Habitat Improvement

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May 30

Visiting Church Group Leaves Lasting Impression

Posted on May 30, 2017 at 11:59 AM by Allan Warren

Churchgroup Option
Fifth graders from Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary and high schoolers from Massachusetts worked together to plant nearly 250 shrubs in Orting. The high school group connected with the District for their spring break service project and the elementary students learned about the benefits of plants and ecosystems as part of their participation.

Imagine getting a phone call from across the country with an offer to help. Now imagine that phone call turning into a group of 60 high school students and their chaperones from Wellesley Village Church near Boston, Massachusetts getting a few weeks’ worth of projects done in just four days. Just such a thing happened this past spring, and in between rain showers, beautiful Mt. Rainier helped inspire them on.

During their week here in April the group made a huge impact, and a huge impression. They helped 5th graders in Orting plant a parking strip near the downtown park; they prepared and planted bulrush rhizomes in the recently restored Meeker Creek in Puyallup; they removed weeds and trash from wetland restoration areas in the Port of Tacoma with Citizens for a Healthy Bay and the Puyallup Tribe; they tackled a hillside of blackberry at the District’s former dairy property in South Prairie to prepare it for planting; and they installed a bog garden from start to finish at the Puyallup Historical Hatchery FouChurchgroup Option (c)ndation’s educational center.

The kids seemed to truly enjoy the work they were doing. We can’t thank them enough for their efforts, and for choosing to make an impact here in the Puget Sound region.

?High schoolers from Wellesley Village Church near Boston, Massachusetts
helped mentor 5th graders at a planting project in Orting.