The inaugural Service Learning program at Barat Academy commenced on September 26, 2007. The theme of the program for the founding freshmen (and for all future freshmen classes) is Environmental Awareness and Ecological Stewardship. The freshman Service Learning program is designed to instill in Barat students an appreciation for the world that God has provided for us and a sense of our responsibility to preserve it. By participating in the program, both students and faculty respond directly to the third goal of Sacred Heart education, which implores Barat to commit itself “to educate to a social awareness which impels to action.” Though Service Learning is not the only way that Barat will live out this goal, our first four days of service this fall began this admirable tradition which will ensure that the goal is never overlooked.
Each Barat freshman and faculty member worked at one of six worksites close to the school and participated in four challenging afternoon learning modules. The program would not have succeeded without the help of many generous site supervisors and volunteers, or the enthusiastic support and dedication of the faculty. The students, though, were the primary impetus in making a positive difference in our surrounding environs. On four consecutive Wednesdays, volunteers, mainly comprised of Barat parents, drove the freshmen to one of the six sites where the students labored for three hours. The organizations that provided the sites and which will remain the same when the program restarts in April are:
- the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area
- Faust Park
- the Greenway Network, Inc.
- the Missouri Department of Conservation in collaboration with the Great Rivers Greenway District
- the St. Charles County Parks & Recreation Department
- the St. Charles Division of Environmental Services
Donna Glon, the mother of freshman Brendon Glon and a volunteer who drove to the Greenway Network, Inc. site at Peruque Creek all four weeks, was impressed with the site supervisors. “They were a wealth of knowledge,” she reported, “and they put issues of clean water into everyday life situations that the students appreciated.”
The eighty Barat freshmen made a sound impact through the service they began this fall. At Busch, the students performed trail maintenance and trash pickup, collecting approximately 150 pounds of trash in a single morning. The group at Faust Park engaged in trail building and maintenance, relocated a fence, and even spent time working as amateur blacksmiths. Supervisors from the Greenway Network, Inc. worked with students at Peruque Creek, where they surveyed the stream, took initial stream chemistry measurements, and removed invasive plants. One group remained on campus for most of their service time, and under the supervision of volunteers from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Great Rivers Greenway District, they planned an outdoor classroom that will be constructed near the Oxbow just west of the Founders Building, in addition to applying for a grant to help fund the classroom. The students who worked with the Parks Department spent all four Wednesdays at the Youth Activity Park, where they completed various beautification projects such as mulching trees and removing invasive plants around two ponds. Finally, the group that worked with the Division of Environmental Services spent their mornings stenciling storm drains so that citizens will encounter a spray-painted reminder not to throw trash down the sewers whenever they pass a storm drain.
By working at the same site each week (and next spring), the freshmen become more valuable as workers to the organizations we serve, and they and are able to probe different environmental topics in greater depth than if they rotated from site to site. Freshman Taylor Thornhill noted that at Busch he “learned what plants are invasive and not native, and that such plants can be bad for our ecosystems because they prevent native plants from growing properly.” Each group internalized different wisdom about the environment based on their experiences and tasks at each site. Since the afternoon learning modules mixed students from all of the sites into four larger groups, the freshmen were able to share their newfound knowledge with each other. Theology instructor Steve Zaegel appreciated the depth and diversity of the student experiences, remarking that “It was great to get the students involved in something that wasn’t just service hours and for them to work together and get a greater appreciation of the world around them.” Zaegel further observed that several students “have that appreciation down big-time.”
After working onsite in the mornings, the freshmen returned to Barat for lunch and enjoyed some recreational time outside before heading back to work. In the afternoon learning modules, however, the students exercised their minds more than their muscles. Each module consisted of twenty students and two faculty members, and the topics explored were diverse. The module conceived by Paul Fingerhut and Steve Zaegel investigated how to make both the exterior and interior of Barat more eco-friendly. Martha Nettles and Patty Weiss worked with students to prepare a recommendation for a program of recycling for Barat to adopt, and they initiated that program, enabling the school to recycle aluminum, cardboard, paper, and plastics. In the learning module facilitated by Joey Murphy, the students scrutinized the predominant food consumption practices in our society, and then drafted letters which they mailed to Barat’s Board of Directors, urging the use of fair trade, organic, sustainable foods in the cafeteria whenever possible. Mark Daniels and Vanessa Sparrow helped students investigate bottled water while exploring local and global issues related to water as a resource. Many of the students were surprised by what they learned in the modules, as the faculty members illuminated some of the most pressing environmental issues our society currently faces. Freshman Ian Whalen was startled to learn that “not all companies that bottle water follow the same regulations or use the same types of water,” and equally impressive revelations surfaced in the other learning modules.
Our foray into Service Learning this fall showed us areas where we can improve next spring, but in general, all of the parties involved were pleased with the genesis of the program and are encouraged to strengthen it next spring. Volunteer Katie Schneider, the mother of freshman Alex Schneider, reflected gratefully on her experience as a volunteer, commenting that she “really enjoyed” participating and “getting to know some of the kids, parents, and teachers. It was a great experience!” The most common negative feedback that the students provided was that their service work was less than glamorous, though frequently that sentiment was immediately followed by the qualifier that making a difference felt good. With eight consecutive Wednesdays of Service Learning to look forward to in the spring, the impact that Barat will make on the local environment is sure to be even greater. Many students learned that, service, while not always fun, is usually rewarding. Freshman Kathleen Schmitz said that her favorite part of the Service Learning program was “actually going out and doing the work in the name of God.” She also learned a valuable lesson when she came to the painful realization “that if you want the world to be clean, you have to get out there and clean it yourself. The only way we can truly care for our earth is to take care of it ourselves and take responsibility for our actions, not preach about it and let someone else do the work.” Schmitz concluded her reflections by saying, “We have to be the change.” About one century ago, Mohandas Gandhi said something similar: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” If the Barat students are learning this lesson, one would suspect that the Service Learning program is off to a good start.
