A troupe of young adults representing states as far away asCalifornia, New Jersey, Minnesota and Oregon gathered Monday atKids’ Kingdom to weed, rake, and haul away debris as a part of acommunity project with Brookhaven’s Master Gardeners.

The AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps is a full-time,team-based residential program for men and women age 18-24 aimed atstrengthening communities and developing leaders through team-basedservice. Team leader Johanna Miller, of Barnegat, N.J., said the11-person group is staying at Camp John I. Hay in Crystal Springs,and they’ve been able to help out in Brookhaven a few times sincethey arrived about eight weeks ago.

Miller said even though everyone in the group is far from home,they still have had a good time getting to see the area and gettingto know the people.

“We’ve loved getting out into Hazlehurst and Brookhaven, andworking with the different organizations makes you feel like you’renot as isolated,” she said, adding that they love their livingarrangements. “It’s so beautiful and serene. Who wouldn’t want tolive at a summer camp?”

Master Gardener Shirley Estes said that Monday’s project was toraise the canopy at Kids’ Kingdom, which is set back fromIndustrial Park Road, making the park more visible to parents whomight be watching from their cars. In addition, Estes said theAmericorps group offered its help, as they might be able to fit inone more project before they were slated to leave the area onFriday.

“(Project liaison) Elizabeth (Burns) called us and said they hadsome extra time,” Estes said. “Having them here has reallyamplified what the recreation department or what the MasterGardeners can do.”

Meanwhile, AmeriCorps group members said they have also had agood time enjoying the cultural differences in the Copiah andLincoln County area.

“Brookhaven’s downtown is really adorable,” said Burns, of RedBluff, Calif. “And everyone is so open and wants to know everythingabout us.”

Miller pointed out that in some areas of the country, thenatives are not friendly and welcoming, and that “it’s nice to talkto people who look you in the eye when they talk to you.”

The group has taken part in a lot of the area events, includingthe Ole Brook Festival and the Save the Haven concert.

“That was nice to get out and see what other people our age areinterested in,” she said.

AmeriCorps personnel also visited the Heritage House inHazlehurst. The mission of Heritage House is to reach childrenthrough the arts, and offers many classes and cultural events tobring children in to see the perks of being exposed to differentkinds of creativity.

Group members said that part of the visit was an “amazing”experience.

“Have you seen what they’re doing up there?” Burns said, addingthat they were particularly impressed with the efforts of CopiahCounty Cultural Affairs Director Dr. Janet Schriver. “She is reallyamazing.”

The AmeriCorps group is headed to Bay St. Louis next, and Burnssaid another project awaits there.

“I’m excited about that,” she said. “We’ll be building a lot,and I don’t know why, but I really like to build.”

AmeriCorps NCCC requires a 10-month commitment from members, whoserve in teams of 10 to 12 and are assigned to projects throughoutthe region they are assigned to.