Refugee Support Network: Commemorating 9/11
To honor 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, eight AmeriCorps VISTA members from the Refugee Support Network (RSN) spent a day braving thorns and spiders to partner with the Nature Consortium of West Seattle and help remove 1500 square feet of invasive blackberry plants in the West Duwamish Greenbelt.
The AmeriCorps VISTA program challenges its members to take on service events in addition to their assigned projects to honor national days of service throughout the year. Each year, the Refugee Support Network participates in between two and four of these projects, allowing members to join together and experience a different form of service in the community. Brie Robertori, an RSN VISTA who participated in the event, describes her experience volunteering during this day of service: “The Nature Consortium provided a great space for our group to get to know each other--and get our hands dirty! Our day spent pulling out invasive blackberries was full of chatter and even some great networking and friendship opportunities. At the end of the day, we were good and tired, but had learned a lot about invasive species and how to use tools, and also about our group of volunteers.”
The Nature Consortium is a community-based organization in West Seattle that hosts volunteer work parties year round to work toward the restoration of the West Duwamish Greenbelt by removing invasive species and planting and promoting the growth of native trees and shrubs. Their mission is to connect people, arts, and nature.
More information about the Nature Consortium, their work, and available volunteer opportunities can be found at http://www.naturec.org/. More information about the Refugee Support Network can be found at http://refugeesupportnetwork.wordpress.com/.
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