As part of this fall’s celebration of the inauguration of Dr. Kathryn McClymond as Oglethorpe’s 18th president, a community-wide service project will be held on campus. 

The Inauguration Service Project: Sustain. Protect. Flourish. gives the entire campus community, including alumni and friends, an opportunity to take part in a special initiative that celebrates Dr. McClymond’s love of the Oglethorpe campus and its natural beauty.   

The service project will be centered around the riparian zone of the Oglethorpe creek, located outside of the Turner Lynch Campus Center (TLCC). Since 2013, the bridge connecting the academic quad to the TLCC has been a focal point for the community, where onlookers frequently observe native fish, ferns, frogs, finches, flowers and the occasional turtle looking for a suitable nesting site.  These natural elements are the result of invasive species control, native plantings and stream channel restoration that occurred alongside construction of the TLCC. Now, nearly a decade later, there is an opportunity for the campus community to sustain and protect the riparian zone to ensure that these elements continue to flourish on the campus. 

As part of this service project, volunteers will work together to remove invasive species, plant sustainable botanicals and build boxes for roosting bats and nesting bluebirds, all of which will help to ensure Oglethorpe remains a habitat for ecological wellbeing.  

The service project takes place on Thursday, September 19, at 1:30 p.m. It is part of the series of events marking the presidential inauguration at Oglethorpe on September 19-20.  

To volunteer for this service project, or to RSVP for any of the public inauguration events, please visit president.oglethorpe.edu by August 20.