Grounding for New Students via Project Earth Orientation

Project Earth had an out-of-this-world combination: 103 excited first-year students, 14 fabulous orientation leaders, two amazing project directors, dozens of incredible campus and community partners, and the best August weather in recent memory.

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As one of more than 20 orientation immersions, Project Earth connected first-year students to each other, to Duke and to Durham by helping them develop a deeper connection with the Earth while exploring local environments during Orientation Week Aug. 17-22. 

One student said Project Earth had that summer-camp feeling – making bonds with fellow students by doing outdoor activities together. The added benefit: Duke’s newest students were learning about ways to get involved in climate and sustainability from day one.

Over the course of the week, students splashed and paddled at Falls Lake, explored Duke’s environmental opportunities and organizations, got their hands in the dirt at the Campus Farm, explored transects at Duke Forest, channeled their creativity with upcycled crafts, toured hidden gems in downtown Durham and made a lot of friends along the way. 

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Wielding a broadfork at the Duke Campus Farm, Autumn Demelia said, “This is kind of fun. I have never done anything like this before!” 

Working alongside her, Alondra De La Torre said Project Earth has been a fulfilling and enlightening experience. She said, “You can already start impacting a place,” on the first week at Duke.

“I’m excited that there are so many outdoor activities at Duke,” Demelia added. “And it’s great to meet so many down-to-earth people.” 

“No pun intended!” added De La Torre.

A highlight for De La Torre of being part of Project Earth was visiting Duke Forest. 

“Project Earth made the Forest more personal rather than just hiking through it; we learned about it,” said the future environmental science major from California. “With places like the Duke Marine Lab and Duke Forest around me, the possibilities are endless.”

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Demelia, from Maine, is planning to major in global health and Spanish. “But doing [Project Earth] has changed my perspective. I plan to volunteer with some of these activities and take more environmental courses.” 

Engaged, active, connected, involved were the words that Alvaro Caro, Bumjoon Cha, Vivian Lu and Sam Nystrom used to describe Project Earth, an experiential week for Duke orientation.

After picking up trash around Falls Lake, Jaanavi Kaushik of Indiana said, “It’s all of our responsibility.” She plans to study biomedical and environmental engineering.

“I like it - we are going out every day. It’s fun and we are helping the environment at the same time,” said Allen Wilk of New York, who plans to major in economics and environmental policy. He said canoeing at Falls Lake was a highlight. 

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As a student interested in marine science and environmental science, Marissa Payne of Texas said a highlight of Project Earth was meeting people with similar interests right away. “I learned at Duke Forest about the longleaf pine – and using fire as a tool for management through controlled burns,” she said.

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Picking fresh cherry tomatoes off the vine at Duke Campus Farm, orientation leader and sophomore Sarah Munjed said Project Earth is important. “Most freshmen don’t know about Duke Campus Farm or Duke Forest.” As a sustainability ambassador at Duke, she said there are so many ways to give back or get involved – joining student organizations, exploring internships like Green Devils and supporting local businesses and groups.
 

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Photo essay team: Christina Ferrari, Tyler Gibson, Sophia Masciarelli, Lauren Smith Hong, and Kirsten Khire.