emquigs
Registered: July 2010
City/Town/Province: Parkland
Posts: 1
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Living in South Florida has its perks; I can walk to school year round without stopping to defrost my fingers, and look around at palm trees lining the street. However when one of my past teachers joined me and a group of friends in Sullivan, Maine to build an eco-friendly camp called Robin’s Nest, I learned what nature’s beauty truly entails.
By the time we got on a bus from the airport to the campsite, most of us were already in awe (considering the largest hill in South Florida is the Sawgrass Expressway overpass). Green mountains towered over us as we drove through woods and roads that overlooked the ocean from 60 feet in the air. Arriving at the site was another story, overgrown weeds covered complete areas, broken down shacks from previous owners were covered and filled with junk, but still oak trees loomed in the sky giving us hope for a beautiful outcome.
Our first task was cleanup. We first designated a compost bin, a trash bin, a recyclable aluminum bin, and a recyclable plastics bin. We found soda cans, an old doghouse roof, metal rods, plastic tarps, and innumerable more things lying on the premises. After cleaning, crews were designated to build paths, gardens with berries, gardens with herbs, gardens with vegetables, and rock walls to separate the gardens from the overgrown rest of lawn. However, the most crucial task was constructing composting toilets and solar showers for the basic necessities of living. These workdays taught me to think about how tools and resources can be used efficiently. I learned to think, plan, question, and then build after an incident with a large rock and a broken wheelbarrow. The work most of all taught me how much of what we do affect the environment around us and how with a little thought, many areas of nature can be saved.
But, how will people be motivated to help the earth rather than hurt it? This is the lesson I found most valuable: to appreciate our ecosystems. On days we didn’t work, we journeyed to different landscapes across Maine. We hiked Mt. Cadillac in Acadia National Park and looked out over the ocean, trees, and wildlife below us. Blueberries grew bigger and bigger as we ascended higher and higher. On hot days, we ventured to different lakes, which were usually at the bases of several mountains—giving us a chance to see from below where we had just been. Feeling so small next to giant landforms, I felt the powerful presence of the earth and how unjustified humans are in claiming it as their own. How can an ant claim to own any inch of a Kodiak bear, or a minnow to any centimeter of the great Blue Whale?
Our 2-week endeavor was definitely worth the work, because now we teach younger campers to live to learn and learn to love our common mother. We teach campers how to live “green” lives and why it is so important. If everyone could understand the vastness that is the environment we live in, maybe they would be less likely to take an extra minute in the shower and more likely to recycle their Coca-Cola cans.
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