Marshall pitches in to tidy environment

Marshall Middle School eighth-grader Zack Thompson hopes that cleaning up ivy and planting trees will make a difference in at least two ways.

One benefit was to the environment at the Priest Point Park estuary.

"This place was taken over by all the ivy," he said. "We rolled up ivy and planted some trees."

And he and his schoolmates also hope their efforts will benefit the school's parent-sponsored programs.

The Marshall Community Council, which is the school's parent group, raises money for student activities. The group has organized Marshall CARES, which stands for "cash, awareness, responsibility, ecology and strength."

Students volunteered for three work events — cleanup at Priest Point Park, a general schoolwide beautification and restoration day last week, and cleanup at the Glacial Heritage prairie lands Saturday — and collected pledges for every hour they volunteered. Students had the option of asking for pledges or asking for donations, according to Paige Sorensen, communications chairwoman of the group.

More than 60 parents, teachers and staff members volunteered for each day of the offsite weekend projects, and every class chipped in on the beautification and restoration day at the school, she said.

The Community Council increased its activity in September, and has brought in activities, such as an after-school theater program and a better sound system to the school's stage, Sorensen said.

For Principal John Hitchman, the activities also had an additional benefit: "It brings people into the school, which is a big thing."

Zack, 14, said getting pledges and donations for the work-a-thon seemed to be an easier sell than trying to convince people to buy treats or magazines for a fundraiser.

"I just explained what we were doing and they thought it was better than getting cookies," he said.