Camping Creatively

Ok, so the title is a bit misleading because it wasn't exactly camping. This weekend I went with 11 members of the FSU Adventure Club to plant 2,500 long-leaf pine sapplings in the St. Joseph Bay Preserve and in exchange, we got to stay in their lodge and use their facilities. The lodge is a long patio on stilts a view of the bay and a total of three buildings: two dorm buildings on either side of a common room and kitchen. The preserve is located south west on the gulf edge of the panhandle. This is their website. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/apalachicola/stjoseph_buffer.htm

Planting the trees was hard work but good company and beautiful surroundings made it really fun. Everywhere we walked, the soft white sand or nutrient rich ash and soil mixture was striped with animal prints. I found myself imagining whether the animals who had made the prints were grazing, or rummaging or tracking other animals. I wondered about the weather conditions that had shaped the growth of the surrounding vegetation and more often than not, my planting partner and I would speculate about whether a particular sappling had a good chance at survival.

At the end of all that work, we went back to the lodge and used their new and very comfortable faciltities to clean ourselves up and prepare communal meals. Some of us would cook, some clean and some collect wood and work to build a bonfire in their pit. Over diner we discussed everything from life philosophies (such as inclusionism vs. preservationism on man's role in nature) to movies. After dinner, it was time for the bonfire, s'mores and improvisation games. We had a guitar, a ukeleile and our voices. We did musical improvisation as well as a jungle chorus improv game in which each person times their own random jungle noise in conjunction with those of others. Of course no bonfire is complete without classic sing alongs and truth or dare. And each fire (assuming that it is far removed from society and light pollution) must be followed by star gazing.

What I enjoyed most about the trip was not the breath taking nature, but the laid back and intellectually honest and open people. I would highly recommend this club for anyone who likes the outdoors, environmental service and friendly people. We meet Thursdays at 6:30 in the lobby of the Student Life Building (the building with the cinema). We also have a facebook group.
Hope everyone else had an awesome long weekend!
Beatrice Murray