Live to Give – Jersey Trash Sponsors Study Abroad Environmentalists
As you know, Jersey Trash Clothing fully supports those actively living their dreams! Read on to learn more about Rutgers New Brunswick student, Colin Mussbrucker, and his mission to help save the world!!!
I would like to start this entry by saying big ups to the guys at Jersey Trash Clothing for sponsoring me on my trip to New Zealand. It is Tuesday morning two days, fifteen hours, and fifty-five minutes until my flight to New Zealand, currently in LA with my college roommate, waiting to embark on what many of my friends and family say will be experience of a lifetime. Thursday night at eleven forty-five I’m scheduled to meet up at LAX with the other members of the Kuaka group from the International Student Volunteers (ISV) for my flight to Auckland, New Zealand. Upon arrival, we will travel to our quarters, the Aongatete Lodge, where we will be staying for the duration of our conservation project.
Let me explain how ISV operates so you guys can get a better understanding of what I will be doing in New Zealand. ISV sends out former participants to colleges internationally throughout the school year to recruit new participants for the summer’s projects, meanwhile in the various host countries, such as New Zealand, Costa Rica, Australia, Thailand, etc., there are ISV representatives finding work for the projects. There are two categories in which one may choose when accepted to travel with ISV: social work, and conservation. I chose conservation because I am an environmental science major and felt it relevant to my studies.
My conservation project will be planting native plants (shrubs, trees, etc.) where there is deforestation, and thus danger of soil erosion and species depletion. Last year the participants worked in a new home development, where the land has been cleared and the soil exposed, planting various plants. Needless to say development can destroy an ecosystem, so ISV has us volunteers restoring the ecosystem with native plants so native animals can move back into the area, preventing them from migration into habitats where they are not well adapt. This is an attempt to prevent species competition, which could lead to extinction along with preventing water run off into the local water estuary.
Eliminating water run off is important in conserving the water cycle for a number of reasons. One it prevents pollution from directly running into main water systems, such as rivers, that all species use for drinking. Planting shrubs retains the polluted water and filters it into the soil, a filtration system created by nature that cannot be replicated by modern technology. Reason two, for the sake of weather patterns. Without a shrub line more water than normal will directly enter the rivers, resulting in more water in the larger bodies of water, which means more rain, and in turn more extreme weather.
I hope this helps you understand what I will be doing in New Zealand and why conservation of native plants is important in micro ecosystems and even in global climate.
Sincerely,
Colin Mossbrucker
