BENTONVILLE -- Rhys McNully helped a few other students cut down a small tree at Memorial Park in Bentonville, then he lugged it about 100 feet to a pile of brush.
"I love it. I love doing hands-on work," said McNully, 15, a Bentonville High School sophomore.
Bentonville Parks
The city of Bentonville’s Parks and Recreation Department oversees 18 parks. Orchards Park includes walking paths, a pavilion, water feature and amphitheater. The adjacent 73-acre Memorial Park includes an Olympic-size pool, tennis courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, and baseball and softball fields.
Source: City of Bentonville
He was among more than 350 students from the school who spent several hours Thursday sprucing up Memorial Park and Orchards Park.
Some students pulled weeds from gravel paths and spread mulch under 180 trees at Orchards Park. Others, including McNully, cleared an overgrown tree line beside the soccer fields at Memorial Park.
It was all part of the first Civics Community Involvement Day, organized by civics teacher Aaron Wise to teach students about good citizenship. All of the participating students -- mostly freshmen and sophomores -- are taking a civics class this semester. Wise wanted to find a way for the teens to make a difference in their community.
"A lot of these students aren't old enough to get a job, so it's hard to get them to buy into the notion they can make a difference," Wise said.
He came up with the idea of having students volunteer their time at the parks, and he started discussing it with fellow staff members and city officials in June.
Organizing the project proved more challenging than he'd expected, but other civics teachers got involved and held out, Wise said.
"Now that we're out here, it's worth it," he said.
Arvest Bank provided a lunch of hot dogs, chips and water for the students. Some parents also pitched in to help Thursday.
Tim Perkins, a horticulturist with the city's Parks and Recreation Department, helped supervise the students' work on the tree line. The tree line had been neglected for years and had become an eyesore, Perkins said.
He estimated the students' work at worth about 300 man-hours. Some of the youths were more motivated than others, but overall they did a good job, he said.
"So it's a huge help for us," Perkins said. "And it helps kids see what we do every day. This is a big improvement for Bentonville parks."
Brandt Andreasen, a freshman, enjoyed the chance to be outside on the sunny and warm day.
"It's more fun than being in the classroom and listening to a teacher lecture," Andreasen said.
Patrick Bell, a sophomore, was sitting on the ground pulling weeds at Orchards Park. He said he hoped that the students weren't doing more harm than good, considering how much they were walking all over the park.
Sarah Pugh, a social studies instructional specialist for the Bentonville School District, said the state has adopted new social studies frameworks and standards. One called "college, career and civic life" requires students to seek opportunities to connect with community resources and make a difference.
"Our kids need to understand their community involves them," Pugh said. "If we can get them engaged in community service at a young age, maybe they'll want to do it when they're older, too."
Pugh noted that the students seemed to enjoy themselves and were getting to know one another through the project. With three junior high schools feeding the high school, Bentonville High freshmen start out not knowing many of their classmates.
"They've built some camaraderie, which is hard to do in a school of more than 4,000 kids," Pugh said. "I love this idea of letting them spend some time together."
Wise said he was grateful to Bentonville High School Principal Jack Loyd for his support of the project. Loyd, who's in his first year as principal, has encouraged staff members to try new things and not be afraid of making mistakes, Wise said.
"He wants us to push the limits. Having that kind of attitude at the school has been great," Wise said.
Metro on 10/02/2015