apallais's blog

Originally featured on American Eagle Outfitters' blog Made to Last. This guest blog post was written by Claire W., Associate Design Director at American Eagle Outfitters. Claire participated in SCA's Alternative Spring Break this March with college students from across the country. AE has been the presenting sponsor of SCA’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program for five years in a row.

As I navigated the winding dirt roads of the Mojave in my totally impractical rented white sports car, my stomach was in knots. The directions read “pass a cluster of rocks and turn right at the first unmarked gate.” I’m used to Hopstop telling me which subway exit to take – how on earth would I find my fellow conservation volunteers in the middle of a desert?

Some quick background: I’m a CAD designer by trade, based in New York City. I work for American Eagle Outfitters, which annually sponsors the Student Conservation Association’s Alternative Spring Break. I am also an avid volunteer, and my company decided to recognize my community service by sending me to Joshua Tree National Park where I joined a group of college students who chose to restore a fire-damaged section of Joshua Tree National Park rather than burn themselves in the Mexican sun.

Just after dawn and a few tours of the wrong unmarked roads, I finally stumbled across base camp and quickly joined a huddle of young women and men planning the day’s activities. Next thing I knew, we were doing yoga poses to limber up for our work day. Doing a sun salutation was an entirely different experience at Joshua Tree. Standing below stunning rock formations, my face was warmed by the actual sun, and although it wasn’t easy twisting into a human pretzel in long johns and jeans, it was refreshing not to be crammed into a sweaty studio with high-strung New Yorkers adjusting their yoga mats to accommodate inconsiderate latecomers.

I’d prepped for weeks with my personal trainer—flipping tractor tires, swinging sledgehammers, running with a sandbag on my shoulders – but nothing could have prepared me for carrying pick axes and a backpack loaded with water up a steep hill in eighty degree heat. Hiking for me means ascending the subway escalators in heels, and I was too embarrassed to admit that I didn’t really know what to do. So I swiftly donned my fresh-out-of-the-box boots (green suede, sweater-lined, very chic) and followed my crew mates up the trail.

Conquering my fear of heights and deadly weapons, I grabbed a pick and set about digging holes – not as easy as one might imagine on a steep slope where the arid soil is more like solid rock. We’d plant baby Joshua Trees between two plastic tubes that houses gelatinous, sticky “dry water” that would feed the seedlings for up to two years. We then encircled each plant in a chicken wire cage, or “manicure killers” as I like to call them, and numbered them for the Park Service to track in future years.

Thirty of us planted 200 trees in just two days. We were covered in dirt and dust, and while the sun was relentless, so were our spirits. We had been part of something really worthwhile, as in 20 years’ time the scorched terrain will look just as verdant as the surrounding hills. I ate lunch on a huge rock instead of in front of my PC, and for the first time in my life I nibbled on trail mix in an appropriate surrounding.

In subsequent days, we removed invasive weeds from a basin (I can now pick the evil Sahara mustard plant from a police line-up) and wandered the landscape in search of desert tortoises as part of a wildlife survey. I also pulled a cactus spike from a student’s leg, watch giant-eared rabbits race every which way, and successfully avoided the wrong end of numerous scorpions. Never again will I complain about the lack of bathrooms in New York when, for a week, it was just me and some bushes…and the occasional rattlesnake.

As my only prior knowledge of this region came from Road Runner cartoons and Saturday afternoon westerns, I was amazed by the desert’s diversity. I had no idea so many plants could flourish in this unique ecosystem. I was also surprised by the variety of backgrounds among the student volunteers; I expected to be the only textile designer, but sort of thought everyone else would be a geology major or environmental scientist. In fact, most weren’t there to pursue their studies. The majority of my new-found friends just wanted to give back. It was inspiring to be surrounded by a group of people who, despite looming finals, had chosen a different path. We are known as a generation of materialistic consumers, and purveyors of instant gratification, but my team’s selfless and painstaking efforts on behalf of this all-but-alien place left a deep and lasting impression.

Gazing up each night at constellations undimmed by city lights and waking up each morning with only the sunrise as my alarm clock was truly magical. No Facebook updates boasting of my travels, no gift shops in which to consume – just sheer, hard work in the pursuit of positive change.

I am extremely grateful to my employers for allowing me the freedom and opportunity to walk the walk. It would have been much easier for them to donate a few tee shirts or make an additional contribution. However, I would never have been exposed to the fantastic work that the National Park Service and SCA undertake every day. I came away with a renewed commitment to get back to nature, and even though I’m back to wearing dresses and heels to work, my hiking boots are waiting by the front door, facing a special place that’s 3,000 miles away yet never far from my heart.
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Thanks to American Eagle for helping SCA give hundreds of college students the opportunity to give back to the planet during Alternative Spring Break. And, thanks to Claire for this blog post!

Check out this great video interview of four-time alum Takeya Meggett shot by SCA partner and Conservation Intern program supporter, Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS). Takeya talks eloquently about her experience as an SCA member and how her passion led to an amazing green career as a Migratory Fish Educator in scenic Hudson Valley, NY. Through the continued support of DPS and others, every year thousands of interns just like Takeya get the chance to serve in more than 500 national parks, forests and marine areas.

May is National Bike Month...and SCA encourages everyone to adopt a greener lifestyle and get on your bike! National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the bicycle...and the many reasons to ride it.

• The environment
• Health
• Exploration
• Pleasure and simple enjoyment!

This week is National Bike to Work Week, with Friday, May 18th being Bike to Work Day! Put your helmet on and get on your bike. Whatever you do, make sure you do it safely.

SCA staff, members and crew leaders in Pittsburgh and Charlestown are commemorating National Bike to Work Day in honor of our colleague Dan Yablonsky. Dan was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike earlier this week in Pittsburgh; we all continue to monitor his condition. Dan joined SCA’s Green Cities Corps in February to expand Bike-Pittsburgh’s Car Free Fridays and Bike-Friendly Businesses programs, while also serving with the larger Green Cities crew on city-wide sustainability projects.

For more information on National Bike Month, visit the League of American Bicyclists Bike Month website.

Hello! Hope ya’ll are having a great Spring and getting ready for Summer. If that means spending time at the beach, consider this:

• More than 80% of marine pollution starts on land
• Worldwide, we dump more than 10 billion pounds of waste into our oceans every year
• Lost or tossed stuff poses a huge risk to marine life: whales get caught in fishing nets and drown, and sea turtles die from eating plastic bags they mistake for jellyfish

In addition to my work with SCA – and a big shout-out to everybody who joined SCA’s Pacific Coast Cleanup with the Washington Coastsavers on Earth Day – I’ve been getting involved lately with the Cousteau Society! It is really cool to me, because so much of what they do deals with the ocean, which I am in every day.

I had the opportunity to sit down with some people at the organization, learned a lot, and talked about how I could help them. What we came up with is that every time I visit a beach, I stake a patch of sand and do a trash inventory. I send then an email describing what I have found, and it goes into a database of beach conditions worldwide. It amazes me how some beaches are extremely clean and others are totally filthy. If everyone just cleaned up after themselves (which is not hard to do), it would be such a simple solution to the problem and would make the world that much more beautiful. So I encourage you, when you see a piece of trash, just pick it up and throw it away. It is easy and eventually a bunch of little actions will make a BIG difference.

Recently, I enjoyed a two-month adventure in Australia and New Zealand, where I had some contests. It was so amazing seeing the countrysides and wildlife. One day in New Zealand we had the chance to take a helicopter to a place called Jurassic Falls. We flew along a beautiful coastline before turning into a huge forest and landing right at the base of a 150 foot waterfall.

Jurassic Falls is impossible to get to unless you go by chopper. The land was untouched, and the waterfall had the most pure water you have ever seen! It made me realize how important it is to continue to spread the word about protecting our environment.

That’s what I have been up to! I am now in Brazil for a surfing contest, so hopefully all goes well for me! Thanks so much for reading!!

Lakey P. xoxo

Photos and text by Stuart Wilkins, 2011 – 2012 SCA Golden Valley Wilderness team of the Desert Restoration Corps (DRC.) The DRC works with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) throughout the California Desert District facilitating the processes of natural regrowth of thousands and thousands of acres of desert habitat. This is the group’s last hitch - backcountry work stint - of the season.

Hitch 14 was a lot of things for our crew; the last hitch of our season, another Allcorps, and a farewell to the areas of the Mojave we have come to know so well. The work load seemed lighter and the presence of the other crews for most of hitch made the atmosphere around camp buzz with energy. Our first two days had us out in Golden Valley and Grass Valley while the rest of hitch centered on preparation for Allcorps in the Jawbone area. Perfect weather combined with the comrardery that the entire DRC brings out when we are all together made for a most excellent last stint in the Desert.

Fittingly the first day had us driving to Grass Valley for some monitoring and fencing to say farewell to tasks we spent a majority of the season on. The second day had us split up into two groups, one went into Grass Valley and one went into Golden Valley to do some GPS surveying of plant populations in certain areas of the wilderness for California Fish and Game. Armed with our Trimbles and plenty of water, we set out on a stress free day hiking between different regions of the wilderness to find the plants that were listed in the areas. The day was perfect and gave us quality time to say goodbye to our beloved wilderness.

This led us to Allcorps in Jawbone, a mass DRC gathering in the beautiful Southern Sierra Nevada hosted by our dear friends from the Jawbone crew. The work project was largely restoration based with a few bollarding side projects in there as well. By this point in the season we were all highly skilled dead plant builders so those incursions did not stand a chance. We knocked them out with about half a day to spare and they looked incredible!

The Allcorps experience was fabulous. We were showered with gifts from the BLM and the SCA for our hard work all season long. Each day people brought us goodies like ice and fruit and gatorade which kept spirits up through the heat. The evening entertainment was also quite engaging. For starters there was the super moon which was approximately 14% larger than a regular full moon according to scientists. Then there were games and ice cream and even a very nice slideshow recapping the season through each crew’s photos. There was also a time for recognizing how outstanding the program has been to us and each individual was recognized for unique traits they brought to the crew dynamic.

Now it finally seems like the end. We knew this was coming but the feeling doesn’t actually hit you until there are no more Trimble points to take or t-posts to pound or creosotes to build. From here we go our separate ways, embark on new adventures, and change other people’s lives.

DRC: It has been phenomenal, we have grown in ways we never thought we would have. This is a very special group of people to have been a part of, and all of us were brought here to do a very special job. From the countless stars at night to the bitter cold winds, from the dirty faces to the fruit salad morning, from seeing every sunrise and sunset to going to bed before 6pm; We will miss it all, but all of us will be taking some of it with us too.

With the fondest of farewells we say goodbye Golden and Grass Valley, and goodbye DRC.

Peace,
Golden Valley