Northlands Job Corps Academy carpentry students clean up Falls Park on the banks of Otter Creek in Vergennes, Vermont.

After a season featuring some of the highest water levels on record, many Vermont municipalities are left to deal with thousands of pounds of driftwood washed up onto river and lake shores. Such is the case at picturesque Falls Park in Vergennes, Vermont, where receding flood waters have left the area covered with heavy wood and debris.

Enter the carpentry class from Northlands Job Corps Academy. A dozen students, led by instructor Todd Lossmann, volunteered to do the heavy lifting required to clear the park and boat launch for city residents to once again enjoy.

“It’s community service,” Mr. Lossmann said. “We like to do what we can to help the city.”

As the three side-by-side falls pounded in the background, students Dustin Mott and Nicholas Robinson struggled with an immense tree trunk, moving it slowly toward a growing pile. Fellow students Joinel Cherival, Anthony Kennedy and Dominic Fourtin joined in to ease the burden. Northlands Urban Forestry students will come by soon to dispose of the collected debris.

A resident walked down to the park and said, “It looks great! Thank you.”

“No thanks necessary, ma’am,” came the reply. “We’re happy to do it.”

Ian McGaughey