Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 3.3.
High school students in the Nature's Hope Program.
palmettos were installed, watered, and fertilized. Student leaders determined planting
densities using Cape Florida's restoration guidelines and a random numbers table.
They also documented the number and species of exotic plants removed and the na-
tive plants installed. After a picnic lunch, students and teachers would perform field
activities that related to their science lessons such as seining, vegetation analysis, and
soil moisture experiments.
On the last field trip in April, students led a business group in restoration activities
to celebrate National Youth Service Day. Coordinated annually by Youth Serve Amer-
ica, public service events were scheduled in ten cities throughout the country, in-
cluding Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York
City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The American Littoral Society hosted the
Miami event at Cape Florida with each of the high schools participating in Nature's
Hope and a local sponsoring company, such as AT&T. Students led company em-
ployees in exotic plant removal and out-planting while teaching them what they had
learned from the program throughout the year.
Service Learning in the Environment
Over the years, the Cape Florida Project benefited from the close proximity to several
local colleges and universities. Service learning opportunities and internships were
heavily publicized in student activity centers, and relationships with key professors
and department heads were cultivated. As a result, the Cape Florida Project benefited
from a stream of students working on the project annually while receiving credit to-
ward their degrees.
