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	The following is a reflection by Brittany Bennett, Restoration Ecology student, SSII 2010:</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Restoration-Ecology-Working.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 399px; float: right; " />In the summer of 2010, I took the Restoration Ecology class with 11 other students. Our class project was to restore an area of the ASI &ndash;Great Lakes Campus (we chose the hill on the side of Earth Hall). There were three &nbsp;things that I learned about restoration that session, which I shared during the Vespers worship service that our class put together:</p>
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	<strong>1) Restoration is never done, and not always satisfying.</strong></p>
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	Dr. Warners explained this to us. A restoration project is never done, because ecology is dynamic, and we never fully know what that site was supposed to be, or how it will eventually be. You can put all kinds of effort into restoring an area, but you might not be around to see its succession. That&rsquo;s not to say that there aren&rsquo;t some experiences of satisfaction, because there is an amazing feeling that comes with seeing the work that your hands have done, which can be felt at multiple stages. Yet, we know that we have only gotten somewhere close. Still, we have to try. I love this quote from &ldquo;Dance to the Piper&rdquo;:</p>
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	<em>&ldquo;<strong>There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is transplanted through you into action</strong>, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique&hellip;.You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open<strong>&hellip;. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest</strong> that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the other. And at times I think could kick you until you can&rsquo;t stand.&rdquo; </em></p>
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	<strong>2) Restoration is sacred.</strong></p>
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	It&rsquo;s amazing because we can all participate in some sort of restoration project in our communities. And when we do, we act in recognition of something so much bigger than ourselves. In recognition of something we grasp at the surface, and sense deeply. As followers of Christ, we recognize this as the work of bringing little pieces of the kingdom to earth. It is work that flows forth as recognition of the renewal that Christ has worked in us, and that He is working in all creation. I can&rsquo;t help it, so here&rsquo;s another reference to blessed unrest from a book with that very title!</p>
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	<em>&ldquo;Healing the wounds of the earth and its people does not require saintliness or a political party, only gumption and persistence. <strong>It is not a liberal or a conservative activity; it is a sacred act. It is a massive enterprise undertaken by ordinary citizen everywhere</strong>, not by self-appointed governments or oligarchies.&rdquo; (Paul Hawken, &ldquo;Blessed Unrest&rdquo;)</em></p>
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	<strong>3) Restoration is humbling.</strong></p>
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	To repeat &ndash; it involves ordinary citizens. My classmates and I were basically let loose on our restoration project. Yes, we were college students specializing in this area, and we had some guidance from our professor, but we were still kids, and we had no money and only two weeks. Can you realize that all it takes is a few people who know what they&rsquo;re doing to get the rest of us making an impact? I have to think there&rsquo;s always something that the average person with little/no experience can do on these restoration projects.</p>
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	But it&rsquo;s not just that we were ordinary. I feel incredibly humbled during restoration, because of the fact that I can be used by God in this way. To mix my labor with something that was dysfunctional and degraded, and see it change into something it used to be or just help it be closer to what it should be&hellip;is beautiful. And I&rsquo;m thankful for it. I also can&rsquo;t understand why a broken sinner like me should&rsquo;ve even been part of it. &nbsp;But then again I do, because I realize these are the type of people God works through:</p>
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	<em>&ldquo;<strong>Think of what you were when you were called</strong>. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are, so that none may boast before Him.&rdquo; (I Corin. 1:26-29)</em></p>
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	<strong>Ok&hellip; 4) It can also be really fun!</strong></p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Restoration-Ecology-Celebration.jpg" style="width: 399px; height: 300px; float: left; " /></p>
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	(Photos courtesy of Dave Warners)</p>
