Volunteers Plus Supplies and Tools Equal Cougar Pride Days Success at WSU, in Pullman

By Communications staff, Washington State University

PULLMAN, Wash. — Volunteers plus supplies and tools equal success for Cougar Pride Days.

The annual spring outside beautification event on the Washington State University campus and throughout the city of Pullman will be held March 28-April 4.

During Cougar Pride Days, volunteers will help make the WSU campus and Pullman more beautiful. Flowers shrubs and trees will be planted, bark mulch spread and litter will be picked up.

“We have a good number of volunteers signed up,” said one of the event’s organizers, Mark Dinges, WSU Student Alumni Connection supervisor of the WSU Alumni Association. “But, the more volunteers we have, the quicker our projects are completed. It’s fun to work together on these activities.”

Supplies for beautification tasks include bark mulch, flowers and plants. The Facilities Operation Grounds Department coordinates these orders. “Thanks to our Cougar Pride Days experiences from the past three years, the supply deliveries and pickups are running smoothly and the projects are blossoming,” said Kappy Brun, grounds supervisor for WSU Facilities Operations.


A variety of tools help volunteers complete their beautification tasks. They include shovels, rakes, pitchforks, brooms and trowels. In addition, gloves, garbage cans and bags are available. Volunteers may check the Cougar Pride Days Web site, wsu.edu/Cougar-Pride-Days, to arrange for tools with Central Stores.

Dinges said Cougar Pride Days is “an enjoyable event which helps contribute to the beauty of spring on the Palouse.”

In Spokane, the Tri-Cities and Vancouver, WSU representatives, including students, faculty and staff, will be involved in their own Cougar Pride Days efforts.

On April 1, WSU Spokane activities include the cleanup of debris along the portion of the Spokane River that runs through campus. On April 9, as a community outreach, lunches will be served at the Union Gospel Mission.

April 8 is Campus Cleanup Day at WSU Tri-Cities. Work will include cleaning flower beds, planting flowers, exterior painting and city bike path cleanup. On April 9, a state Highway 240 section west of Richland will be cleaned up. On April 22, as part of a Cougar Pride in the Community, work will be completed off campus in the yards of three elderly residents and on the grounds of an elder care center.

On March 31 and April 1, at WSU Vancouver, volunteers will build and perform maintenance on trails, replace shrubs, wash the motor pool fleet cars and pick up litter.

In Pullman, opening (March 28) and closing/award (April 4) ceremonies for Cougar Pride Days will be held beginning at 12:15 p.m. on Glenn Terrell Mall in front of Todd Hall. In case of bad weather, the Compton Union Building will be used.

The university’s 115th birthday is March 28. During the opening ceremony, a cake celebrating WSU’s birthday will be cut. After the ceremony, the WSU Student Alumni Connection, a Cougar Pride Days sponsor, will serve cake in the CUB.

Those interested in volunteering for Cougar Pride Days can contact Dinges, (509) 335-6904, for WSU campus projects, or Merlene Greenway, (509) 338-3228, for city projects.

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