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Akiko
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Project Description
ISALC
Friendship Family Community Service Project
Lewis
& Clark College
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Akiko
Dogakinai |
Project Description
Tryon Creek is unique because it is Oregon's only state park located within a large metropolitan area. The park is located just a few minutes' walk from the Lewis & Clark campus. Visitors to Tryon will find over 14 miles of trails and plenty of flora and fauna along the way. The Lewis & Clark Center for Service and Work (CSAW) organized this trip to Tryon Creek so that volunteers could clear trails and work on stream bank restoration.
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Write On!
Restoration of Nature
Akiko Dogakinai
Today I participated in a Community Service activity with my Friendship Family, Jon and Paul Erickson. There were four kinds of activities and we chose the one that will help with the restoration of nature. Besides us, there were five volunteers, who are all students of Lewis & Clark College. We went to Tryon Creek Park, which is quite close to Lewis & Clark College, where wild animals, plants and trees inhabit without being invaded by human beings. As soon as we arrived there, a staff member of the park explained what we were going to do and took us to the spot where we worked. What we did there was to dig the ground with heavy metal rakes in preparation for planting. As the place was fairly wild and muddy, it was hard to work there (it was really manual labor), however, I enjoyed the work and had a great time with my Friendship Family and other folks of Lewis & Clark College.
This was a valuable experience for me in several respects. First, this was a good opportunity to rethink about nature. I think that many of us, human beings, are too arrogant to appreciate and respect the life of nature. Through today's activity, I realized how precious and wonderful natural life is and deeply appreciated it for creating a comfortable environment where we live. It is our fate to live with nature; therefore, if there is something that we can do to support it, we should be willing to help. I was really motivated to be involved in these kinds of activities after today's work.
This was also a good chance to get to know and communicate with people. Until yesterday, I had never talked with the students who worked together, but now, we are friends. They are so kind and friendly that they asked me about myself and I felt comfortable with them. These positive experiences make me feel close to the United States and give me the confidence to live here.
As to my Friendship Family, I had already had a strong affinity with them as we have been together for about six months and I have spent many happy times with them. They are really my American family. However, we had little time to spend on these kinds of outside activities. Therefore, it was fun to work and talk with them outdoors; as the place changes, the atmosphere and feeling also changes and is refreshed. Whenever I spend time with them, there are new discoveries with each other and we feel closer. I am really happy to have had such a great time and I appreciate the Lewis & Clark folks and my new family. I hope every other international student will have a great time at these kinds of activities with his or her new family.
