Students volunteer for Lake Claire trail cleanup

Students were given the opportunity to clean up Lake Claire while getting a tour of the trails Friday morning thanks to an event organized by the UCF arboretum and Volunteer UCF.

VUCF helps out at the arboretum once a month, usually working in the community garden, program coordinator Tina Richards had another idea for this month. The arboretum regularly hosts guided tours and offers environmental education opportunities, so Richards suggested combining a Lake Claire cleanup with a trail tour.

"It just makes sense, that if you're going out to the trails, to make it an educational opportunity," Richards said.

A group of about 10 student volunteers met at the Lake Claire Pavilion at 10 a.m., spending the next 2 hours walking the trails, learning about different plants and animals, and picking up trash.

Derek Collins, a junior in the nursing program, heard about the volunteer event through his honor fraternity Phi Sigma Pi.

"I got to learn a little bit about the plant life," Collins said. "I haven't been around nature in a while. It's nice to get away from the studying."

Richards introduced the group to the American beautyberry, a small purple berry that is actually edible. Junior and criminal justice major Tommy Rhodes was the only one in the group who volunteered to try it.

"The berry did not taste that much like a berry," Rhodes said. "It tasted more like a lima bean and was dry. I'd recommend having some water when you eat it."

The cleanup culminated near the end of the trail behind the Towers, where garbage tends to accumulate. Raccoons regularly pull garbage out of a trash bin located nearby and into the woods.

The arboretum has advocated that measures be taken to keep raccoons from getting into the trash bins. A wooden fence was installed around the bin, but it has been unsuccessful in keeping the animals out. Richards suggested that something with a slick surface could keep them from being able to climb into the bin.

Logan Butler helped coordinate the event and serves on the board of directors of VUCF.

"One of our primary goals was to educate them about the trails and teach them a little about the nature, so they can go and tell all their friends," Butler said.

Butler said he thought the cleanup went very well.

"We're filling up bags here, so that's obviously a need that we're filling."

The volunteers picked up aluminum cans, plastic bottles, plastic bags and empty food containers. Rhodes said his most interesting find was a part of a long steel beam.

The group also found plastic foam, a material Richards said is especially important to pick up. The foam resembles snail eggs, which is a major food source for the entire ecosystem. Animals that mistakenly eat the foam could die.

The trail walk took students through several habitats. According to Richards, there are about five different ecosystems on UCF's campus alone.

"If anyone likes nature, I'd say it's a good thing to do," Rhodes said. "I'd definitely do it in the fall, and it's a good way to give back."