April 11, 2011 — The Lowell Bennion Community Service Center‘s 10th annual community service event in honor of Earth Day will be larger than ever – boasting not one, but four different service projects around Salt Lake Valley.
On Saturday, April 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., volunteers are asked to go to their preferred service site (see below for a full list of locations) for registration and breakfast. They will participate in a variety of environmentally-centered activities in honor of upcoming Earth Day, and then meet at Bend-in-the-River for lunch, which will be provided. All events are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required, but it is encouraged.
Since 2002, the University of Utah‘s Lowell Bennion Community Service Center has hosted a service event at its Bend-in-the-River location. “The Bend” is a student-directed program in which University of Utah students work with Salt Lake City and local community members. They maintain Bend-in-the-River year round as an outdoor classroom for local schools. Over the last few years the service event has grown to more than 200 volunteers, allowing the Bennion Center to expand to four different service sites this year and deepen the project’s impact on the community.
The following four service events were identified by the Bennion Center and its community partners:
- Bend-in-the-River
1030 W. Fremont Avenue 1100 S.
Projects at this site will include planting native species, weeding, painting over graffiti, sanding and staining the Urban Treehouse.
- Social Justice Gardens at Mountain View Elementary
1380 Navajo Street, 1400 W.
Projects here will include tilling new land, soil maintenance, planting, building water catchment systems and painting murals.
- First Step House
411 North Grant Street, 750 W.
Projects at this site will include developing and expanding the infrastructure of three local community garden sites, building compost bins, soil maintenance and planting.
- Antelope Island
Volunteers will carpool out to Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake to work with the Dedicated Hunters Group. They will work with wildlife biologist Jolene Hatch to help preserve Antelope Island for future generations of visitors and maintain habitat for wildlife.
The Bennion Center is encouraging volunteers to bring their own water bottles and consider walking, biking, busing or carpooling to these events in honor of Earth Day.
Contact Nick at nrothacher@sa.utah.edu or 801-587-9027. For more information, visit www.bennioncenter.org/bend.
About Social Justice Gardens
The Social Justice Gardens is another of the Bennion Center’s student-directed programs. University of Utah students helped the local community build a thriving community garden in front of Mountain View Elementary.
About First Step House
Founded in 1958, this local non-profit helps low-income and no-income individuals achieve long-term recovery from the dysfunctional effects of substance abuse and returns them to society as meaningfully employed, responsible citizens, parents, and individuals.