Eighth-grade students from San Lucas and San Ardo schools teamed up with California State Parks staff in the Big Sur area last month to uproot invasive vegetation and restore critical redwood habitats.

For three days, the students helped restore wilderness areas in the service-learning program provided by The Nature Corps, a nonprofit conservation organization that recruits volunteers to preserve national parks. The program is sponsored by Chevron.

Last year was the first time that the Nature Corps partnered with the San Lucas and San Ardo schools.

From May 23 to May 26, the Monterey County eighth-graders worked alongside park staff to learn how a science, technology, engineering and math-based plan is being used to preserve Big Sur’s world-renowned coastline.

For many students, this was their first time visiting a state park and camping under the stars. Jose Ayala, 14, from San Antonio School said participating in the program helped him understand the importance of parks.

“They aren’t just picnic places, or a playground, they are home to many plants and animals,” Ayala said. “I want to go camping again because of this trip. The beautiful redwood trees, and the singing of the birds soothe my ears.”

The students uprooted invasive nonnative vegetation overtaking critical wildlife habitat along the Big Sur River and the redwood groves.

The Nature Corps explained that without the student’s intervention, the habitat would transition into a monoculture, leaving the area useless and harming wildlife that rely on the area for feeding and breeding habitat.

Since 1987, The Nature Corps has organized hundreds of volunteers to preserve and restore fragile wilderness ecosystems within national parks. The organization also offers a variety of youth programs and “voluntours” in several national parks throughout the country and provides companies with all-inclusive employee volunteer opportunities.