By Andrew Sedgwick, Marketing & Communications Summer Intern.
The Landmark College Summer College Readiness (SCR) program introduced a volunteering component this year, giving students the chance to engage in meaningful community service. Each participant selected the type of work they wanted to do, helping tailor the experience to individual interests, with most volunteers joining in to help remove invasive water chestnuts from local waterways.
The project was undertaken in partnership with the Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District and the Connecticut River Conservancy. Before the trip, students received a basic overview of expectations, including what to bring and how the day would unfold. Once arriving at the site, conservation staff trained the volunteers in identifying and properly removing the water chestnuts, preventing their spread further upriver.
According to Dr. Eric Gobel-Lynch, director of transition programs at Landmark College, these trips aim to foster growth beyond the classroom, helping students gain hands-on experience, environmental awareness, and a stronger connection to the local community.
“Landmark College is inherently tied to Putney, and Putney is inherently tied to Landmark College,” said Gobel-Lynch. “It’s important that we take care of each other.”
All told, student volunteers removed an estimated 1,845 water chestnuts from the Connecticut River. Removing the water chestnuts is critical, Gobel-Lynch explained, because they “can cover the river, choking out natural species, causing algae blooms, and interfering with recreational use of the river.”
Looking ahead, Gobel-Lynch hopes to expand beyond environmental work and include a broader range of service opportunities in Putney and surrounding areas, including potentially repeating the event next year with the same non-profit partners.
Learn more about Landmark's summer college readiness programming.