Outer Banks, NC
As an environmental studies major, I was drawn to the environmental based Alternative Spring Break trip to Newport, North Carolina. While there, we worked with three community partners: The North Carolina Coastal Federation, Hammocks Beach State Park and The Pamlico-Tar River Foundation. At the Coastal Federation, we did some general property cleanup around their office as well as cleaning up areas of the forest across the street. While at Hammocks Beach, we posted signs for bird nesting sites and shoveled sand that had blown on the boardwalk.
After four days of rain, we were finally blessed with the sunshine to start our work with Pamlico-Tar. There, we cleaned up hurricane debris and removed invasive species from a property on the Pamlico River the foundation owns and we were lucky enough to get some kayaking in after we had finished our work.
On our days off, we went to the North Carolina Aquarium and spent some time on an island with a beautiful beach and wild horses, which was really cool to see. We also spent a lot of time in Beaufort, N.C., a few towns away from Newport.
All of the community partners we worked with were so awesome and appreciative of the work we did that would have otherwise not been completed.
It was great to see that the community is invested in protecting their beautiful surroundings and have a sense of environmental stewardship. Eastern North Carolina is an amazing area with great people and I hope to return soon!
Ellen Lonsdale can be contacted at elonsdale@ksc.keene.edu