The chill quiet on Cougar Mountain was broken last week by the warmth and noise of a group of high school students, hard at work and chattering every so often.

The students were from Eastside Catholic High School, working on the meadow restoration project on the Red Town Meadow Trail. All told, about 600 students from the Sammamish school were working at projects throughout the Eastside and Seattle. The efforts were part of Peace and Justice Service Day. In addition to the Cougar Mountain project, students helped out at Providence Marianwood, Catholic Community Services in Bellevue, Food Lifeline, Magnuson Environmental Stewardship Alliance, Brighton Elementary, Treehouse and other locations.

“As a school, Peace and Justice Day is huge. This is a great opportunity for us to walk the talk,” said Principal Greg Marsh, who was shoveling along with students in the meadow. Marsh noted that Eastside Catholic puts an emphasis on educating the “whole student,” and service projects are one way to do that. “I hope they get a sense of the experience and the opportunity to serve and the power of being able to make a difference.”

At the end of the day of service, staff and students gathered back together at the school to talk about what they did and how they felt about it.

Students participated in special cross-grade level groups called “families.” Nearly 50 “family” groups volunteered at more than 37 locations.

Junior Monica Taylor, one of the student leaders on the project, said she thought the meadow efforts were important for the environment and also to help restore a historic trail.

“But, all the projects that day were important as we worked together to take care of our world,” Taylor said. “Having a Peace and Justice Day gives students a chance to work together to focus on doing something beneficial for our community.”

And, she added, the camaraderie on the bus ride to and from the project and while out in the field were great fun as well.

At the meadow, the project over the past 14 years or so has involved removing grasses and other plants that take over, and planting native shrubs, herbs and flowers.

“They’re trying to reestablish a Northwest native meadow,” Resource Coordinator Steve Williams said.

In the days when mining was prevalent in the area, the clearing was used as a baseball field by the miners. When it was abandoned, Himalayan blackberry and scotchbroom took over, Williams said.

The Washington Native Plant Society, Issaquah Alps Trails Club, King County and many volunteer groups have worked together to remove invasive plants and redistribute topsoil that had been pushed aside at one point. More than 10,000 volunteer hours have gone into the project so far, Williams said.

Sammamish resident and Native Plant Steward Jennifer Bauer said the groups have planted meadow grasses, wildflowers, balsa, lupin, lilies, columbine and more. The best time to hike to the meadow to see flowers is in the early spring, Bauer said.

Sophomores Alex Gallant and Colin Timm worked side by side, removing grasses and other plants, under the direction and help of staff members from King County and the Washington Native Plant Society.

“We’re trying to clean this up and make the environment more friendly for wildlife and people who walk this trail,” said Gallant, 15.

Timm, 16, said the day was about “Helping the community and showing them that we care.”