UA Honors College Students Arrive Early for Service Projects

Editor’s Note: A Media Availability Day will be held Thursday, Aug. 16 with Alabama Action, at Flatwoods Elementary (3800 66th Ave. Northport) from 8:30 a.m. to noon, and with Outdoor Action, at Hurricane Creek from 8:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. Media are invited to visit both programs.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — More than 200 University of Alabama Honors College students will kick off the fall semester with community service projects throughout Tuscaloosa and surrounding communities.

Alabama Action and Outdoor Action will begin Monday, Aug. 13 and end Friday, Aug. 17.

Some 150 UA honors students will participate in Alabama Action, a program combining service to the community with enriching academic sessions. The 2012 program is the 12th annual Alabama Action project organized and carried out by UA honors students.

The Alabama Action students will work at Flatwoods Elementary School and Crestmont Elementary School this year. Students will help repair the playground, repaint the library and hallways and help revitalize an Outdoor Habitat at Flatwoods Elementary. The Alabama Action students will work at both schools throughout the week from approximately 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. each day.

While the Alabama Action students are busy in a school setting, another group of honors students will spend the week in the college’s Outdoor Action service-learning program. Outdoor Action focuses on environmental issues and allows students to make a contribution through an environmental service project.

The Outdoor Action students will participate in a two-day clean-up project, Aug. 15-16, at Hurricane Creek, an area maintained by Tuscaloosa Parks and Recreation that suffered extensive damage following the April 27, 2011 tornado. Students devoted two days to cleaning up Hurricane Creek last year to help restore the stream’s flow and preserve the area’s unique ecosystem. Students will continue the cleanup process at the direction of creek-keeper John Wathen.

At Perry Lakes Park, located 50 miles from the UA campus near Marion, some 40 honors freshmen and nine student leaders will work to install benches, clear trails and tag fish. This is the fifth year of focused effort by Outdoor Action students in Perry Lakes Park.

Outdoor Action activities are supported by the Honors College, the Alabama Museum of Natural History and UA Outdoor Recreation.