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Niezależna: Chroni ekosystem morski, pomaga dzieciom w Afryce. Amerykanie zachwyceni młodym Polakiem
GospodarkaMorska.pl: 17-letni syn polskich imigrantów chroni ekosystem morski i pomaga dzieciom w Afryce
Article Translation
The son of two Polish immigrants, Lex Szymczyk is working to end pollution on Long Island through beach cleanups and short films.
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. A group of around fifteen people was amassing in the parking lot of Garvies Point Museum and Preserve. Dressed in identical shirts bearing the name Lex4Oceans, they set out along the path leading to the shore. These people were volunteers for the organization Lex4Oceans. They were there to make an impact on Long Island’s coastal ecosystems.
Aluminum cans littered the beach and the bushes surrounding it. Plastic bottles filled in the cracks between rocks, and plastic miscellanea hid among the seaweed naturally washed up on the shore. The volunteers persisted in their work despite the daunting challenge collecting the garbage presented. Gathering the garbage while leaving the natural habitat proved tough yet possible.
Lex Szymczyk was at the head of the group, guiding the volunteers. Szymczyk is a seventeen-year-old senior at Regis High School, a prestigious Jesuit high school located in Manhattan’s upper east side. Notable alumni of Regis include Dr. Anthony Fauci. Following a selective admissions process, Regis awards each student with a full scholarship. Szymczyk commutes a total of three hours every day to school. He is the son of two Polish immigrants, a recipient of the George Washington University Medal for excellence in science and mathematics, and he is a Mensa member. He is fluent in English, Polish, and Spanish. Lex4Oceans is his second not-for-profit initiative.
Szymczyk’s face brightened when asked about his motivations to lead a beach cleanup. He enthusiastically explained that he wanted to combine his passion for oceanography with his urge to help the local community. “I wanted to create an organization that took care of and educated people about the local marine ecosystem. I started Lex4Oceans to fill these responsibilities and serve my community.”
Szymczyk describes Long Island’s marine ecosystem as “richer than many might believe.” He said, “I fell in love with the underwater world when I first went SCUBA diving when I was twelve. I soon realized that many were not aware of the beautiful world that lies below the water.” He also contributes his love for marine life to the science and marine biology classes he took at the gifted youth program at Long Island University. He insists that he started Lex4Oceans to protect the oceans while educating his terrestrial peers.
Five years since his first underwater experience, Szymczyk holds an Advanced Open Water SCUBA certification from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. He paid for his training with money he earned from summer jobs. Using footage he shot underwater and footage he shot above the surface, he is creating short documentary films to raise awareness of marine ecosystems. “My goal is to show people that marine life encompasses many fish, crustaceans, seaweed, plankton, and even shore birds. Pollution destroys these ecosystems.”
Lex4Oceans is Szymczyk’s second non-profit initiative. His first non-profit was Lex4Kids, which sought to provide children with better living and learning conditions. Lex4Kids raised funds for children in Dakar, Senegal, which provided them with school supplies for the year. He learned of the students’ plight after meeting the Senegalese group of singers “Safari,” who were on tour in the United States. Volunteers for the organization also visited and helped care for a community of mentally disabled children in Jamaica, Mustard Seed Communities.
In both the case of Lex4Kids and Lex4Oceans, Szymczyk started these initiatives to help communities that he saw were in need. While Lex4Kids has focused on groups of people far from his home in New York, he created Lex4Oceans to impact his local community. Lex4Oceans has united Polish Americans and all Americans around the cause of cleaning local beaches.
Garvies Point Museum and Preserve encompasses sixty-two acres of land along the shore of Glen Cove Harbor, Long Island. Szymczyk chose to clean this beach because he thought that it was “a beautiful display of nature ruined by littering and pollution.” Located in the middle of Glen Cove, the preserve offers an escape to nature from the sprawling suburbia that surrounds it. A prominent feature of the preserve is the ancient clay that lines the shore.
The cleanup ran successfully. The group collected multiple garbage bags worth of bottles, cans, and other metal and plastic trash. They disposed of the trash at the museum’s garbage container. Szymczyk left the beach confidant that it was cleaner than when he arrived. He plans on organizing beach cleanups in the future considering this beach cleanup’s success.
Lex4Oceans’ website can be viewed at www.lex4oceans.org. Lex4Kids’ website can be accessed at www.lex4kids.org. Lex Szymczyk’s personal website can be reached at www.lexszymczyk.com.