Concordia students clean up Woodlawn Park, stress importance of environmentalism

They say they want to make sure the community can continue to make use of the area

MOORHEAD, Minn. — Concordia students from the Cobbers in Action and Outdoor Recreation clubs take a break from studying to give back to nature.

Twice a year, these students take a couple hours off their schedules to care for Mother Earth.

“We volunteer in the community and we go out and we try to clean any trash left behind by people who didn’t want to clean up after themselves,” said the President of Cobbers in Action Al O’Connell.

They say they want to make sure the community can continue to make use of the area.

“This is a public space that you can bring your family, your friends, your community and we want to celebrate that. The closer we can be during these times, the better we’re going to feel,”O’Connell said.

They say especially in the current times, it’s important to do your part in any way you can.

“The city is so stressed right now with all the different things going on, that we want to give them some kind of relief, so this is our way to not only give back to the community, but the city that we call home, O’Connell said.

Two of the students taking part in the event are Kaylin and Makayla.

For them, it all starts with educating others on how trash can negatively affect the enviroment.

“I think it’s a super important thing to educate others on and educate yourself, so I thought it was a good chance for me to come out and clean up the park and just hopefully help out a little bit,” said Kaylin Bosworth, who is a freshman at Concordia.

“I just wanted to do a simple act of kindness mostly,” said Makayla Timp, who is a freshman at Concordia.

The students also say these types of events provide an opportunity for them to meet new people and enjoy all that nature has to offer.

“I think it gives us the chance to actually meet new people because it is really hard coming in as a freshman and then you’re just kind of in the dorms and you can’t really go into anyone else’s dorm. It’s harder to meet people, so I think this is a great chance,” Bosworth said.

“It’s also a great chance of fresh air being cooped up in the dorm,” Timp said.

Sixteen students took part in today’s event.