Follow Me - Alternative Spring Break

I admit, after hauling supplies and tools up rocky slopes, pulling countless Sahara Mustard plants, and planting collectively 200 native plants, I thought this survey was a nice, peaceful way to end the week. In retrospect, it's kind of amazing how wrong I was! ... read more

For every plant pulled we prevented at least five more from seeding and producing even more. This future mindset helped me become more optimistic about our efforts, realizing that it is important to see how actions impact not only the present, but also the future. Looking back, we made a decent dent in the Sahara Mustard’s grossly overgrown population, and this makes the contributions of future volunteers all the more important. In this sense, it is amazing how much conservation of our planet is a collaborative job, in which we need everyone to participate. ... read more

Our task was to plant native species in various plots along the hills. Working with park rangers, we dug eighteen inch holes into the dirt of the rocky slope, dirt being a severe misnomer. Unfortunately, finely (and in most cases not so finely) crushed rock would probably be more accurate. This turned the entire digging experience into an exciting game of hide-and-go-seek with buried rocks, with which the desert earth is abundant. ... read more

After our last meal together, we gathered around a campfire for some closing games and talked about what the experience taught us. It was great to hear everyones’ perspectives on the week and I know that this week has made a positive impact on all of us. At the same time, I think that we also made a great positive impact on the Everglades - we helped the people who visit the park by making the campsites beautiful, and we helped the environment of the park by ridding it of some of its invasive plants. ... read more