完美体育 volunteers travel to North Carolina to help with Tropical Storm Helene farm cleanup

Student volunteers use shovels to remove red clay from the land

Eckerd students shovel red clay at an Asheville residence during a storm-recovery service trip. Photos by David Himmelfarb

David Himmelfarb, Ph.D., and Jessie Fly, Ph.D., had never thought a return trip to Western North Carolina with 完美体育 students would be a cleanup mission.

Last summer, Himmelfarb and Fly had spent several weeks near Asheville, North Carolina, developing a course centered on food culture and the environment. Two of those people were Eckerd alumni Leonora Stefanile 鈥�11, garden manager at the in Black Mountain, and Thomas Leonard 鈥�12, co-founder of , an agroforestry nonprofit. Both Leonora and Thomas had been instrumental in founding the 完美体育 Community Farm, a 1-acre plot that provides fruits and vegetables to the College and serves as an outdoor classroom and event venue.

But in late September 2024, Tropical Storm Helene had devastated the Asheville area. It is still recovering.

So Eckerd鈥檚 objective changed. In early June, Environmental Studies Instructor, Internship Coordinator and Community Farm Faculty Director Himmelfarb and Associate Professor of Anthropology Fly joined Eckerd Farm Manager Maggie Jensen 鈥�11 on a mission. They loaded up an Eckerd van and鈥攁long with seven students, several of them from the farm鈥檚 summer crew鈥攎ade a 12-hour, 650-mile service trip to North Carolina.

Two students seated in a garden bed with greens growing around them

Students volunteer at a North Carolina community farm.

The cohort鈥檚 home base was Warren Wilson College, a private liberal arts school near Asheville whose president, Dami谩n Fern谩ndez, Ph.D., had served as Eckerd鈥檚 president from 2020鈥�2022. 鈥淭hat area was so severely hit,鈥� Himmelfarb says. 鈥淲e wanted to give back to the people who had been so gracious and welcoming to us. And Maggie, who also helped establish the community farm and is close friends with Leonora, had the same idea.鈥�

Much of the work was debris removal at local farms and homes. 鈥淭here was a lot of destruction,鈥� says Dakota Warnsley, a rising sophomore environmental studies student from Nashville, Tennessee. 鈥淪o many trees are down; some roads are still out 鈥� nine months later, and it鈥檚 still a work in progress. But I also saw a lot of beauty and a lot of optimism and community spirit.

Woman in gloves and straw hat smiles while standing in a dirt plot as volunteers work alongside a truck in the background

Eckerd Farm Manager Maggie Jensen 鈥�11 joined the mission.

鈥淲e helped clean up debris at community farms where people are able to get organic food for free. And the people we met could not say thank you enough. It was like they knew we understood how this was a very hard thing for them to go through.”

鈥淚鈥檝e done community cleanup, but not like this,鈥� Dakota adds. 鈥淭he damage seen in Asheville was extensive, but I felt happy to be a part of a group that aided in helping this community.鈥�

Madison Prikryl, a rising senior environmental studies student from Schroon Lake, New York, who serves as a community farm ambassador, said the Eckerd team also helped the farm crew at Warren Wilson mend fences and relocate cattle and sheep. They also worked at , a nearby nonprofit that provides free organic produce to communities in need.

鈥淚t was really incredible to meet Leonora at the Wilson Community Garden,鈥� Madison says. 鈥淚t was a full-circle moment for a lot of us. It shows what people have gone on to do with their careers.鈥�

A group of nine adults and children stand around a sign that reads ROOT CAUSE

The Eckerd crew put in time at a nonprofit that provides free organic produce to communities in need.

But the most impactful day was the last one, Madison remembers. It involved shoveling red clay out of the home of Mark Dempsey, a graduate student at Clemson University who works for the . 鈥淎 woman stopped her car and honked her horn and thanked us. That was the motivation we needed to get through the day.

鈥淎nd when we finished,鈥� Madison recalls, 鈥渨e scattered sunflower seeds in the yard. Mark said when the plants emerge, it鈥檒l be a nice reminder of what can happen when people help other people after a disaster. He said there鈥檚 a big surge of attention right afterward, but then FEMA leaves and people stop coming to help.鈥�

Madison, who hopes to join the Peace Corps after she graduates, said that, like Dakota, she learned through the experience that 鈥測ou don鈥檛 need a big group to make a difference in people鈥檚 lives, and that these things [hurricanes] will keep happening unless we decide to make protecting the environment a serious issue.鈥�

Funding for the trip was provided by Eckerd鈥檚 General Education and Reflective Service Learning programs and by money raised through the farm鈥檚 plant sales. 鈥淲e had a fantastic group who brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm,鈥� Himmelfarb says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really empowering for students to provide direct service to people who need it, and the need there is astounding.

鈥淭his was the same storm that flooded our area,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭o see what it did to our campus and then to the people who live hundreds of miles away 鈥� Clearing up inside of people鈥檚 homes, picking up the siding and flooring that just a few months ago was somebody鈥檚 life. But everyone who went was moved by how even a small group can help.

鈥淲e鈥檙e talking now about beginning every summer with a service trip.鈥�