This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Students From Grand Rapids, MI Volunteer in Dacula

Greening Forward had the pleasure of hosting ten college students from Grand Rapids, Michigan as a part of their school's Alternative Breaks program.

Last week was a rewarding experience as Greening Forward volunteered alongside ten amazing students from Grand Valley State University. Four Greening Forward partners got to work alongside these students last week. Consequently, we planted 15 pansies and 10 herbs. Moreover, we cleared over 100 pounds of litter from Gwinnett County parks and schools, helped build a community gardens at Sweetwater and Sylan Middle Schools, and reduced 's incoming junk mail.

"We answered questions about high school and college that the students had for us," says Casey Burr, who lead the student team as co-site leader. "Together, we put smiles on their teachers’ faces and made their schools better places to be.  I was amazed at how eager the middle-schoolers were to get knee-deep (literally) in something with which they had little to no previous experience.  I only hope that I had as positive of an impact on their lives as they did on mine," Laura Earle said in a reflective blog post.

Additionally, the Grand Valley State University students got to enjoy nature first-hand by staying at . The local, organic farm in Dacula, Georgia provided a place for our alternative spring break students. Students helped care for farm animals and the farm's garden.  

Papa John's of Pike Street in Lawrenceville and Moe's Southwest Grill in Duluth off of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard also played a role in supporting these students. 

Before leaving Greening Forward, students also got to take a day trip to Lake Lanier and Amicalola Falls, the tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi.

Find out what's happening in Daculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?