Brock students will rebuild fences, clean up neighbourhoods and do other forms of community service in a new initiative called the 40 Neighbours Program.

The Brock University Students Union (BUSU)-led effort is designed to bring off-campus students closer to their neighbours. It will start with a Bylaws 101 seminar, which will familiarize students living off-campus with local housing bylaws. Additional seminars are planned for students and neighbours. Bylaws 101 will be Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. in Academic South 202.

The program will also include a “Nominate a Neighbour Contest,” where students can nominate one neighbour per month based on a pre-determined theme, such as best Halloween decorations or best landscaping. That site, which will be through busu.net, will launch on Nov. 1.

The program will also include “Neighbour Days,” where students will help community clean-up efforts. The first Neighbour Day, scheduled for Oct. 24, will be in the Confederation Heights area of Thorold. Neighbours are invited to come out and work with students. There will be more dates and locations announced this year.

November will also see the “Neighbours Friendship Program,” where students are paired with community members living with disabilities or in assisted living homes. December will mark the launch of “Neighbours Socials,” where students and neighbours interact at pot luck lunches. In January, students will help with driveway snow removal, and in April, there will be a “Neighbours/Student Yard Sale and Free Exchange.”

For more information, visit busu.net