Bay Area Celebrate First Family Day

Our California region organized its first Family Service Day on May 5. buildOn students invited their families to help participate on an environmental service project organized with Friends of Sausal Creek at Dimond Park in East Oakland.

Volunteers began the day learning about the history of the Sausal Creek Watershed from the days when the Ohlone Indians lived in harmony with nature to the point we are at now, where many of these natural watersheds have been altered by human actions. A few members brought their brothers and sisters along to help members remove invasive species at the spot buildOn adopted along the creek. At the end of the service portion of the day, everyone shared their “roses and thorns” of the project (their favorite and not-so-favorite parts of the project), and several members said the best part of their day was spending time with their siblings. The day ended with a discussion about global issues affecting our environment. Students broke into teams and read an article about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and talked about how daily actions can have global effects.