Old West Durham Neighborhood Association



 

 


 

 

 

 


    Community Service in Old West Durham

    Above and below: Duke fraternity clears a footpath along the perimeter of the Erwin Mills cemetery allowing visitors to see the headstones which were hidden back in the trees and underbrush.

     

    Sweat and mulch: Duke fraternity ordered a half-truck of mulch and fixed up EK Powe's raised gardens on Ninth Street (above and below).

     

    Planting spring bulbs on Edith Street.

    Painting benches on Ninth Street.

    Below: A Duke sorority points to its volunteers efforts to clean out this historic, one-story frame house recently moved from LaSalle Street (near the post office) to its new home at 2810 Lawndale Avenue.

    Above and below: organized by the Friends of South Ellerbe, several Duke volunteer groups picked up litter (and a go-cart) from sections of South Ellerbe on Green Street, Hale Street and Durham Central Park.


    Sigma Chi volunteers purchased $60 of mulch and spent a sunny winter morning rehabilitating EK Powe's butterfly garden and raised flower beds.


    Another Duke student group worked hard to remove trash from along the railroad tracks near Swift Ave.

    More Duke students earn sweat equity in Old West Durham: this group purchased mulch and spruced up our traffic circles (left and below).

    South Ellerbe Creek cleanup by the brothers of Phi Delta Theta at Duke (Fall 2001)

     

    Cemetery Cleanup - Fall 2001

    On a sunny autumnal day, more than 40 volunteers from Duke Navy ROTC cleared brush and fallen branches from the old Erwin Mills Cemetery.

     

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    Neighborhood Cleanup
    Duke volunteers lend a hand along the railroad tracks near Swift Avenue

    Several volunteers from Duke are clearing debris from areas around Old West Durham including... Hillsborough Road (from Georgia to Ninth), vacant lot on Broad (near Knox), South Ellerbe Natural Area (green space across from EK Powe), railroad tracks along Pettigrew (near Swift), and South Ellerbe Creek on either side of Hale Street.

    letter to Old West Durham Neighborhood Association:

    As the Science Coordinator for EK Powe, I'm writing on behalf of our school community. We would very much like to thank you for setting up the wonderful community service project on Saturday!

    When you contacted us with the generous offer of having a fraternity weed and add mulch to our gardens, we had no idea how many volunteers there would be. The amount of work they did was amazing. Our kindergarten, first and second grade teachers are especially grateful for this community service. The work done by the Duke volunteers is work our young students are unable to manage. In the past, teachers have met on the weekend to do the initial garden preparation. Your thoughtfulness and community spirit has saved us that step. We can now begin to involve our students in caring for them.

    Our school gardens are used to enhance our curriculum while fostering a sense of stewardship for the Earth. Thanks to your efforts our gardens look fantastic and are now ready for planting in the Spring.

    Sincerely,
    Treva Fitts

     

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