Michelle Cuomo recently returned from what she calls a “life changing” experience, as part of a team of young volunteers working to restore a fragile ecosystem in New Zealand.
For the 20-year-old Drayton resident, who will enter her second year of environment and resource studies at the University of Waterloo this fall, the New Zealand project offered by International Student Volunteers (ISV) seemed tailor-made to provide a summer of educational experience and adventure.
While the volunteer project fit well with her field of study, Cuomo had other reasons for selecting New Zealand from among the various international experiences offered by ISV.
“I’ve heard it’s a good place to visit – that it’s so beautiful,” she said. “Also, it’s called the adrenalin capital of the world, so why not do it when you’re young, with a bunch of other young people?”
On June 21, Cuomo set out for New Zealand along with 39 other ISV volunteers, including nine others from various Canadian locales, and the rest from across the United States.
Upon arrival in New Zealand they were divided into smaller groups, with Cuomo and six others assigned to Motuihe Island.
Located in the Haruiki Gulf, a 30-minute boat ride from the New Zealand capital of Auckland, the island was once used for farming and was the site of a military base during the Second World War.
ISV has been helping to plant thousands of trees since 2006 to assist with efforts to return the island to its natural state.
“It’s not a big island, so it’s a very achievable goal,” notes Cuomo.
For the first two weeks of the trip, her group worked at planting about 150 native trees and plants.
“We also did a lot of preparation for community groups, who come out and plant on the island.”
The ISV volunteers work included putting up nesting boxes for various types of birds, including the Kiwi and Little Blue Penguin, to encourage them to populate the island.
Clearing of invasive weeds, cleaning up beaches, painting fences and installing informational signs along the island’s walking trails were among the other tasks in which the volunteers engaged.
Cuomo said the work, while physical, was not overly demanding.
“The project leaders were very good about keeping it fun and educational,” she said.
The nature of the projects also made the work very satisfying, she notes.
“You basically did feel – at the end of the day – like you accomplished something,” she said.
After the two-week volunteer project was completed, it was time for the adventure portion of the trip to begin. The second half of the month-long excursion was spent seeing the sights and experiencing the thrills available to visitors.
Luging was among the first activities the group tried out. Unlike the Olympic ice sport of the same name, this involved coasting down a mountain trail on a go-cart-like vehicle.
“You have to try and steer the thing, but at the same time you’re trying to look around,” Cuomo recalled.
Hiking on the Franz Joseph Glacier was another memorable experience for a student with a keen interest in the environment. A helicopter took participants to the upper reaches of the glacier, where they had the opportunity to walk on the ancient ice and wonder at its massive scale.
Rafting, both on black water and white water, were also on the agenda.
Black water rafting is basically “caving,” Cuomo explains. Participants lower themselves into natural limestone caves on a harness, then tour the caves on foot, on tubes through an underground river and, at one point, on a zip line in the dark. At another spot the group turned off their lights and looked up at the cave ceiling, which was covered with luminous glow worms.
“It seemed like being outside at night,” said Cuomo.
For Cuomo, the highlight of the trip, the biggest adrenaline rush, was the opportunity to go bungee jumping at the Nevis Highwire platform. The highest bungee jump in New Zealand and the third highest in the world, jumpers reach the platform by a shuttle through the backcountry from Queensland, then a gondola ride to the jumping pod, which is suspended on a cable 134 metres above the Nevis River.
After a “swan dive” off the platform, Cuomo says she experienced a great deal during the eight second free fall.
“You can’t scream. Not because you don’t want to scream, but because you’re taking it all in, the rushing water, being surrounded by the mountains …”
And afterwards, she said, “You just can’t stop smiling.”
For Cuomo, who first learned about “pushing your comfort zone,” and “stepping out of who you are,” as a Grade 10 student in the Community Environmental Leadership Program (CELP) at Norwell District Secondary School in Grade 10, the New Zealand trip provided all she could ask.
“It was definitely life changing. I don’t think I’m the same person I was before – that’s in the best way possible.”
