 Fresno State students
join river cleanup effort
Animal pens, fencing, abandoned buildings and other debris – 8.5 tons in all – were removed from a Madera County ranch on the banks of the San Joaquin River on April 24-25 by a volunteer corps that included 115 Fresno State students.
Many of the students are political science majors working on environmental research and service projects under direction of Dr. Mark Somma (Political Science) and other students are from the Smittcamp Family Honors College at Fresno State.
The Earth Day cleanup and tree planting took place at the Wagner Ranch, just across the river from the Fresno County community of Friant, below Friant Dam.
Richard Sloan, president of RiverTree Volunteers Inc., said it was the largest, most-successful Earth Day cleanup in the organization’s history. Working with RiverTree and Many Lightenings, an American Indian group, students also planted 150 native plants to create a native vegetation garden along the river at Woodward Park in Fresno.
It was the largest gathering of Fresno State students to work on a single environmental project along the San Joaquin River, part of an ongoing effort by students and faculty to work with nonprofit and public agencies on local environmental issues.
 Robert H. Oliver receives Foundation Service Award
The Fresno State Foundation has named the Hon. Robert H. Oliver, a Fresno County Superior Court judge, its 2010 recipient of the Foundation Service Award. The award was presented Friday, April 23, at the university's annual Pinnacle Society event. Since 1949, this award has recognized an individual for meritorious services or contributions made to Fresno State and to the Fresno community. It is presented to those who have achieved a high level of stature in their profession that reflects favorably upon the Fresno community and to those who have demonstrated significant leadership in the goals of the university. See the full story here.
Fresno State volunteers nearly 1,000 hours for Earth Day
Students, faculty and staff volunteered on various community service projects totaling approximately 1,000 hours of service over the Earth Day weekend, April 24 and 25. Projects included a painting project at Rotary Storyland and Playland, trail building with Sierra Foothill Conservancy and a river clean up with River Tree Friends (see top story). In total 152 volunteers participated.
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