Advancing Resilient Biodiversity through Outreach, Repair, Education, Teamwork, Unity and Mentorship

Authors

• Isaiah Sawyer, University of Central FloridaFollow
• Reginald Andre, University of Central FloridaFollow
• Yotam Shanun, University of Central FloridaFollow
• Brendan Casal, University of Central FloridaFollow

Streaming Media

Files

Course Code

LDR

Course Number

2002

Faculty/Instructor

Professor Esther Mandelbaum

Faculty/Instructor Email

esther.mandelbaum@ucf.edu

About the Author

Hello! We are a group of LEAD Scholars students at UCF. Driven by our shared passion for the outdoors and a commitment to bettering our campus, we partnered with the UCF Arboretum for our service-learning project.

We would like to thank Kelsie Johnson, the UCF Arboretum staff and student leaders, our professor, and our fellow LEAD Scholars peers for their guidance and for providing us with the opportunity to make an impact in our campus community.

Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement

We partnered with the UCF Arboretum to support their mission of creating vibrant, educational spaces that protect our local environment. Our project took us across several unique campus areas: we spent time in the Cypress Dome clearing away invasive vines, worked in the community garden pulling weeds and remulching beds, and explored the nature preserve to document local biodiversity. To tie our physical labor back to our growth as leaders, we documented our service work by creating a culture audit which allowed us to analyze our project's impact and the specific leadership strategies we used to stay organized. These hands-on activities taught us a great deal about the effectiveness of independent teamwork. Since we were often given a broad objective and left to manage ourselves, we had to communicate clearly and divide into smaller groups to get the job done right. This experience was a great way to meet new people and feel a deeper sense of ownership over the natural beauty of our campus. By the end of the semester, we built upon our leadership skills and analytical tools that will assist us in our future academic and career ventures.

Keywords

Service-Learning; UCF; HIP Showcase; Arboretum; UCF Arboretum; LEAD Scholars; LEAD Scholars Academy; HIP; H.I.P; H.I.P Showcase; HIP Student Showcase; H.I.P Student Showcase; Amy Zeh H.I.P Student Showcase; Amy Zeh HIP Student Showcase; Amy Zeh High Impact Practice Student Showcase; High Impact Practice Student Showcase; High Impact Practice Showcase; University of Central Florida; Freshman; Freshmen; Outside; Outdoors; Community; Service; Community Service; Garden; Community Garden; Cypress Dome; Student Union; UCF Student Union; Natural; Natural Lands; UCF Nature Preserve; Nature Preserve; Invasive; Invasive Plants; Skunkvine; Belt Transect; Urban Agriculture; Bioblitz; Invasive Plants; Invasive Plant Removal; Entomological and Botanical Bioblitz; Entomological Society; UCF Entomological Society; UCF LEAD Scholars; UCF LEAD Scholars Academy; Documentary; Nature Documentary; Summary; Nature Walk; Trees; Plants; Animals; Bugs; Wildlife; Vegetation; Horticulture; Biology; Outside; Orlando; Orlando Florida; Florida; Central Florida; Knights; Knightro; Citronaut; Go Knights; Charge On

Recommended Citation

Sawyer, Isaiah; Andre, Reginald; Shanun, Yotam; and Casal, Brendan, "Advancing Resilient Biodiversity through Outreach, Repair, Education, Teamwork, Unity and Mentorship" (2026). High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026. 68.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hip-2026spring/68