ST. LOUIS -- Marines are giving back to the greater St. Louis area by taking part in various community service events throughout Marine Week 2011.
On June 23, six Marines from Company I, 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Marine Week, volunteered at the Missouri Botanical Garden, performing garden maintenance in two of the 34 park displays.
In the Japanese Garden, a 14-acre space designed by a Japanese professor to ensure it kept an authentic design, the Marines trimmed bamboo into a hedgerow so that visitors can enjoy the beauty of an island in the center of the themed garden.
On the opposite side of the garden, Marines uprooted and pruned an overgrown forsythia in the Mausoleum Area.
The grateful garden staff noted how much more they were able to accomplish with a little Marine muscle.
“They can pull much bigger clumps than I would be able too or even my volunteers,” said Sara Murphy, a native of St. Louis and a Horticulturist at the garden.
It took the Marines only half the scheduled day to finish the work.
“Its been great working with the Marines, we have gotten so much done,” said Murphy. “This is a huge project that usually would have taken me days if not weeks to do on my own or with my volunteers.”
Through their dedication, determination and strong work ethic Marines are showing the people of St. Louis why they’ve been so successful for 236 years.
“We want to spread a positive image about the Marine Corps and we are doing that through community service,” Lance Cpl. Daniel Richardson, a team leader with 3/24.