Forestry students in Dennis F. Ringling's Ttmber harvesting and equipment lab are in the midst of a project that combines civic service with a respect for local history. The class is helping the Muncy Historical Society clear diseased, unsafe and storm-felled trees from the site of its proposed park and nature trail along the old Muncy Canal. "I emphasize the fact that students will need to get involved with their communities wherever their career takes them," Ringling said. "It's the price we pay to be on this earth of ours." He also tells them that their biggest job is the one that involves "communication, education, cooperation and compromise. They need to be proactive and take initiative when the opportunity presents itself; I believe that is what we are doing in this project." The Historical Society is developing the park and nature trail off Pepper Street (in conjunction with an archaeological dig around the canal lockmaster's 19th-century well and home) to showcase the diverse wildlife and plants along the old canal, and to share with visitors the importance of the waterway to the region's development. The students were split into five work crews, fanning out across the 11-acre site to clear, haul and pile timber for disposal. The class got an abbreviated history lesson from William J. Poulton, the society's well-versed president, who shared anecdotes of the canal's operation and explained the students' vital role in telling that story. "You're helping us reclaim this site for the community," he told them. "Someday, when you bring your families here, you can say, 'I had a part in this." More on the Muncy Historical Society's project is available here.