Spring Break 2014: Making a Difference

As Spring Break begins, many college students flock to snowy slopes or warm sunny beaches to relax. There are, however, a select few who choose to engage in volunteer service and embark on what has become known as an Alternative Spring Break. Everglades National Park volunteer program has benefited from this new alternative to the traditional college spring break. This year, over 150 students donated collectively 1,000 hours of service. These students came from such institutions as Jackson College, Vanderbilt University and Rice University came to the Everglades ready to make a difference in this unique, one of a kind place.

The Alternative Spring Break program at Everglades National Park is a unique program that partners with colleges and universities all over the country, to host students in a week long opportunity dedicated to improving our National Parks through hands on volunteer projects.

For over ten years, Everglades National Park, along with Biscayne National Park and the Everglades Hostel in Florida City, have been hosting these amazing groups. Over the years more than 8,000 hours of service has been racked up by these college student volunteers at Everglades.

This year, during their week-long stay, students worked on a wide variety of projects, including the removal of exotic plants from the Flamingo district, at the southern tip of the park, and the Hole-in-the-Donut restoration area and cleared vegetation to help restore the historic Nike Missile Base. While many students worked hard to remove plants, others helped to clean up trash on the beaches of Cape Sable or spent time painting the buildings and benches at Hidden Lake Environmental Education Center.

As they progressed through the week, the students were asked to reflect on how volunteering their time in the national parks during their holiday fits into three key aspects of personal development: Reflection, Education and Service. Jackson College professor Kim McKeown, who organized and participated in this year’s Alternative Spring Break program at Everglades does this for many reasons, but predominantly for the goal of inspiring students to become service minded members of their community and know that their efforts are important to them and to others.

“By participating in programs such as this, I hope these students will take what they have gained from the experience and carry it with them throughout life,” said McKeown.

“The Alternative Spring Break program is important because it provides students with a unique opportunity to see and explore a national park that they might otherwise not have a chance to visit,” said Kevin Bowles Mohr, Volunteer Coordinator at Everglades National Park. “And while visiting this place of international significance, these students build a connection to our park while becoming the stewards that we need to keep the Everglades preserved.”

The Alternative Spring break program has grown significantly over the past few years and we are now able to better manage these groups during alternative spring break and other times of year with a seasonal volunteer coordination made possible in part by the generous support of the South Florida National Parks Trust.