About the organizers
SLT is all about growing as a person and following your passions.
The AV Skatepark Project is a project of the AV Jr/Sr High School Service Learning Team (SLT), in collaboration with the Anderson Valley Community Services District (AVCSD) Parks and Recreation Committee.
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The AV Service Learning Team is an after-school student group that focuses on encouraging leadership among students and giving them power to make changes in their community. Improvements can be big such as restoring Paul Dimmick State Park, or they can be small such as bringing awareness to our watershed by painting a water tank. What matters is that each student works on a project that they choose and are passionate about it. No matter the size of the project, we always learn something from everything we do.
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The idea for a skatepark in AV has been raised by students many times over the years, but it wasn't until 2021 that a group of Service Learning Team students decided to take this on as a focused mission. The group began attending monthly CSD Parks and Recreation meetings in October 2021, and gave a formal presentation making their case for the skatepark. CSD Rec Committee members enthusiastically embraced the idea and have decided to partner in the project, as part of broader mission to expand and improve the AV Community Park area they oversee (beside the clinic). The CSD is serving as the fiscal sponsor for the AV Skatepark Project, which means that all donated funds are deposited in a CSD account designated for the skatepark project.
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Messages From Our Members
I've been in SLT since 7th grade and was very quiet at that age. The Service Learning Team is a very supportive group where you can share your ideas freely without being judged. It didn't take long for me to start speaking up and sharing my thoughts. Being in SLT also boosted my confidence a lot. I became more comfortable with making phone calls, speaking in front of larger groups of people, and sharing my ideas with others. SLT isn't just about productivity. It's a safe space for students to go, have a good time, meet new friends, and focus on things they're passionate about.
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-Kellie
I joined SLT at the beginning of Junior High (7th grade), excited at the idea of coming up with projects and making them actually happen. When I joined I began to work on a project aiming to make a program where high school students could learn to coach elementary school students in sports and physical activity. This project sadly discontinued, but it taught me how to speak to people I had never spoken to before and how to plan out awesome projects. The next year we began the skatepark project, a project I find myself super interested in and excited about. Through this project I’ve learned how to speak in front of groups of people, how to spread awareness of your project, how to learn from other people with similar projects, and best of all…..sit through very long meetings.
SLT as well introduced me to some of my favorite people, and was just really fun over all. I began to appreciate things like skateparks, the process of creating murals, and the importance of activity in younger kids. I also get to help make interesting stuff happen! Throughout the all meetings I’ve really felt I can be myself, be confident in the idea of making big projects happen, and I can’t see myself not enjoying SLT.
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-Ananda
I started facilitating the Service Learning Team 8 years ago, after receiving a grant from the Mendocino Community Foundation to fund just one year of Service Learning at AV Jr./Sr. High. We are so fortunate that our school district recognized what a great leadership opportunity SLT can be for students, and decided to continue funding the group on an ongoing basis! I continue to work with the group year after year because I love helping young people realize that they themselves can make a real difference to better the world around them. And I hope that SLT students who realize this possibility go on to become community leaders in the future.
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-Noor
I’ve been a part of the Service Learning Team since I’ve been going to the Jr. High here in Anderson Valley, back in 2020 when it was completely online! Back then, we were working on building a pool here, and creating a program to have high schoolers here coach the elementary schoolers on a range of sports. Though the projects, the wide range of SLTers, and myself have all changed and grown in many ways over the years, the same attitude has held fast. This attitude is one to get things done and to make a positive impact in our community! It really has taught me a lot, from a newfound sense of confidence, to a(n occasional) change in my usually wavering indifference towards many different decisions. And on top of all that, it’s been really amazing to see a simple idea sprout into what we now know to be the Skatepark Project! So much work has been put into it, and I think we really are going to build a skatepark. So with that, I bid you farewell and goodnight! (probably for someone)
-aster