Spring 2003
Radical Environment: San Francisco, California
Leaders: Danny Marks and Sequoia We'll be leading a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area focusing on social and environmental service. The first week we work with: Food Not Bombs, a movement creating awareness about hunger and homelessness; The San Francisco Zoo, attending to animal habitats at the park; The Strybing Arboretum, planting and beautifying a scenic park; Oakland's A Safe Place; offering support groups for those in abusive environments and relationships. The second week we will be at Golden Gate Park, helping through clean-ups, clearing of trails, and plantings. Pictures from this trip
Building in Countryland: Memphis and Mississippi
Leaders: Annie Tessar and Anne Jumonville We'll spend the first week of the trip in Memphis: building houses with Habitat for Humanity, cooking and serving meals with Food Not Bombs, and working with other community and organizations (possibly an interfaith peace and justice center, youth urban gardens, and a kids program). The second week, we plan to cross the border into rural Mississippi to work on projects in a low-income rural area.
Hope Across Borders: Tijuana, Mexico
Leaders: Denny David and Katie Mears We will spend Spring Break living and working in the towns surrounding Tijuana, Mexico. The purpose of this trip is to expand participants' understanding of globalization through a variety of work experiences. During the first week, we plan to build houses with a Mexican based organization, called Esperanza, which is similar to Habitat for Humanity. We will listen to speakers who will educate us about how trends in globalization have impacted the neighborhoods that we are living/working in and how Esperanza's work responds to that impact. During the second week, we will do construction work, but at another site. Past groups have spent this second week painting schools, building medical clinics, or repairing orphanages. Once the group is formed, we will discuss what type of work participants are interested in during this second week. The physical demands of this trip are very great. Although prior construction experience is not needed to excel at these work projects, a willingness to work with the grou p and a commitment to long hours of physical labor is. We also ask for ability to be flexible and role with changes that might happen during the trip.
Oregon Trails: Portland and Corvallis, Oregon
Leaders: Puran Parsani and Terril Leguiri This trip will focus on environmental issues in and around Portland. The first few days will be spent working with community gardens in the city. Next we will head to a wildlife preserve near the pacific coast, building trails, helping with prairie restoration, and learning about the Pacific Northwest ecosystem, providing a valuable resource to the public. We will then go back to Portland and work with some more community gardens and possibly a larger reserve in the city. Basically, we are going to have a great time in the outdoors, getting our hands dirty and helping preserve the natural ecosystems of one of the most beautiful places in the country.
Seeds in the Sand: Miami, Florida
Leaders: Tricia Hadley and Katie Casas We will spend the first few days of the trip working in the Key Biscayne, FL. We will work with the Cape Florida Restoration Project, helping with activities such as extracting invasive plants and planting indigenous species. We will camp in the park, giving us a chance to explore more of the natural flora of the area. The rest of our trip will include work in the Homestead area, which is in the more rural, agricultural outskirts of Miami. We are planning a project with Centro Campesino, where we would organize activities for the children of migrant farmers. We will also work with the Homestead Habitat Humanity - Jordan Commons site, an ecologically conservative community for low-income, single families.
