Critical Service Learning and the Affective Arc: Using Privilege for Good?

"They thought they were going to college to learn how to save the world, but instead they are asked to deconstruct cherished beliefs— in their own moral righteousness, in the belief that Nature can be saved, and in their concept of Nature itself." --Dr. Sarah Ray, Professor and Program Leader of Environmental Studies at HSU

Well then, if the above statement does not sum up the past 2 years of college at Humboldt State, then I don't know what does. 

The senior capstone service learning project I have decided to tackle is an attempt at gathering and collecting my deconstructed privileges and abilities, and using them for good. Will I succeed? Meh, that's beside the point. ;-)

I have been an avid hiker since my family introduced me in my youths to Yosemite's trek up to Half Dome, and the SF Bay Area coastal hills. 

 I then decided to turn those years of hiking into a profession and construct hiking trails for a living. 
 However, the twist is: I hadn't recognized my privilege of being able to access those trails until I took a "Power and Privilege" Environmental Studies course at HSU. Lots of "uncomfortable self-reflection" went into recognizing my "established normative positions" on the realization that some have physical limitations that seclude them from ever getting to experience the places I had been (Ray).

This is tough. This is also why I chose to turn my service learning project into a "critical service learning" experience to try and dig a little deeper into "becoming an agent of social equality via critical analysis" after considering the "misdistribution of power in social contexts" surrounding accessibility in the outdoors (Davis). 

I am therefore, widening a trail for wheelchair use that goes from the main hub at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center, out to the beach, and spread the word to the community as to why "promoting inclusively and dismantling long standing privileges fostered by maintenance of the statues quo" aka restricting access to hiking trails for only "able-bodied" people should be checked.  

NOW....will I boil down social stratification into a heterogeneous yummy soup full of flavor? Probably not, but, this is my attempt at encouraging fractal changes and doing what I can with what I have gained from Environmental Studies.