also harms our plant life. The space that the garbage is taking up could have been for flowers, but now it is reserved for plastic debris. However, that can change. We can change that, which is why this project is so important to me. Not only are we taking initiative, but we are also creating space for new life to grow. The earth has allowed us to survive, I am simply hoping we can return the favor.