Alternative Spring Break: Taking a week on! [PHOTOS]
"I came in with no expectations, but this trip has turned out to be more than I could have imagined. This is life changing."
On March 21st, eleven FLC students traveled to Arizona to meet with the Grand Canyon Trust, a conservation group based in Flagstaff, Arizona. This was the beginning of Fort Lewis College’s second annual Alternative Spring Break. I had the good fortune of helping to organize the trip, and was accompanied by some of the best people I’ve ever had the good luck to meet. The students who signed up were passionate, soulful, and committed to the purpose of the trip: helping others, conservation, and having the time of our lives while doing so.
After a night in Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon Trust's skilled staff walked us through the story of water and power in the southwest by bringing us face to face with the Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, and the Navajo Generating Station - symbols of how heavily development has impacted Northern Arizona and its people. We saw how these huge water and power projects help people in far off places while the local people get little benefit and must instead deal with the environmental impacts. We were introduced to Hopi and Navajo farmers who persevere in desert conditions with their traditional drought resistant seeds. We heard firsthand the stories of how the climate change upsets the delicate balance of water in the desert, how GMOs threaten to make their crops infertile, and how important cooperation between very different people is for thriving in a rapidly changing world.
Personal connection is a powerful thing. Here on campus, students try to learn how to make a positive difference in our world by attending lectures, poring over books, and whatever else they can do to understand environmental, social, and economic problems beyond Durango and Colorado. But there is no substitute for going and visiting new places, meeting real people who face these challenges in their own lives, and getting our own hands dirty to feel what the real work of change is actually like.
We had campfires, good food, and worked hard. We dug ditches, weeded school gardens, and pruned fruit trees. We met amazing people who are working with all their hearts to educate their communities about preserving traditions which in turn develop healthy lifestyles and self-reliance. We experienced the power and beauty of the Grand Canyon, remembering stories we were told of local tribe's sacred connections to the canyon as a place of emergence. We made personal connections which have strengthened our collective commitment to helping people, making the world a better place, and getting our hands dirty.
The next step is clear. We who had the good fortune to go on this trip will remember our new connections to the people and the places we visited. We will tend to those connections, and build and strengthen our personal connection to challenges at home. Each of us have different passions which will lead us to uncover different parts of the story of Durango and La Plata County, the people who live here, and even others who are affected by what happens here. There are many local farms, projects, and possibilities here that stand to make the world a better place, and we've proven to ourselves that we can build the right connections and pick up a shovel.
This is what Alternative Spring Break is all about, hands-on experience of change and bringing that experience back home into our own community - after all, there's a lot of work to be done.
For my part, beyond the good work we had the opportunity to participate in, I was amazed by the heart and passion among the students who went on the trip. Each was truly remarkable. I’m grateful that we got to make a difference together, and grateful to Fort Lewis for making our time together possible.
Post by Lionel Di Giacomo, Alternative Spring Break Intern at the Environmental Center