Approximately 700 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students participated in four community service projects on Saturday, Aug. 17, as part of the SIUE Experience.
The four projects included:
- Greenwood Cemetery: An historical African-American cemetery in North St. Louis that no longer receives federal funding, creating an on-going need for maintenance and clean-up. Volunteers removed overgrown weeds and vegetation to preserve the cemetery. Dred Scott’s wife is buried in this cemetery.
- Watershed Nature Center: An organization dedicated to providing environmental education, passive recreation and enjoyment of native habitats. Their mission is to promote environmental stewardship and provide opportunities for the community to understand and appreciate nature. Volunteers were needed to plant native plant species and remove invasive species to preserve the watershed habitats. As part of the Cahokia Creek watershed, the Watershed Nature Center is comprised of over forty acres of wetlands, prairies, and upland and lowland forests.
- Granite City Community Garden: A network that brings neighbors together to create and sustain gardens that benefit the Granite City community. GCCG needed assistance with planting crops, tending to growing crops and weeding.
- Sunshine Cultural Arts Center: The Community Performance Ensemble of East St. Louis engages children and youth through a holistic cultural arts program. With a vision to impact the lives of more youth, the organization acquired a building with a plan to transform it into the Sunshine Cultural Arts Center. Volunteers were completing light construction and painting to transform the building’s rooms into music and dance classrooms.
The SIUE Experience allows freshmen to make connections with the University and each other. Activities began with Move-In Day on Thursday, Aug. 15, and continued throughout the weekend. Some of the events included the Chancellor’s Welcome and Playfair, the Class of 2017 photo by the Cougar Statue and the Cougar Kick-Off at Korte Stadium.
Photos: 1) Gary Sims Jr. (left) and Rebekah Bartholomew work at Greenwood Cemetery.
2) SIUE students carry cleared brush to a dumpster in Greenwood Cemetery.
3) SIUE Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe (center, left) with Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs flanked by student volunteers at the Sunshine Cultural Arts Center in East St. Louis.