Trail Clearing - Letter to the Intermediate School

To the Intermediate School Staff-

On behalf of Mr. Bergquist’s 7th grade Adventure Education Class, I would like to thank the Intermediate School for their cooperation with our Service-Learning project. On December 17th, members of the class participated in a trail restoration project behind the Intermediate School, not only benefiting the community, but increasing their knowledge of the watershed as well. This project was executed in conjunction with Maxwelton Salmon Adventure, a local organization working for watershed restoration and awareness. The Service-Learning activities that took place behind the Intermediate School not only served as a supplement of knowledge for the students participating, but also greatly contributed to the Intermediate Schools facilities, providing accessible trails for classes and members of the community.

The class was separated into three main work groups known as “The Shinglers”, “The Rakers”, and “The Pruners”. The previous day they were prepared with an in-class lecture from a representative from Maxwelton Salmon Adventure, which enabled them to immediately begin trail work at 10:15 am. The first group, known as “The Rakers”, cleared several trails, such as “Lizard Loop”, “Elderberry Hollow”, and “Mass Turnpike”, which in turn made them wheelchair accessible. The second group, known as “The Pruners”, restored heavily overgrown trails. They cleared a path known as “Alderwood Tunnel”, which led to the Bird Blind, which was previously inaccessible to students. The final group, known as “The Shinglers”, attached shingles onto “Troll Bridge”, making the structure less slippery.

The community service provided through this Service-Learning project is significant, as is the hands on experience the students received. The Adventure Education Class repaired a system of trails for the community, enabling it to be used by students from the Intermediate School for immersion in nature. In addition to this they also were given the opportunity to apply their previous knowledge of the watershed to real-life experience. Projects like these not only benefit the community, but also the academic process as a whole. The Adventure Education Class would like to thank the Intermediate School for this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Scott Daley