“Service Fridays” program for Central Oregon students starting up
Central Oregon Environmental Center Partners with Rimrock Expeditionary Alternative Learning Middle School to launch new service learning opportunity
Central Oregon Environmental Center
The Central Oregon Environmental Center (COEC) is excited to announce a new community partnership with Rimrock Expeditionary Alternative Learning Middle School (REALMS) to promote service learning and community volunteerism among students through their new “Service Fridays” Program. The goal of this program is to instill in students the value of service and an enduring drive to be active citizens in their local communities.
Each Friday for eight weeks, REALMS students will divide into service-learning teams to explore, learn and give back to our community by volunteering with different community organizations. COEC is proud to provide students with the chance learn about environmental issues through three of our member organizations, the Oregon Paleo Lands Institute (OPLI), Wolftree and reSource--all recruited by COEC--and with our own service-learning intern, Julie Balter. COEC is also playing a critical sponsorship role for this new program, providing offsite classroom space for students, as well as donating art supplies for their projects.
Service Fridays will kick off on January 11th with a school-wide service introduction and training session. Site visits and projects will begin the following Friday, January 18th. Projects with OPLI, Wolftree and reSource include working to create an exhibit for the new OPLI Field Station in Fossil, Oregon, participating in backyard bird surveys and improving bird habitat near REALMS, and exploring waste prevention and reduction solutions through art.
For more information on this program, contact Becca Katz from REALMS at 541.322.5323 or Karyn Black from the Central Oregon Environmental Center at 541.385.6908.
The Environmental Center is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to connecting individuals in our community with environmental issues, organizations and opportunities by offering educational resources, sponsoring community events, engaging volunteers, hosting public meetings and discussion groups, renting meeting space and keeping community members up-to-date via e-mail alerts and our website, www.envirocenter.org.
