Participant Comments

"We hadn't gotten too far when Dr. Colbert paused at a log to show us what moss sex looked like. Hard to imagine, yes, but there it was - "biology is all about sex", he said." (SRN '04)

"It was great fun to strengthen friendships by picking up trash with fellow students. Additionally, seeing and interacting with my professors during SRN gave me a better idea of what kind of people they are outside the context of a conventional classroom. Looking back on the experience, I can hardly wait until SRN takes to the river again." (SRN '02)

"I envisioned that there would be a lot of garbage, but I never imagined that people could treat the Earth with such disrespect... The Skunk River Navy was an educational as well as character building experience for all of us." (SRN '04)

"This episode made me realize all of the camaraderie involved with SRN. If someone needed help pushing their canoe through shallow water, or just a hand getting a piece of trash out of the mud, someone else was there to help them, all in the name of a cleaner river." (SRN '04)

"No matter how much information the leaders give; no matter how many details are shared; nothing can fully describe the experience called the "Skunk River Navy". My senses reached record highs and lows as I tromped through the mucky waters with my fellow sailors." (SRN '04)

"I love actually applying biology to my life and knowing it's more than just information in a book." (SRN '05)

"What makes the Skunk River Navy most worthwhile, I believe, is the satisfaction derived from putting in a hard day's work and seeing the outcome. After being tired, sore, cold, and thirsty, I was able to look at the huge heap of trash I had helped pick up and know that I had done something good for the entire community." (SRN '04)

"The Subway, however, was amazing. I didn't think that a flattened sub sandwich with only lettuce and warm water could taste so good. I was wrong." (SRN '04)

"I will also remember Mrs. Colbert and her delicious cookies." (SRN '05)

"When we reached our final destination by a traffic bridge, I remember there being a couple of guys on bicycles who stopped momentarily and surveyed our canoes full of trash. Then, one of them shouted, "thanks for keeping our river clean!" I felt so glad that we had just increased awareness among the city's population." (SRN '04)

DISCLAIMER
By far the majority of student volunteers report positive feelings about their participation in the Skunk River Navy, at least after some reflection, but that is not true of ALL student volunteers. A couple of comments from less-than-happy SRN volunteers:

"Cleaning the Skunk River is an experience all in its own. It's a river, nothing special about it...... I'm not going to pretend that I liked cleaning the river because I didn't. I don't enjoy those kinds of things and I know that some people do, and good for them, someone needs to enjoy doing those things so they get done." - (SRN '04)

"It was horrible.....I was sore for a couple of days after pushing a 500 lb canoe through 3 miles of sand. I got this awesome scar on my leg to remind me always of that crappy day." - (SRN '05)

Which leads us to this Haiku:

"Skunk River Navy
Is very much like the flu
Some get it, some don't"
(SRN '05)