Breaking With Tradition

Enjoy a (Scientific) Adventure

Spring break is about taking a vacation from school. But if biology class was always like this, would we ever leave campus?

Consider: sitting on a boat off the coast of Puerto Rico, dropping "hydrophones" into the water and recording humpback whale songs, then at night, shacking up in a fully furnished beachside vacation home.

It comes courtesy of the Earthwatch Institute, a 35-year-old non-profit outdoor-education group based in Maynard, Mass. And it's just one of several offerings to get you thinking in more specific ways about protecting the environment.

Also, you can study grey whale feeding habits (they like shrimp, too) in the waves off Mexico's Baja peninsula. At night, after mooring the boat, camp out by the Laguna San Ignacio, where Mexican chefs whip up fresh salsa.

In addition, Earthwatch offers a trip to through a mangrove ecosystem in Mexico near Jalisco, also on the Pacific coast, where surveying birds also will have you paddling about in a kayak. And though you don't need to speak Spanish, it could be a good time to hone your skills.

Best part: All this studying in the sun can, if your college says yes, score you some college credit.

Build Homes for the Needy

Natural disasters aren't the only reason to put up homes. People living in poverty -- and there a lot of them in this country -- need roofs over their heads all the time.

Habitat for Humanity's "Collegiate Challenge," a 17-year-old program, recognizes this fact and encourages spring-breakers to sign up for one of its trips.

Though there are 200 possibilities to choose from, this year the most popular options so far are New Orleans, Miami and Sea Island, S.C., managers said.

In Sea Island, for example, the 60 volunteers there could find themselves doing anything from raising walls to painting them, depending on the state of the homes once they arrive. It's not all work, however; Sea Islanders can hit the beach in the afternoon and occasionally there's entertainment (more guitar-and-bonfire than rave) at night.

Also, you may have to pay something, but usually no more than $200, which is used for "hosting costs," managers said. But the payoff can be huge.

"In exchange for their building efforts, students learn firsthand about poverty housing issues and about how they can make a meaningful difference today, as well as in the future," said Alynn Woodson, a Collegiate Challenge manager, in a statement.

Aid the Environment

People need help, but so does the natural world, and the Sierra Club is there to give it some assistance.

Called "service trips," the week-long expeditions typically involve habitat restoration in an exotic location.

So many of the trips sell out early, because they are extremely popular. However, some tantalizing openings are still available.

Along the San Andreas Fault line, in the wilderness of southern California, students can remove fences and invasive weeds that get in the way of migrating birds and stay in an old ranch-style home at night, with all meals taken care of, for $395.

Or they can head to Arizona's Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge where, again, old fences and other garbage need to be cleared out here so pronghorn deer can roam more freely across the sweeping grasslands ($575).

The cheapest available trip with openings, though, is in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. There, folks with some muscles can cut fallen trees and clear dead leaves as part of trail maintenance along the Buffalo National River. But, to give your arms a rest, you can throw a canoe in the water and chill out ($375). Ah, wilderness!

--