In addition to cleaning up trash and debris, students at the beaver marsh in Durham helped make repairs to wooden bridges on the foot trails. (photo: Brian Faircloth)
news
At the Ellerbe Creek beaver marsh in Durham, Martin Luther King Jr. Day broke cold. So cold, in fact, that seagulls far from the sea marched across the surface of the beaver pond which had frozen overnight. The cold didn’t stop bundled-up student volunteers from NCSSM-Durham, however, from donning fluorescent safety vests and joining with adult leaders from the Friends of Ellerbe Creek association to fan out in groups across the area, trash bags and trash-grabbers in hand, to help clean up refuse throughout the marsh.
The student group at the beaver marsh was just one of many student groups from NCSSM’s Durham and Morganton campuses who ventured out into surrounding communities to spend part of the day volunteering their time and energy in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and the legacy of selfless service to others that he left behind. In the Durham area, students were also on site at locations such as Habitat ReStore, a donated clothing distribution center, a Habitat build, and a food bank. In Morganton, students ventured out to locations such as local parks, trails, soup kitchens, and a retirement center to give of themselves to others.
Donald Morris was one of the NCSSM-Durham students clearing garbage from the beaver marsh. The senior from John A. Holmes High School in Edenton wanted to spend his day outdoors, helping restore the natural environment. Donald and his fellow crewmembers ventured off the trail around the marsh and down into the briars and muck and mud near the water’s edge to retrieve a myriad of items. Rusted soft drink cans and yellowing soda bottles were common, but they’d also plucked from the ground a sneaker insole and, oddly, three sets of over-the-ear headphones. Students at other parts of the marsh retrieved a mattress and an abandoned teddy bear.
“I really like the fact that NCSSM requires 60 volunteer hours to graduate and that students are so involved in volunteer activities on MLK Day,” Donald said. “What we’re doing out here picking up trash is peanuts to what Martin Luther King did, though.”
Later that afternoon in Morganton, residents of the Grace Ridge Retirement Community in Morganton gathered in the village’s atrium where they were enthusiastically entertained with musical performances from seven NCSSM-Morganton students (four vocalists and three musicians). Pieces ranged from Bach, Miller and musical productions from theatre to a piano-backed Bruno Mars song.
Siah Crapse, senior from Robbinsville High School, was one of the students who performed. She sang a song called “Much More,” drawn from the musical The Fantasticks.
“This was so fun,” Siah said. “Coming here where we get to perform for a community brings such happiness, for them and us. It definitely connects us a lot more with our community within Morganton.”
Steve Settlemyer is one of Grace Ridge’s residents.
“I think that we [as senior citizens] appreciate young people more than any other group in society,” Settlemyer said. “We just love to have young people over here. But the School of Science and Math kids are just wonderful, and it’s just a wonderful part of our lives to have them participate for just a few minutes in our lives. It’s a great feeling.”
Back by the beaver marsh in Durham, Donald expressed his hope that students will continue to be inspired by Martin Luther King’s example of service to others.
“He did so much; much more than many people will ever do in terms of helping others – but hopefully through [service-oriented] projects like this it’ll encourage students to speak up and help others when that opportunity arises.”
