Spring
Break Florida
Community Service Volunteer
Adventure
Ages 14-17
Your expedition begins at Rhode Island's TF Green airport
on Monday early morning where you will get to meet the group
you will be with for the week. When everyone has gathered
together, we will then check in for the flight to Orlando.
After maneuvering through security safely, we will spend some
time at the gate playing some ice breakers to get to know our
group better. We will then take a three hour flight down to
Orlando, which is about 2 hours from New Smyrna Beach,
Florida. New Smyrna Beach will be our location for the
week to not only live but work (and play!).
We
will be staying at a campground in two cabins that are minutes
from the place that we will be volunteering. Each cabin has a
kitchen, running water, three bedrooms and one bathroom. After
settling into your cabin, it will be time to explore our
surroundings. New Smyrna Beach was voted the best east coast
beach last year and it is no wonder why--perfect white sand
and beautiful warm blue water. After a quick dip, we will go
back to the cabins to have dinner and get ready for work the
next day.
On this trip we will be working with Marine Discovery Center (www.marinediscoverycenter.org).
The Marine Discovery Center specializes in three aspects of
conservation: education, research and eco-tours. You will have
a chance to experience all three on this trip. Tuesday and Wednesday we will be volunteering with the
research program. During this time, we will be helping
with oyster and mandate
tree restorations. Both the oysters and the mandates are
showing major signs of decline due to climate change and
increased water temperatures.
Our efforts will
be helping to increase the numbers
of mandate trees and oysters in the South Florida Area.
During the evenings we will have time at the beach to soak up
the rays and enjoy the warm water. We will also have a cookout
on the beach and spend an enjoyable night hike where to learn
about the nocturnal beach environment and constellations. No
trip to central Florida would be complete without a ride in an
airboat. Wednesday after work we will go on a two-hour airboat
tour of the St. John’s River, one of the most eco-diverse
areas in the south.
Thursday is our day off. We will spend the day with the Marine
Discovery Center, going on a guided kayak eco-tour on the
Indian River. The Indian River is known for being a major
birthplace for Florida’s fish and crustaceans. The tour will
last about 4 hours and will include many discoveries. We will
finish off our last full day in Florida with a tour around the
beach and town of New Smyrna.
Friday we will check out of our cabins and head back to
Orlando to catch our flight north. We will arrive back at TF
Green Airport by 4pm (time to be confirmed). Your parents will
pick you up directly from the airport.
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