Monday, October 31, 2016

Digging Holes and Dissections

This month has certainly been a busy one for volunteering. I officially completed my 30 hour requirement, so everything from here on out is solely for my own personal fulfillment. A classmate and I went deep into the swamps of Louisiana to plant trees, restoring the coastline and saving the world from global warming. It was a long and grueling effort; 8 hours under the sun planting hundreds of trees. Tiresome as it was, the work was its own reward, with each trip back to our base revealing fewer and fewer trees to plant. The goal for the day was to plant 650 trees, split among 20 or so volunteers. As fun as it was, I think my next outdoor volunteering excursion will be a little more conventional--habitat for humanity perhaps.

In addition to coastal restoration, I continued my efforts at KIPP this month, helping out with even more photocopies and filing. I was also able to take a trip to one of KIPP's high school and assist with a 9th grade biology dissection lab. The teacher and I walked around the room and answered questions about the various animals splayed open on the table as the students completed worksheets. This was one of the more enjoyable volunteering experiences I've had in my time here, and I look forward to going back and helping out more.

The picture shows the very sweaty and dirty group of volunteers after a day of tree planting. It was fun!

October Hours -
KIPP - 6

Coastal Restoration - 8

Total hours - 34