Thoughts from Tuesday and Wednesday

From Brittany, Liz, Ally, Justine:

...we met with Mel, the guy who works for the program we're helping with. He told us that LA is losing a football field worth of land every 38minutes but how dunes can help prevent erosion. e then cleaned up a beach and even though it was really hot we had a lot of fun. People were being dive-bombed by birds. Then we got to swim in the Gulf of Mexico. Overall, it was a good day.

Today we went to Fifi Island and planted grass that helps to protect the land from hurricanes. Later, we got a tour of the Plant Materials Center where we were staying and learned that the grass we planted was picked from a study of 90 grasses. We worked hard today but still enjoyed ourselves. Ally fell into the water because her foot was stuck in mud.

From Kiley, Kristyn, Madison, Carmen:

It's really hot so far...everyone is bonding in the dorms and we are getting closer and learning more about each other. We are really making a difference with the work we are doing and having a great experience with everything...today we saw a totally demolished house. It impacted all of us because we saw how powerful the hurricane was.

From Jessica, Andrea, Gaby, Natalee:

...the highlight of the trash pick-up day was finding all of the animal skeletons on the beach...I think everyone on this trip is getting a lot closer. It's going to be hard spending the rest of the summer away from everyone...On Wednesday is was cool to see how quickly and hard we all worked together on the planting job...

From Kylie, Lorelei, Christine:

...We saw an assortment of debris during the beach clean-up. We saw dead baby dolphins, pillows, chicken wings, t-shirts, toothbrushes, bottles, etc. We got to swim in the Gulf and it was really warm...we have fun dance parties in the evenings....we are looking forward to the finals days to come.

From Jonathan, Ethan, Brian:

For the past 2 days we have been working on the dunes and planting marsh plants...there were a lot of fish carcasses on the beach...we planted grasses that can withstand up to 18 inches of water and these help protect LA if there are other storms in the future...

...spending time with the group has been really great...working together we have accomplished so much. We saw alligators in the canal near the dorm...I have enjoyed every minute of the trip and I wouldn't change a thing.

From Samy and Norah:

...we've been staying in a government owned research center...they studied 90 plants over 10 years to determine the best type to withstand the conditions in southern LA...

...the beach seemed cleaner this year compared to last....we started a sand/mud fight in the Gulf...

...we saw alligators near the dorm while we were taking a walk...

...we saw the island where we planted last year and it was great to see the growth of the plants...we then saw dolphins jumping around...

...all around the past 2 days have been quite the experience!