Emily Kim Participated in Spring Break Service Trip to Puerto Rico

2016 May 2

Emily Kim, a sophomore athletic training major from Fairmont, Minn. , and nine other Buena Vista University students participated in an AWOL (Alternative Week of Off-site Learning) trip during spring break, enabling them to volunteer their time and service with a focus on environmental conservation and permaculture lifestyle in Las Marias, Puerto Rico.

The BVU students learned from the locals in Las Marias, Puerto Rico, about their economy, way of life and culture. Working with Plenitud, a permaculture organization, members of the group harvested green beans, kale, lettuce, oranges and coconuts for dinner and for the community, while others learned different gardening techniques and planted kale, bamboo, and other vegetables. They created pots out of natural materials, collected compost for planting fruit trees, learned how to fertilize and clean fruit trees, made signs for the farm, tended to the greenhouse, worked on creating new gardens and steps down the mountain to the river and also climbed steep mountain slopes to plant natural "walls" to prevent soil erosion.

The group also worked with local community members and the organization Olita, a program that works to create sustainable gardens and create jobs in the poorer parts of Puerto Rico, to clean up a neighborhood near the beach and clear land that was going to be converted to a garden.

Advisors for this experience were Dr. Ashley Farmer-Hanson, assistant dean for student life and director of civic engagement at BVU and Elizabeth Reese, BVU AmeriCorps VISTA.

"Over the week we lived a permaculture lifestyle where we were camping outside, using limited water with cold showers, and we had access to very limited electricity. We were completely integrated into our service site. Our mornings started at 6 a.m. and continued late into the evening," said Farmer-Hanson. "AWOL is anything but a stereotypical college spring break. It transforms lives through leadership development and deepening the understanding of serving each other, while also being mindful of our personal actions."

AWOL has sent more than 689 volunteers and completed an estimated 30,366 hours of service worldwide, furthering its mission to immerse BVU students in different cultures, heighten social awareness and advocate life-long social action through service on a local, regional and international level.

To ensure the AWOL program's long-term impact on the student and the Storm Lake community, students research their service areas, identify a local need, serve to understand it better and address it using new skills learned on their AWOL trips and engaging in local service projects.

Three AWOL trips took place this year, with 30 BVU students participating. The other trips focused on service animal training in Deland, Fla., and inner-city poverty outreach in Washington D.C.