Group Photo of Students

University of Florida law students, faculty and staff removed trash, debris and exotic invasive plants from a 3.3-acre wooded area across from the Levin College of Law as part of UF Law’s annual Community Service Day on Saturday, Aug. 18, which involved more than 400 volunteers at 13 locations throughout the Gainesville area.

The Law School Woods area is being restored thanks to a $16,300 grant to the law school’s Environmental & Land Use Law Society from UF Student Government and UF Physical Plant. “We had a great group of volunteers and we accomplished a lot in a few short hours,” said UF law student Ashley Henry, project manager for the Law School Woods restoration project. “By merely pulling down some of the air potato vines, we saw how the woods began to open up. Residents living in the adjacent Golfview neighborhood were excited to see our group working and stopped by to learn more about our project.”

With everyone performing three hours of service, the total time given totaled more than 1,200 hours. The day allowed first-year students to get a good start toward earning a Community Service Certificate, which is awarded to students who perform at least 35 hours of community service during their time in law school.