SW FL Service-Learning Trip: Day 2 Recap

June 4, 2023

Today, the Class of 2024 – Student Service Program spent their second day on their service-learning trip in Southwest Florida at Winter Garden Presbyterian Church working with Praying Pelicans Missions. We were split into four groups to work on different tasks needed around the property. These tasks included building a gazebo, attending a house which needed help after the hurricane, building garden covers for the plants, and picking trash off the road.

Building A Gazebo

Building the gazebo helped our group build a better connection with each other and also demonstrated teamwork. Though it was hard work, we learned how to work together to hold the heavy pieces up without them falling. It was very exciting to see how our hard work finished in the end.

Visiting A Hurricane Home

When the smaller group attended the man’s house, which had issues after Hurricane Ian, it was very sad to see how living conditions change after disasters. A lot of his walls around his foundation had leakage and we had to repair them. We used teamwork to fill the holes in the foundation. This helped us bond, and we also had good laughs together.

Building Garden Covers

Another group built garden covers for the plants by scratch with wood and nails. The purpose of these covers were to trap heat inside to kill off harmful organisms, muhch like the solarization we did the day before. Since it was a repetitive task, overtime, we developed a system to get it done faster and more efficient. We were able to complete 10 covers in a few hours. Now people can get fresh produce without worrying about animals and/or bugs.

Trash Cleanup

We also picked up trash in a two-mile radius from the church. This project was hard and sluggish as the heat increased. Although it felt physically horrible, we realized we were helping the environment and keeping the community beautiful. This project gave me a perceptive on how we should treat the environment and was incredibly rewarding.

In service,