Students got some good exercise recently while giving back to the Abu Dhabi community. Fifteen NYUAD students and a few staff members kayaked through the mangroves to a neighboring island and spent a few hours cleaning and picking up garbage.

Led by Noukhada Adventure Company, participants spent about 45 minutes kayaking to the island before collecting everything from bottles to a tire to a multitude of single shoes, their efforts filling about 20 bags with litter. But it wasn't all work and no play; some students chose to kayak around the island, while others took a dip in the "swimming hole" located on the other side of the mangroves. A few students even enjoyed a rousing game of frisbee football on the sand.

For Laith Aqel (NYUAD '14) the trip provided relief from the hustle and bustle of a metropolitan city. "The best part of the experience was taking a walk through the mangroves afterward. It's easy to forget the simply beauty of nature in a city teeming with fast cars and faster construction projects, yet this island offered a brief reprieve from the urban jungle that is Abu Dhabi."

The students gathered for a picture at the edge of the water before heading back to Sama Tower. Their first activity upon arrival? "Showering off all the sand and sea salt!"