In this one corner of Cruz Bay, near the traffic circle, community spirit shines bright! Most recently, a team from Island Green Living joined volunteers from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority to clean up an abandoned classroom damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria.
A morning’s worth of hard work and elbow grease on Jan. 23 produced a bonanza of aluminum cans that were stored inside the old industrial arts classroom of famed Julius E. Sprauve School educator Avelino Samuel.
Clean-up crews credit Erin Lieb of Get Trashed St. John for altering them to the accumulating recyclables. Four truckloads of pre-bagged cans hauled it all away.
With their mission accomplished, the crew got a glimpse of the tools and equipment used by Samuel to teach carpentry and woodworking to Sprauve School students and adults in night classes for over 30 years. Since then, he has honed his craft, traveled abroad teaching, and, in 2023, became the second Virgin Islander to have his work displayed at the Smithsonian Museum
The first Virgin Islander to bear that distinction was basket maker Herman Prince, said Kurt Marsh Jr., who briefly served as an industrial arts instructor at Sprauve until 2017.
As they expressed their thanks, the Island Green team invited other St. John residents and visitors to join the effort to reduce the stream of solid waste going into municipal landfills. “Remember, aluminum can and plastics recycling is a CHARITY effort and Island Green Living needs all the help we can get! Please consider volunteering to help Island Green sort and crush – or help out in our ReSource Depot reuse store,” they said in a statement issued Jan. 25.
According to an unconfirmed source, the storm-damaged classroom has been slated for demolition and reconstruction with the help of FEMA funds. Further plans call for the space to be rebuilt as a youth and community center, incorporating the adjacent rec center run by Sports, Parks and Recreation.
That space began its life as the Youth Action Center, built with donated materials and sweat equity by community volunteers.
Since then, part of the space has served as home base and rehearsal room for the musical youth known as the Love City Pan Dragons.
