AfterWords

This post from Jackie Edwards:

February 28, 2009 has been designated TRiO National Day of Service. According to the 1986 Congressional resolution, National TRiO Day is meant to focus the nation’s attention on

the needs of disadvantaged young people and adults aspiring to improve their lives, to the necessary investment if they are to become contributing citizens of the country, and to the talent which will be wasted if that investment is not made.

TRiO participants are encouraged to participate in Service-Learning, as a way to give back to their community and say thank you for its support. In an effort to do this TRiO is sponsoring a Sock and Soap Drive to support Clothes For Kids Working Wardrobe of Snohomish County. For the next week and a half TRiO will be collecting items to take to Clothes for Kids.

On Friday February 27th from 12:30-3pm we will also be sponsoring a work party at Clothes for Kids. Please join us in this activity by either donating items from the list below or participating in the work party on February 27th. If you still need an activity to complete your TRiO requirements this quarter this can count as that activity. We will be meeting in the TRiO office on February 27th at 12:30pm and then will carpool to the service site. Please RSVP to Jackie Edwards at Jacklin.edwards@edcc.edu if you would like to participate in the work party.

Clothes For Kids is dedicated to enhancing the dignity and quality of life of children. Wherever the need arises to support children, they dedicate their resources as a whole to provide clothing assistance for them. Their expertise and vision has led to the commitment to meeting the supplemental clothing needs of all eligible children in a friendly, pleasant and responsive environment that nurtures the self esteem and enhances the learning and social experience of both parent and child.

Urgent needs:
Infant to Adult; Male and Female
Socks, Nylons, Tights (New Only)
Undergarments (New Only)
Shoes (New and Gently Used)

Always Accepting:
Toiletries (Regular and Travel Size): Hair Care- Shampoo, Conditioner; Skin Care- Cleanser, moisturizer; Body Care- Bar Soap, Body Wash, Lotion.
Clothing (New and Gently Used - Infant to Adult)

With your help, we can make a difference in the lives of children and families in our community.

Any questions please Contact:
Jackie Edwards
AmeriCorps Student Engagement Specialist
Jacklin.edwards@edcc.edu
(425) 640-1866
MLT 121 (Inside TRiO MLT 120)

Web links:
TRiO
Clothes for Kids

This post from Anthropology instructor Thomas Murphy:

The SAVE the Earth Club invites you to come to the courtyard to sample fair-trade, shade-grown and organic coffee donated by Camano Island Coffee Roasters. We will be offering coffee samples Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings this week from 8-11 a.m.

Purchasing shade-grown coffee helps preserve rain forests. Coffee grown under a canopy of trees, the natural habitat for the coffee plants, helps preserve the diversity of plant and animals species in coffee-growing regions of the world. Shade-grown coffee does not require the extensive input of fertilizers and pesticides common on coffee plantations.

Please consider a donation to the SAVE the Earth Club to help support their service projects. Recent projects include ADA trail maintenance at Pack Forest, wetland restoration at Northwest Trek and helping build an outdoor classroom at Whidbey Institute. Projects on the horizon include building enclosures for small mammals and birds of prey for Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation and trail maintenance and invasive species removal at Moran State Park during spring break.

Camano Island Coffee Roasters supports Edmonds Community College’s LEAF School and SAVE the Earth Club.

I attended my first Environmental Lobby Day organized by LEAF community partner, People for Puget Sound. I don’t know much about politics so I was very excited to lobby for change. I carpooled with Amy Johnson to Olympia because I forgot to sign up for the bus. In my tendencies to be late, we arrived about 9:30am missing the address by Public Lands Commissioner, Peter Goldmark.

During the breakout sessions, I attended Efficiency First and Invest in Clean Water to learn more about these bills and learned how to over come the opposition. I decided the bill that I would push for is Invest in Clean Water (HB 1614 and SB 5518). This bill would place a per barrel fee on petroleum products that contributes to water pollution through rainwater runoffs. The bill would raise $100 million for local governments through grants and matching funds program.

One of my state representative in my 46th district is Scott White. Our district had a large group consist of twenty citizens who met him in a conference room in the O’Brien build at 1pm. We had about fifteen minutes with him while we lay the facts of why we supported these bills. He already supported two out of the four that we were pushing for. In the end, I gave him my EdCC business card with AfterWord blog web address. I briefly explained why Invest in Clean water is a priority since most of our service-learning projects involves in stream restoration and conservation. We also met and discuss with Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney’s aid since she was testifying in a hearing. Over all, Lobby day was a great learning experience and I am excited to go back next year.

Web links of Environmental Priorities Coalition:
Cap and Invest
Efficiency First
Transit-Oriented Communities
Invest in Clean Water

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Last Friday morning after our pre-chem class, Lisa and I joined Tom’s LEAF School as mentors to his winter quarter students. It was a new experience working in Georgetown where trucks and trains were passing by as we picked up litter and removed awkwardly grown invasive species. Often with Tom’s LEAF School trips, we tend to head north and away from the city. However today, we found ourselves in an industrial area of Seattle that I don’t generally visit. The term eco-industrial park is new to me. When I think of the word park, I think of Meadowdale County Park where one is surround by endless shrubs and conifers that would muffle the sounds of car engines. An eco-industrial park is a collaboration between businesses and the community in an attempt to reduce waste and pollution and help achieve sustainable develop by improving environmental quality.

Cari Simson with Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition was our community partner for the day. She introduced the class to local businesses such as Markey Machinery to discuss why the business would support and benefit from an eco-industrial park. Also during lunch, she brought representatives from CleanScapes and local resident, Tom Knoblauch, for a more in-depth discussion on eco-industrial park. The CleanScapes representatives discussed how the economic has affect the sales of metal scraps and the reduction in trash. The factual quote they mentioned that I kept thinking about is how the US exist as 5% of the world population yet we produce 35% of the waste. Tom Knoblauch discussed how his neighborhood is less of a priority to the city due to the lack of schools and the housing of sex offenders. Tom also passed around digitally enhanced blueprints of the soon-to-be eco-industrial park of 8th Ave that left me with hope of the positive change we contributed.

The reflection was lead by a mentor student Mary Andrews. She asked the students what was the most interesting trash item and if what we did today made a difference. A couple of students found a meth drug kit while others found the usual suspects of plastic bags, foam cups and decomposed plastic pieces. Some students also noticed the lack in trash as compared to previous clean ups at other locations. The students overwhelmingly agreed that the service provided today made a difference either to the truck drivers, local businesses and/or themselves for we brought awareness and showed that we cared about the area.

Upcoming service event: Duwamish Alive! Saturday (April 18th) 10am to 2pm

Web links:
Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition
Georgetown Restoration Project
Markey Machinary
CleanScapes

Amy Johnson is the new Service-Learning Program Coordinator, a new full-time position for the college’s Center for Service-Learning. Johnson will work with faculty to develop service-learning opportunities and will recruit students to join Students in Service AmeriCorps program, which allows students to earn AmeriCorps scholarships by participating in community service projects as part of their class work.

Johnson previously worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer for Washington Conservation Corps and Snohomish County Marine Resources. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at UW Bothell and her transfer degree at Cascadia Community College.

Thanks to Michele Graves for the press release.
Release Date: February 2nd, 2009