The recent spate of rainy weather didn’t dim the efforts or the enthusiasm of the Student Conservation Association trail crew now working in V.I. National Park.
“We keep working when it’s raining, but we get really muddy,” crew leader Anna Brown, 23, of Bemidji, Minn., said as six of the students and a crew leader gathered Friday at the top of the Cinnamon Bay trail.
The SCA is a national organization that provides opportunities for high school and college students to participate in conservation efforts around the country.
A total of eight students and two crew leaders – two students and a crew leader were off Friday on another job — arrived June 10 to spend the next month on St. John. They slept in Cinnamon Bay campground’s tents, cooked all their meals on the camp stove and kept clean in the campgrounds ambient-temperature showers.
“I think it’s freezing in the shower," said Maliek Cepado, a 16-year-old St. Croix Educational Complex student.
The students involved in the SCA program came from near and far. For most, including some of those from St. Croix, this was the first time they’ve visited St. John.
“St. John is amazing. The beaches are so beautiful. The jungle is so different from any forest back home,” said Alex Gould, 17, who is from Milwaukee, Wis.
The students decided to spend the month on St. John for a variety of reasons, from the desire to see something different to the need for a summer job.
“And it’s not every day you get to be outside and do a job that concerns my home,” said Katie Morgan, 16, a student at Country Day School on St. Croix.
Her fellow Country Day student, Lillian Mallory, 17, heard about the opportunity and applied. “It’s a perfect mix or work and fun,” Mallory said.
The crew spends its day on pick and shovel duty, moving rocks and clearing bush, but they also get to go to the beach, put in some snorkeling time and enjoy each other’s company.
“I met a great group of people. We work together every day and we work hard,” St. Croix resident John Arevalo, 17, said. He attended high school last year in Virginia, but said he was unsure where he’d do his senior year.
While the students were having fun and getting to know each other better, they also appreciated the environmental aspects on the job. Jenna Hoobler, 17, of Erie, Penn., said, "We do a lot of hard work, but we’re able to help the planet."
Some of the students were undecided on a career, others were heading toward science careers, but only Cepado said he thought he’d be interested in an internship with the Friends of the Park.
The Friends group sponsored the month-long SCA program with a $35,000 donation from an anonymous donor. The money goes to things like the tent accommodations, food and additional support for the participants from the Virgin Islands.