Service Learning: UNA Students Commit Spring Break to Volunteer Efforts

Mar. 18, 2010

FLORENCE, Ala. – Animal welfare and nature conservation will be the priorities of 22 University of North Alabama students next week as they donate their spring break to volunteer efforts in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.

A group of 14 going to Chattanooga will work on nature conservation projects through the Reflection Riding arboretum and botanical garden.

“Students will be working with that agency to learn about conservation and plant life. Students are going to be getting a lot out of it,” said senior Scotty Rainwater, president of the UNA Alternative Break Board.

The group will also be camping and will have opportunities to explore downtown Chattanooga.

A group of eight students headed to Ft. Walton Beach will work with two animal shelters, Panhandle Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) and Rescue Unwanted Furry Friends (RUFF).

“They will be helping those organizations with painting facilities and tending to animals while they are there,” Rainwater said.

Last October, during the UNA fall break, the Alternative Break Board sent a group of 20 students to work with Lincoln Village Ministries in Huntsville on a variety of community projects.