Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

For the spring break of 2008, I and a group of students from Paradise Valley Community College and Glendale Community College in Arizona traveled to San Diego, California for a service learning experience with the Audubon Society. We visited many sites while in San Diego, including the Mariners Point nesting site; protected land for an endangered bird, the California Least Tern. Located off of Bonita Cove, Mariners Point is a park surrounded by water. The tip of the park is dedicated towards the Least Tern nesting site, which pedestrians must stay at least 500 ft. away from. Our group was allowed to go to the nesting ground and help maintain its habitat by removing any invasive plants in the area. The Least Tern's are very particular about where they will nest, so it is vital for the nesting ground to be maintained. The invasive plants make the nesting site less appealing to the Least Tern, and also take water and nutrients away from endemic plants, including the Nuttal's Lotus. Because the Nuttal's Lotus can only be found in California, it is an important plant for not only the Least Tern to nest, but to preserve the natural habitat of San Diego as well. Our group spent hours on our hands and knees meticulously removing all invasive plants from the site and at the end of the day, our group of nine had successfully removed five full sized garbage bags full of invasive plants.
At the end of our service, our group felt as if we had made a contribution to the environment in a positive manner. Some people have asked us, "All you did was pick weeds?", "How is that helping the environment?" To be honest, most of our group had felt the same way; we did not see how we were helping. After talking with the people from the Audubon Society, and learning about the environment in San Diego, we had a different mentality. We learned that the state of California is considered one of the world's biodiversities hotspots, meaning that California has plants and animals that live only in this area. It was amazing to realize that we were helping species exist that have been on earth for so long, and have only existed in California. After hearing this, we quickly realized that volunteering for the environment is extremely important, we also gained a great deal of respect for the people who help preserve the environment on a daily basis.
Taking the time to complete this service has been rewarding in many aspects. Not only did our group learn about the environment, we learned what it means to serve. I learned that service is not always an easy thing to do, and is rarely glorified as other aspects in our society are. I learned that having only nine people can make a huge impact in the world; we successfully preserved an endangered species. This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of our environment. It is frightening to think of the mentality I had before our project, compared to after we had completed it. I am now aware of the how important preservation of our habitat is, and will lend my hands to help in its survival.