On Saturday, February 21st, the Florida Chapter participated in Project Makeover.  Project Makeover is a student-run nonprofit at the University of Florida that chooses an elementary school in Alachua County to makeover each year.  The projects are focused on improving the learning environment for students, whether it is through grounds beautification or the introduction of new learning tools.  This year's school was Metcalfe Elementary, and the overarching theme of the project was "play".  Our time at Project Makeover was spent beautifying one of the school's playgrounds.  We raked up bags and bags of leaves and pine needles, and we collected pine cones to be used for art projects.  Project Makeover was a perfect way to get connected to the community in a way we hadn't before, and we look forward to participating again in the future to help improve local education where we can.

On Saturday, February 7th, brothers from the Florida Chapter spent the morning at Wilmot Gardens.  Wilmot Gardens is a 5 acre area located on campus.  The garden serves the UF community as well as the patients receiving care at the Shands Medical Plaza adjacent to campus.  Wilmot Gardens is currently undergoing a restoration project that is focused on creating healing and meditation areas.  During our service at Wilmot Gardens, we helped with ground and plant maintenance for areas included in the restoration project.  The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed getting our hands dirty while contributing to a garden with such a great mission for our community!

During our spring break, brothers of the Florida Chapter performed our first ever Spring Break Service Trip to Key West. I began planning this trip during the fall semester when I contacted the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to see if we could volunteer with their agency. The sanctuary protects approximately 3,000 square nautical miles of coral reefs, sea grass meadows, mangroves, and sea flats with the goal of educating the public about the varieties of impacts, pressures, and ...