Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kent Parks, Recreation & Community Services
In the first four months of the 2014-15 school year, high school students in Kent, Wash., have given more than 1,000 hours of community service by getting cold, dirty, wet, and scratched. And they keep coming back for more.
The students are digging out blackberry roots and other invasive weeds, replanting with native vegetation, and doing additional restoration work for the Green Kent Partnership. The long-term goal is to restore more than 1,300 acres of forested parks and other natural areas back to healthy, functioning habitats. Key partners include public and private agencies—and community members.
Kent’s four high schools and three academies each set their own number of community-service credits required for graduation, and additional credits are earned by honor society and service club participants. Students choose where they want to volunteer, and the city’s parks department competes with any number of non-profit and faith-based organizations for the students’ services. What’s remarkable is that so many of these teens return to Green Kent events, even after they’ve met the requirements. They see they’re part of something bigger than a one-time experience.