July 18, 2007 — Thanks to the efforts of a Student Conservation Association trail crew, several trails within St. John's V.I. National Park are in better shape.
"It's helpful for the park to get work done on some of its major trails," Kristen Maize, program manager at the Friends of V.I. National Park, said.
The Friends funded the month-long summer program to the tune of $30,000. The figure included expenses, including food, plus $1,000 stipends for each of the three St. Croix youths who participated. The students from the mainland served as volunteers and pay their own travel costs.
Maize said the Friends consider the $1,000 stipends to local participants an educational grant, but that the students may use the money for items they need for the program. She said that by providing the stipends, it encourages local students to participate who may instead need to have a summer job.
"This makes it easier for us to recruit locally," she said.
The students, who will depart Thursday, slept in tents at Cinnamon Bay Campground. Rasheeda King, 16, a home-school student from St. Croix, said she decided to join the program to try something new.
"I liked the beaches, the swimming," she said.
When asked about what she liked best about the job, she said "lopping," — trimming branches along the trail's edge.
Ben Haddix, 17, of Ann Arbor, Mich. said he enjoyed immersing himself in nature by getting his hands dirty and helping out with the park.
"It's really a good feeling," he said.
Tova Berg, 19, also from Ann Arbor, said this was the fourth summer she worked on a Student Conservation Trail crew.
"I love working outdoors and doing something away from civilization," Berg said.
Henri Loridane, 17, of Shreveport, La., also was on a SCA crew last year. While he said he liked the work because the trails were nice, he also enjoyed St. John’s.
"Everywhere you go, it's like a postcard," Loridane said.
Philadelphia resident Tanya Rich, 28, and Joe Green, 30, of Washington, D.C. served as crew leaders.
Green said he started out as a SCA volunteer before moving on to the leadership job. His work with the SCA opened his eyes to "living out in the middle of nowhere."
The group worked on the trails at L'Esperance, Ram Head, Brown Bay, as well as the Johnny Horn and Europa trails, Rich said. She hasn't done anything else in her life that's more satisfying than her work with the SCA, she added.
Rich said she found it inspiring that there were groups such as the Friends working on environmental issues.
"There's a good fight going on," she said.
The SCA's website indicates that building the next generation of conservation leaders and inspiring lifelong stewardship of the environment is its mission.
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