POLS 3630 students and UIMF student leaders with other volunteers take a group photo before the beginning of our service project.
At 9 am on Friday, September 27, 2024, as a service learning event for the POLS3630, Sustainable Mountain Development class at Utah Valley University (UVU), a group of students joined leaders of the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at UVU, Janessa- Michelle Purcell and Ana Caballero Ferreryo in a collaboration with the UVU College of Science and UVU Sustainability Committee with an opportunity to clean parts of the Provo River. To continue promoting and applying the Student Engaged Learning model (SEL), students in the POLS 3630 class were encouraged to sign up for various service projects to participate throughout the semester. The SEL model encourages students to resolve practical problems together as a group with a staff member as their mentor. Collectively, Glory Ellison, Ismael Cabadas, Thomas Mogensen and his wife, Nicholas Robinson, Ana Caballero Ferreyro and Janessa-Michelle Purcell were able to learn more from Paula Trater, the leader of this initiative to remove invasive plants around the Provo River Delta.
Volunteers meet at the check-in point to hear directions from Ms Paula Trater, who is in charge of this project.
The purpose of this project was to remove the invasive tamarisk and Russian Olive seedlings and trash. On arriving at the check-in point, our group met with Melissa Rangel, Emma Martineua and Paula Trater. We learned that Ms Trater works for a federal agency, Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission; AmeriCorps Conservation Land Steward. This agency is responsible for coordinating the mitigation of ecological impacts that resulted from construction and the operations of federal water projects in Utah. Ms. Trater explained that we would be covering a large area of the river and that there would be two groups: those who would pull the invasive plants and those who would be picking up trash. Before we made the trek to our starting point, we took a moment to take a group picture with the other volunteers. In the first shift of the day, besides our UIMF members and the students of the Sustainable Mountain Development class (POLS 3630), there were 6 other volunteers including Danielle Keysaw, who was in our POLS 3640 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals class during the spring semester 2024.
Volunteers take the time to scatter grass seedlings in a plot of dirt.
Before we separated into groups, each volunteer scooped a handful of grass seedlings to sprinkle over a patch of dirt. After covering the plot of dirt liberally with the seeds our work began. Glory, Ana, and I were on the trash picking up team so we walked ahead to scout out for pieces of trash. The area looked relatively free of trash but we did manage to find a few pieces. After we had checked for trash up until our stopping point, we turned around to collect the invasive plants from the boys who were on the other team. As Thomas, Ismael, and Nicholas pulled the tamarisk and Russian Olive seedlings, Danielle, who graduated this past spring with a degree in Biology, showed me different types of grasses that were around that area. Ms Trater also came over to classify some flowers that we came across such as the yellow and white lavender plants.
Thomas Morgenson, Nicholas Robinson, Ana Caballero Ferreyro, Ismael Cabadas and I took a picture after our shift cleaning the Provo River Delta.
As club leaders we wanted to emphasize the importance of taking part in service projects not just around our community of Orem, but also to connect our service projects with sustainable development. This allows not only our club members and UVU students hours for service but it also allows us to actively engage in the sustainable development process here in Utah. This service project at the Provo River helped us understand the effects of the policies and decisions made for the benefit of the growing population typically comes at the cost of the environment. In our hour and a half shift, we were able to contribute to the progress in reclaiming spaces for the environment to prosper.
UIMF President, Janessa- Michelle Purcell picking up trash.
I am not one to garden or often be found out in nature, but having this opportunity to see a need for our community and be able to work to address it, not only reiterates our SEL model and its advantages. It also helps us apply what we learn in the classroom to our studies of mountain communities. Ms Trater expressed her appreciation for us spending our Friday morning with her, but I couldn't help but be grateful for the opportunity we had to be out in nature and learn about ways we can help connect the gaps in our community.
Janessa- Michelle Purcell, President, UIMF
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STUDENT REFLECTIVE ESSAYS
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24-09-30-Glory Ellison My contribution to the Provo River Clean Up service project
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24-10-02-Nicholas Robinson-Cleaning the river next to my high school
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24-10-02-Ana Caballero Ferreyro-Provo River Cleaning Service Activity
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24-10-02-Thomas Mogensen My participation in a Provo River Clean-Up service project
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