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Gorillas in Our Midst
Gorillas in Moscow? Appearing at the end of May, twelve friendly
“Gorillas” arrived from Sacramento at the PCEI office in Moscow’s
Friendship Square, bringing with them a great gift of friendship for
our entire community. These “Gorillas”, a.k.a. Team Red 3 of
AmeriCorps*NCCC West, are PCEI’s 5th summer AmeriCorps group. The team
is a diverse group and is here to help our community by restoring
Paradise Creek, maintaining Moscow’s Community Garden, and sharing
their vast knowledge and exciting experiences with area children in
Adventure Club. |
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Getting things done
Since last Fall, this shiny, happy group has persevered in a pledge to
“get things done” for communities in the western US. The Alpha Gorilla
or team leader, Andy Wurl, has been assisted by Bridget, Carmen,
Chandra, Danielle, Ta Ta, Jesse, Kate & Kate, Meg, Roland, and Slash in
a selfless effort to complete impressive service projects. Over the past
nine months, this hard-working team has planted trees with Sacramento
children; removed an exotic species, Red Suspania, from riparian areas
around Dry Creek in California; aided the Utah Food Bank in their
holiday food drive to distribute food to people of Salt Lake City;
mentored and tutored over 200 Boys and Girls Club teens for several
months through a variety of programs and activities; and they spent
several months working hard to prepare Camp Mendocino so that children
could have a safe and enjoyable camp experience this season. |
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Many projects
While Andy and his team were here, they assisted PCEI with a variety of
projects. With the Watershed Program, the AmeriCorps*NCCC team helped
with restoration efforts on 36 project sites along Paradise Creek,
including 5 new sites. At the Moscow Community Garden, the team helps
Kelly Riley and community gardeners with weeding, mulching, compost bin
construction and raspberry trellis maintenance. The team also lent a
hand with the PCEI Education Program’s Adventure Club series. |
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