Journal #14

I had a few interesting experiences getting my volunteer hours finished during the past month.  I started off volunteering at Calusa Nature Center.  My first couple of days, I was instructed to walk the many trails encompassing the area and pick up trash. This was the most enjoyable time spent volunteering because I got to see all the different parts of the park.  There was a section of old Cyprus trees that rivaled the grandeur of the corkscrew sanctuary in size and abundance.  One day as I was walking the trails, I glanced down into a ditch and saw a baby alligator through the brush.  I stopped and watched it for a while and after taking a few steps, I saw another.  Thinking to myself that the mother must be near, I gave out an amateur baby alligator call to see if the mother would appear.  Sure enough, A few seconds after I gave the call, a huge nine-foot alligator with mud covering its head came into scene.  I was astounded that my call actually worked, but just to make sure, I continued down the path a ways and called out again. The giant alligator quickly made its way to my new position.  Still in disbelief, I returned to my original spot and let out one last call and again the mamma came to find where the call was coming from.  The trash walk at Calusa is where I felt I made the biggest amount of difference.  The last day I went there, I was placed with a group of teenagers who were all court ordered to complete community service.  After the day cleaning bird cages, smelly food prep areas, and attempting to mentor some of the troubled teens, I decided to finish out my hours at the campus “food forest”.  The work on campus was just as I imagined it would be—HOT, DIRTY, and BACKBREAKING.  The next day I knew I had earned those hours. After trying the different areas of volunteer work, I’m glad I’ll be finishing my remaining 30 hours at a local hospital—EASY DAY!