An Unusual Spring Break

We asked Alessandra Magno, a former communications intern at the Conservancy, to share her unusual spring break experience with our readers. Here’s her story.

Backbreaking Spring Break: A trip to Appalachia

By Alessandra Magno

Typically, spring break for college students involves sandy beaches and partying until dawn. Sounds about right, yes? Well, I opted for a completely different kind of spring break experience. Last month, I was part of the seven-member team from Students for Environmental Action (SEA) at Emmanuel College that set out for the Appalachian Trail.

After contacting the American Hiking Society, Rose Blondin, the SEA president and I organized a trip to Douthat State Park in western Virginia to help rebuild trails and clear pathways. Andrea Ketchmark, Volunteer Programs Manager for the American Hiking Society guided us throughout the entire process of putting together this volunteer project. After a thirteen hour drive, we reached our destination. At this point, I had no idea what to expect.

Our week consisted of rising at 7 a.m., eating a quick breakfast, and setting out on the trails until 4:30 pm. When we arrived on the trail, I was absolutely awestruck. The park was incredible – breathtaking panoramic views of the mountains and challenging hiking trails. Our first task was to armor several trails. Armoring, we learned, is a method of using large rocks to harden or pave a section of trail to help prevent erosion and is frequently used when a trail crosses areas that are soft or wet. We cleared the area and collected as many rocks as we could to create an easier pathway for hikers. Our next job was to build a stone bench. That took a bit of planning and teamwork from the group and a lot of endurance and cooperation. We shoved heavy rocks into place (the “backbreaking” part of the story) and eventually created a durable, fairly nice-looking bench.

An important part of the week’s project was combating soil erosion on the trails and many hours were spent extending and rebuilding. Similar projects to mitigate soil erosion along pathways have been undertaken in the Emerald Necklace parks as well, such as recutting paths to create run-offs and rebuilding trails with stone dust and crusher run.

Later in the week we planted approximately sixty trees, primarily white oak. Peter Barlow, District VI Research Specialist, taught us about the forest ecosystem and showed us what was safe to eat if we were ever lost in the woods. Pointing to a mushroom-covered rock, he said, 'Toad’s fungus' is safe to eat. I reluctantly took a bite of it and responded with a positive nod. "Not bad," was everyone's reaction to the taste of the fungus.

At the end of the week, Rose and I were interviewed on the local Virginia news station, WDBJ7. Click here to view the entire interview.

A very rewarding part of the trip was the positive feedback from the local residents who saw the news program and called the parks department to thank us for the work. Overall, my Appalachian adventure was a fun and eye-opening experience. If you are interested in doing such a project, contact the American Hiking Society at www.americanhiking.org. I highly recommend it.