College has got me doing a lot of things I thought I’d never do, being a person I never knew I could be, and caring deeply about things I never expected to care about. All of this is good, and all of this has led me to some very interesting places. Almost none of my weekends here are boring, and my Sundays certainly aren’t lazy. Last Sunday, I volunteered with Students for Environmental Awareness to remove invasive plant species at Cheesequake State Park. We arrived at the park armed with hiking boots, work gloves, and plenty of layers. We were quickly given a pair of head shears each and loaded ourselves into the back of one of the park pick-up trucks with about fifteen other volunteers.
For the next three hours, we battled acres of phragmites that reached far over our heads. Before Sunday, I didn’t know what a phragmite was, but now I am more familiar with them than I’d like to be. We cut the phragmites down to waist level, and then pushed through them to cut down the next section. This lead to phragmite gashes on our legs, phragmite scratches on our arms, and phragmite bruises on our butts. Like I said, we became more familiar with phragmites than we ever wanted to be.
Phragmites
To provide a bit of background, phragmites are reed plants that grow in marshlands. They are an invasive species that spreads uncontrollably and overcrowds native plants. Cheesequake State Park has hundreds of acres of invasive phragmites. The task we undertook was a huge one, and we didn’t make a lot of progress when you look at the big picture, but we did make a dent. I’m a huge proponent of making small dents in huge problems, collective efforts, and volunteerism as a whole. Spending a Sunday giving what I could: my time and my ability, to do manual labor with strangers in an attempt to save a park we cared about reminded me that this world is a good place, and that there are new friends to be made everywhere you go. If you’re in a rut, I wholly recommend doing something you never saw yourself doing. Trust me, invasive species removal has nothing to do with my major or life plan, but there is much more to the learning aspect of college than just what you’re majoring in. Don’t shy away from learning about something just because you don’t intend to invest your whole life in it. Even if spending the day wielding shears half the size of you in a snow covered marsh isn’t the type of learning you’re looking to get into, give it a shot, you’ll probably end up somewhere worth being.