A group of teens spent most of last week spiffing up Tohono Chul Park.
Their work was part of the Youth Volunteer Corps, an organization that reaches out to youth in the community to provide "service learning" volunteer opportunities.
Stewart Bass and Joseph Syres, both 17, and Isamu Nevins, 15, worked from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday to help the park's grounds crew while learning about desert plants and tool safety.
The three boys worked under the leadership of AmeriCorps members Erin Kowalsky, 24, and Jessica King, 23. According to its website, AmeriCorps is a national program that partners with local nonprofits and charities.
Together, the five volunteers spent the four days cleaning debris from Tohono Chul's agave trail. They filled an entire Dumpster - plus some.
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"We really appreciate it. They did a great job this week," said Paul Hoyt, a member of the grounds crew. "The trail was in awful condition."
The agave trail is one of the older plant collections at the park, which spans 49 acres at 7366 N. Paseo del Norte. The grounds crew is not huge, so it is easy for parts of the park to get neglected.
"These guys helped start the process of reclaiming the trail," Hoyt said of the volunteers.
During the week, the teens also participated in reflective activities where they drew pictures of what they did and wrote journal entries on their experiences.
"I see it as a huge way to help the community," Syres said of volunteering. He was the only one who had previously volunteered at the park, at a similar project last summer, but all three of the boys have done volunteer work before.
"I've seen the importance of getting down and dirty rather than organizing - someone has to do it," Nevins said. "I feel pretty accomplished and I feel pretty sweaty."
The park is starting to catalog its different plant species in a GPS system so plant lovers can easily locate their favorites, Hoyt said. Clearing out the dead plants and weeds is a huge step in finishing this project.
"When you pull plants out and you step back and look at what you did - it's just a clear area where there used to be tons of plants," Bass said. "It's very rewarding."
How to help
The Youth Volunteer Corps is organized by Volunteer Southern Arizona, which offers volunteer opportunities all year long for people of nearly all ages. For more information, go to www.volunteersoaz.org online.
Kelsey O'Grady is a University of Arizona student who is an apprentice at the Star. Contact her at 573-4117 or at starapprentice@azstarnet.com
