Follow Me Alternative Spring Break 2012 Stories

Heading Home

By Oliwia Baney / Joshua Tree National Park

I know that readjusting to “civilization” will be strange, where we live in small conditioned spaces and licking your plate clean is considered a breach of etiquette instead of a meal not wasted.

Desert Tortoise Survey

By Oliwia Baney / Joshua Tree National Park

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!

Pushing the Limits in Joshua Tree

By Oliwia Baney / Joshua Tree National Park

I feel like part of what makes rock climbing the intense experience it can be is an unexpected balance of fears. Yes, staring up the smooth rock face I could feel my stomach clench with apprehension, despite the instructor's constant motto of “You will not fall. Only slip.”

Day 3: Intertwining Ourselves with Plants

By Oliwia Baney / Joshua Tree National Park

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.

Tales from a Planting Ninja

By Oliwia Baney / Joshua Tree National Park

The concept of physical labor is something that easily gets lost in a college environment. And while initially I had my reservations about the sheer amount of work involved in taking tools, plants and water up and down rocky hills and then using them, this was quickly overshadowed after planting my first plant. This kind of work is very rewarding in the sense that it gives you a tangible feeling of success, something you can see and touch as a physical result of your efforts. This makes the work put in all the more worth it, and it just seems so much more real than any paper or online homework ever could.

First Day at Joshua Tree

By Oliwia Baney / Joshua Tree National Park

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.

Farewell to the 4-Everglades! The Week in Pictures

By Lauren Whittlesey / SCA Staff

Last week wrapped up Alternative Spring Break in the Everglades. Check out these awesome photos!

Last Day in the Everglades

By Teresa Pegan / Everglades National Park

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.

Day 4: A Python!!

By Teresa Pegan / Everglades National Park

After the break we headed up to the top of the mound on our way to the back side for more taro pulling. As we were enjoying the view, suddenly there was some commotion and Wayne stood up – holding the tail of a python! It was a relatively small python (only about six feet long) but we were still very excited. Wayne held the snake for us to look at for a while, and then put it in a special mesh snake bag and sent it off to some scientists at the nearby research center.