College Service-Learning Programs Take on International Flair

Alternative Spring Break programs were once again filled this past March. Thes programs provide students, who are interested in a week with volunteer service, outstanding educational opportunities, a chance to explore meet new friends and contribute to the health of our public lands near Moab. Groups this year included Northern State University of South Dakota who were with us in 2005, University of Texas at Austin joining us for the fifth time and Brookhaven College of Dallas, Texas making their first visit to Canyon Country.
This spring a number of international students participated via exchange programs, adding a one-world flair to the programs. Student sfrom Korea, Tiwan and China shared in the service learninge experiences alongside students from throughout the country. Lin Lin, recently let us know she returns to China at the end of the year. She wrote "I often think of you and the lovely time in Utah with you and our team. It is one of my sweetest memories in my life. I had many trips during the year, to the East Coast, to the large cities, to Disney, but the volunteer trip is the most meaningful one. I will never forget you and that trip. I will also tell people in China how important it is to protect our environment."
Our service projects include knapweed monitoring and removal in Castle Valley and a major fence construction and revegetation project at Ken's Lake BLM (Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management) Recreation Area just Sout of Moab.
Student sprovided nearly 1200 hours of service to our land management projects and shared their thoughts on regional, national and global environmental concerns. Board members Pam Hackley and Herm Hoops participated this year. Pam was a field leader and instructor on the Castle Valley project and Herm was a guest speaker and evening entertainment at Ken's Lake.
Snow was the theme of project weeks this spring. The UT, Austin students, who camped at Ken's Lake, arrived to find four inches of fresh snow where they planned to pitch their tents. The snow was promptly gathered to form snowballs and snowmen, before it melted the next day, allowing for a productive fencing, trail-building and restoration project.
During a mid-week break, the students took time to explore Arches National Park in a series of interpretive hikes with Plateau Restoration field leaders and instructors. Topics included history of Arches and the Moab area, geology, natural history and resource management issues of public lands.
Northern State junior Erin Dreis summed up her week this way: "I gained more knowledge in the past 5 days than I could have ever imagined. I thought the time I was able to spend talking with your leaders while working on the land and environmental issues were very important. It made everything real for me because I could see things happening before me, not just from a textbook".
thanks to Erin and all the students for another great spring break! And many thanks to Marilyn Peterson and Ed Stone of the BLM, Pam Hackley, Herm Hoops, Castle Valley Mayor Damian Bollermann, Jack Campbell and the Castle Valley Home Owners Association and Tim Higgs of the Grand County Weed Department for help with funding and facilitating this project!