Catalina conservancy shores up spring break

For the fourth time in six years, a dozen Orange Coast College students ? and three faculty advisors ? will enjoy an “alternative” spring-break experience in Catalina.

The students will be housed for four days at the Catalina Island Conservancy Volunteer Camp, and will engage in the protection and restoration of plants that are indigenous to the island.

“Upon arrival, our students will receive an environmental orientation to the island at conservancy headquarters in Avalon,” said faculty advisor Steve Goetz, an OCC professor of counseling services. “There, they’ll learn about the organization’s various projects and will be introduced to the island’s layout and terrain.”

Following the orientation, the students will be transported to the Laura Stein Volunteer Camp, situated among coastal scrub-oak and lemonade-berry groves at the center of the island. The isolated camp overlooks the Catalina Channel and Palos Verdes Peninsula.

“The students will sleep on bunk beds in large expedition tents standing on platforms,” Goetz said. “There’s a solar-powered cooking area, bathrooms and showers.”

Students will spend Tuesday and Wednesday engaged in hard work.

“Our students might haul peat and mulch at the James Ackerman Native Plant Nursery, or re-paint the volunteer camp picnic tables,” Goetz said. “They might build enclosures around some of the endangered plant species, such as the ironwood tree or the cercocarpus plant. The enclosures are designed to keep out wild pigs and deer that feed on the young shoots of the plants.

“Or, our students may be asked to help control the 63 non-native weeds that have been prioritized for eradication.”

Goetz says evenings will be spent around the campfire, eating, telling stories and putting on shows. Each student will also have a turn in the kitchen.

On the final day, Thursday, the students will clean the volunteer camp and will spend the remainder of the day in Avalon. The ferry will return the group to the mainland in the afternoon.

Goetz says volunteers have become an important part of the conservancy’s efforts to preserve Santa Catalina Island for future generations.

“Participating as volunteers during spring break provides our students with an opportunity to get involved, to learn about Catalina Island and the conservancy, and to make a positive impact on the island’s ecology. This trip helps to rebut the pervasive public image of college students who spend their spring break partying.”

OCC’s alternative spring break project runs Mon. through Thurs., March 27-30.