Seven UCA students spent a big portion of their Spring Break building a section of the Buffalo River Trail at the Buffalo National River.
Hunter Mays (student trip leader), Kayla Griffis, Jennie RaeLeigh Narisi, Bailey Williams, Matthew Iesue, Elizabeth Earl, and Tiffany Pruitt worked under the direction of retired National Park Service employee Ken Smith and alongside DePaul University students and outdoor recreation director John Washo and Frank MacMurray, president of Wilderness Volunteers, as well as UCA alum Rose Meurer. From March 19 -26, the students used heavy hand tools to clear ground, move rocks, and create an even path for almost half a mile of trail through rugged terrain.
The work week gave the students an opportunity to explore careers in the National Parks as well as commune in the great outdoors with students from radically different backgrounds. Students also benefited from talking with Smith, who started the campaign to save the Buffalo from damming fifty years ago and who is the author of several books on the history and geography of the Buffalo River. Students connected their work to UCA classes in Environmental History, Anthropology of the Ozarks, and Environmental Science. For example, Hunter Mays interviewed Smith for his Environmental History research paper.
The trip was supported with funding by the College of Liberal Arts’ Educating for Global Engagement (EDGE) program as well as the Ozark Society. Faculty member Dr. Kim Little of the History Department and volunteer Richard McFadden of Conway facilitated the trip and supervised the students.