SCS brings three high schools together for service and fun!

As one of the Peer Helper Incentive Grant recipients, the Sitka Conservation Society brought Peer Helpers and other youth to work with SCS staff and board to plan and run several activities at Sitka’s annual Earth Day festivities.  It was a huge success.  As part of the project, Peer Helper teens set up a booth at the Earth Day with the theme “Sitka’s Backyard: the Sitka Community Use Area.”   The students asked participants to mark on a map the areas they use and depend on in the area around Sitka and want to see protected for future generations.  Participants were also asked how they have learned to set an example in their efforts to keep the local Sitka environment healthy.
As a reward for working on the Earth Day event, Peer Helpers and other invited students were rewarded with an Allen Marine Sitka Sound Wildlife Cruise.  Students and guests got an opportunity to get a close-up view of whales feeding on herring and the beginning of the breeding season for the bird-life on St. Lazaria Island National Wildlife Refuge.  During the cruise, students and adults had a chance to mingle and learn from each other as well. 

It was a great opportunity for SCS to work with local students and offer local youth a chance to interact, share ideas, and learn something new about the community in which we live.

check out the photo album.

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Sitka students head to Tacoma to build a house over Spring Break.

Eight students, representing Sitka High, Pacific High, and Mt. Edgecumbe, participated in the Collegiate Challenge – a house-building extravaganza that maximizes the energy of lots of students while they’re on Spring Break.
The group traveled to Tacoma for this experience because it’s the closest Habitat site to Sitka. But the students are already talking about trying to start a similar home-building project in Sitka, perhaps to tie in to local affordable housing efforts. Here's their report:

For many students in Sitka spring break was spent shoveling snow, watching TV and playing video games.  But for a these students spring break was full of service work, fun and new experiences! 
The group began weekly meetings in December to start planning the weeklong trip to Tacoma to work on houses for Habitat for Humanity.  The group spent many hours planning fundraisers and writing letters to supportive family members, friends and community members.  The goal was to raise almost $9000 in two and a half months, and they did it!  On Saturday the 10th of March, the Habitat group hosted the best bake sale of all time, raising over $600 and pushing the group over their goal. 
In Tacoma the group was housed by a generous Lutheran Church, although with a busy schedule there was not very much sleep going on.  The group worked on four different Habitat sites doing a variety of jobs from drywall mudding to removing concrete foundation forms, from painting and texturing to digging and landscaping.  Students met other Habitat volunteers, staff and people that were living in Habitat built homes.  The students maintained a great attitude and work ethic throughout the trip. At the end of each day of work the group went to the YMCA for hot showers, swimming and saunas.  Following showers the group was hosted by a variety of groups, people and restaurants for dinner.  This was a time when the group made some great connections with youth and adults living in Tacoma. 

One night we were had dinner with a group of student artists from middle high through high school, working in a glass blowing program.  The Hilltop Artists in Residence was created for urban youth as gang violence, drug prevention and drop out prevention program.  All of the students got along great and the Sitka students learned some glass working skills and some even made glass beads.  Another night, Michael and Amanda Knowles, a couple living in downtown Tacoma had us over for dinner.  To the surprise of the group they owned a Slush Puppy machine!  The students ate tacos, cheesecake and Slush Puppies while checking out photos from Mike and Amanda’s recent service trip to New Orleans where they cleaned up nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina.  On the last day, the group went to experience the sights, tastes and smells of Seattle.  They saw fish being thrown at Pike St. market, checked out the view from the space needle and ate a Thai food dinner.

At 4:30 am Sunday morning the Sitka Habitat Crew was loaded in the van and heading back to the SEA TAC airport exhausted and sleep deprived.  The Trip was an amazing learning experience and the group felt like they had both provided service and made connections with people from Tacoma and with each other.  

See more Project Habitat photos!

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Ariel Lyons and her plan to change the world:

A few things she's been doing: Peer Helper Member Girl Scouts - 12 years, Silver Award, working on Gold, camp leader... etc Spirit of Youth Award recipient Youngest Quilters Guild member. Sitka Youth First Responders treasurer, member, and ETT CNA student Drama Debate past state teem member and regional competitor Habitat for Humanity Crossing Bridges tutor Peer Helper - Sitka Conservation Society Wednesday School Teacher Women’s self-defense student past Civil Air Patrol Cadet

Ariel is a bundle of energy, smiles, and postivity whever she appears. Though she has only been in Sitka a short time, she has made some lasting, positive changes in this community from her involvement in so many community projects, and from just being herself. Ariel comes to us from Juneau, a place she still calls home and where her family remains - she moved to Sitka to pursue a few acadmeic goals and, well, its better if we let her tell her story:

Why I moved from Juneau.
There are a number of reasons why I moved from Juneau, and if you asked me every week, I might have a different way of saying it each time. The reasons I made the choice have been reinforced by my experiences over the year. First off, I have had amazing doors opened up to me. One of the major draws to Sitka was the Certified Nurses Aid class and Sitka Youth First Responders teem, which both seemed like and are experiences I will keep with me for the rest of my life. Many of the other opportunities I have been so lucky to be involved with over this year, I had no idea I would find before arriving here this year. Next, I needed a break from Juneau. Though I love my home town of Juneau, watching so many of my friends fall into drug use and other troubles was beginning to wear on me. As much as I wanted to be there for my friends and support them, I knew if I stayed any longer, it would bring me into those same decisions sooner or later and that's not what I wanted for my self. The group of friends I have in Sitka are all amazing, talented kids - who are drug free, and abstinent. It is a relief not to have that much more to be focusing on while trying to get through my last few years of public education. My family thought of this opportunity as a little mini-exchange. Rather than going away to Spain or Chili for a year, I'm going somewhere not so far away where I can still come home to visit. Finally, the Juneau-Douglas High School is not big enough for the number of kids, so some of us have to leave, and I wanted to spend more time with these friends of mine, and be there for them for a bit, although it may mean leaving others behind for a bit. Those are some of my strongest reasons, I suppose, for making that difficult decision a year ago.

Why I like to help people.
It seems to me, I must have turned out the way I am from the way I was raised and how my family has been all my life. My grandma is in her 70's and still building trails along with much other volunteer work. My mum has received the Women of Distinction award, though it by no means covers all the things she does. She has started two non-profits over the years, and is currently the director for the Association for the Education of Young Children in Juneau, as well as a life-long co-leader of my Girl Scout troop, and working to ensure youth opportunities and involvement in our church. My father has always been the man jumping out of the car and running up to the front to help with his very own pair of rubber gloves at every accident scene. They have always taught me not to walk by someone and leave them to there own problems, but to offer a helping hand- be it with moving boxes, pushing a car, a medical emergency, or a stressed out parent in the grocery store. As a Girl Scout, SYFR member, CAP Cadet, Christian, and many of the other hats I wear, I feel as if all my life I am wearing this uniform, or representing that group, and part of what that means is to live the example they have taught me. If I were to make a bad decision, or do something mean, or even simply turn down the opportunity to do good, not only would I be disappointing myself, I would be disappointing myself as a girl scout and a Christian and a teacher and a first responder and a cadet and a spirit of youth and everything else. I have so many amazing and supportive people in my life who hold me up and help me out that I have plenty of hands to spare to turn and do the same for as many others as I can.

My life plan.
It doesn't seem like there is enough time in the day to do all that I want to do. I made a deal with one of my friends and advisors (one of my camp counselors) that I would save the world. That's what I want to do. Stargirl from Jerry Spennelli’s book did that by noticing the little things; leaving anonymous Happy Birthday and Get Well Soon cards for strangers in need, and doing other little random acts of kindness before going off the drive a silver lunch box truck to deliver lunch to hungry workers around the country. Mrs. Cavanaugh went to Manzania to work with orphans with AIDS. There are a million things to do to help our world and the people of it, and every little bit counts. One of my more permanent plans right now is to adopt children, be a teacher and a doctor, maybe travel the world, take care of my parents and my brother, have a small farm, and see what life brings. I hope to always be the open door people can go to in times of need, whether that means helping the homeless or taking in battered women, or whatever else God gives me to do. When I was very little, it killed me to think that there were homeless people out there, and what I wanted to do more than anything some day was to change that. To walk up to one of those people I saw while traveling as a kid and say, "come on, it's time to go home now." and give them the life they deserve. There is so much we can do.

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Peer Helpers get Community Engaged

The high school students that make up the Peer Helpers are in charge of $5000 in funds. They have challenged community groups to come up with proposals that use the funds that:

• involve Peer Helpers in the project, working with adults,
• involve underserved populations in service and delivery,
• provide meaningful opportunities for youth and adults to work together, and
• the projects must be fun

They have reviewed the proposals and awarded grants to six groups. Here's a quick summary of the projects. Stay tuned for great pictures and stories!

Learn More...
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welcome to the jungle

Taylor White is studying to be a monkey.

mission control

Allison just got a job with NASA

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