Remembering NOLA: Spring 2015 CSUCI service learning

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Posted from Camarillo, California, United States.

Time was insufficient, and the need to continue our service learning is still lingering in my mind as I picture elderberry recruits. The smell of gas in the air, and the feeling of NOLA humidity is now reminisced by us all. The sound of trumpets and street performers still buzzes in my head, as like the pesky mosquitos ate us alive in the swamp.  The tasty PO-Boy that brought a smile on everyone’s face after a long day in the field. These were all great experiences of NOLA, and will be a part of the story of my life that I hope to pass to my children and grandchildren in the future. But most of all, the smiles and good vibes of those who showed great appreciation for our help will never be forgotten.

Upon arrival I was nervous and was scanning the land just as a raptor looks for its prey. I kept calm, and as the days went by I began to feel like I was a part of NOLA. The first few days we set out to learn about the history of NOLA, and got to learn why Katrina was such a disaster through local individuals who shared their stories and knowledge of the event. We did all this in order to help us understand why we are here, and in doing so it seemed to have sparked a light that pushed us to work as best as we could.

Always at the 100 (m) mark of a transect I paused and looked around. The feeling of being so small out in the wilderness made me feel alive, and awakened my senses. Human civilization was all around us, and yet being in there felt like it was none existent.  We worked hard at cutting our way through those transect sites, and always had some kind of painful encounter with three meter high blackberry bushes. Woodlands trail and Delacroix preserve are the two sites we worked on. While woodland has some areas that were flooded, Delacroix had no mercy and was completely flooded. However, Delacroix offered more of a view of what the swamps of NOLA looked like in the past. Both sites beautiful in their own way, and by studying them we can help them survive the test of time for our well being.

Irvin Mayfield gave a wonderful performance, and Tevin a service learning class mate of mine still brings a smile to my face as I recall him showing up the ladies on the dance floor.  Paul Sanchez left us with the feeling of being appreciated for our hard work, and his stories had everyone going. Overall, words cannot describe how thankful I am for have been given this opportunity. I’ve spent most of my college life working to pay the bills, and attending school without any sort of internship experience. This program made it possible for me to experience just that, and I know it will continue to do so for many others in the years to come.

Remember,

“In Wildness is the preservation of the world”

-Henry David Thoreau

Thank you to everyone who made this possible for us, and thank you Dr. Sean Anderson for making this adventure remind us of why we are fighting an uphill battle and keeping the hope alive.

Jonathan Fausto, CSUCI Senior ESRM student.

-Cornbread!

I Got the Blues for New Orleans

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Posted from Camarillo, California, United States.

The 10 days that were spent in New Orleans were nothing but good times, with great people. Unfortunately it has been 4 days since I was last in NOLA and I will cherish every minute that I had there. From Jackson Square in the French quarter where you could walk for days looking at all the art and listening to the unique cultural music that is played there. To the swamp wetlands were we did our research laying out transects and identifying plant species to identify the health of the swamp ecosystem.

The culture that NOLA brings the United States is a unique one. Filled with people from all different origins. The food which is spicier then I was expecting is only unique to the New Orleans area. From the Po-boys to the crayfish boil that we had. The food in New Orleans will give any traveler the spicy kick they are needing to experience NOLA. Another important aspect to the city life is the music. John Boetta and Irvin Mayfield showed us what it really means to be from NOLA. As they played there music from the soul and sung out what they have experienced through the years of living in NOLA.

From the city to the swamps the experience was amazing. Sean Anderson worked us hard in the swamps. Cutting down blackberry and identifying every plant in each little transect. After days of doing this in combination with sleep deprivation. I realized that what I was doing for NOLA was crucial to keeping this city alive. We the students of CSUCI are one of few groups that are actively monitoring swamplands since Hurricane Katrina. Understanding the health of the swamps is key as these swamps are the last natural buffer to prevent natural disasters from destroying human life in NOLA.  The people of New Orleans were all very thankful for what we did and that touched the deepest parts of my health. Knowing that what we did over our spring break can and will save potentially the city of NOLA and many other people in the surrounding areas. I would go back and do it all over again because it was the most rewarding experience I have had in my college life.

Thank you Sean Anderson for bringing me along on this fun adventure and introducing me to everyone that you knew in NOLA. This trip was honestly a fun and memorable service learning experience.

 

CORNBREAD

 

ERIK STOREY

Capstone Update – March 25,2015

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Just returned from one of my last trips to Santa Rosa Island. The trip was incredible as always! This week long trip allowed me to gather some of the last of my data and work on much of my image analysis. We encountered a few difficulties while working with these images, mostly in trying to classify historic photographs of fairly poor quality. Analyzing these images and finding a way to make them work will be one of the largest challenges in this project. Can’t wait to return to Lady Rosa.

In Reflection…

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I cannot believe that I almost didn’t go to New Orleans!!! I was on the fence about joining the NOLA trip in my last semester before I graduate. I commute from Orange County and barely have enough time to fit everything in as it is let alone go on a two and a half week service learning trip during my spring break where I could be spending time getting precious homework and field work, and catching up on hours at my workplace(s). Against my better judgment, I decided to apply for the trip and let Dr. Anderson’s decision determine if I should go on the trip. Here I am four months later reminiscing on the absolute most amazing experience of my entire life. 

I have visited other states and countries before, I have done service/volunteer work before, and I have participated in research and data collection before. Nothing in my entire life could have prepared me for the experience that was New Orleans. Going in to the trip my knowledge of what I would be encountering in New Orleans consisted of: bring lots of bug spray, bring pants that will hold up to blackberry bushes, and get a lot of sleep before you come because you’re not going to get any while you’re there and it’s going to suck. Of those three things that I knew, my biggest concern was that I would be tired and not be able to perform in the field. I didn’t think too much about the bugs and blackberry because I was too preoccupied worrying about not getting enough sleep. Turns out that I actually never even realized how tired I was until I returned home and I’m embarrassed now that that was even a concern of mine. The work we were doing and experiences that we were having there were so non-stop and so fun and so rewarding and so emotionally and intellectually stimulating I didn’t have time to feel tired. So it turns out that the first two were true (so painfully true) and the thing that I was most concerned about turned out to be a non-issue… figures. 

I’ve never worked so hard in my life and I loved every second of it. I will never be able to recreate a trip with the amount of camaraderie, joy, fun, hard work, and culture. We were doing work that, although it might have seemed trivial and as if it was barely making a dent in the ominous future that New Orleans faces, it really makes a difference in the big picture. We were able to see the fruits of our labor while planting a community garden and were able to see the smile on Carol’s fac, the man whose property we used to build the garden, and the amount of relief he must have felt knowing that he wouldn’t have to plant the garden himself with a bum leg and that he would have fresh vegetables in the future to help ease the strain on his budget that lord knows is limited after losing everything he owned when the levee broke. 

I am so humbled and grateful to have been a part of this trip. The live music and delicious food after long days of hard work in the swamp, the fun times with professors and students alike, the relationships that were built between CSUCI and the people of New Orleans, getting to cook traditional New Orleans’ food with produce purchased directly from the people of New Orleans themselves, being able to connect with students from another university in New Orleans who may never get the opportunity to do the work like that that we were doing in Woodlands park again, and all of the other amazing experiences that we had on this trip all rolled together. I can’t even imagine that I almost missed this opportunity.