Dirt Don’t Hurt

Conservation is a huge part of my life- it’s both my passion and how I got to where I am today.  It would be an understatement to say that the conservation life is a large part of who I’ve become as well. 

It’s hard to say when it all began.  There isn’t a date or event where I could tell you when my obsession for the outdoors began.  Born to parents who are city folks, it’s a mystery to some that I would rather spend the summer outdoors and under the stars rather staying in Seattle.  An unknown force pulls at my heartstrings when I see evergreen trees and snow capped mountains, knowing that the most wonderful of days await me.  It goes without saying that those wild and free days are typically accompanied by the best people I’ll ever meet. 

Winter retreat YESC

Yellowstone with YESC 2009

In high school I was part of a club called Earthcorps.  We recycled cans and bottles within the school and had a partnership with the YMCA Earth Service Corps (YESC) who held monthly service projects around King County.  YESC was my gateway to the conservation world and exposed teenage me to all sorts of adventures that I never would’ve had otherwise.  With seasonal retreats, service projects, and summer trips I fell deeper in love with nature and the bounties it promised. 

 

 

 

Outward Bound 2007

Through YESC I was able to go on a multi-week Outward Bound white water rafting trip with a crew of other teens in the majestic brilliant Southwest.  We lost track of time, rising when the sun did and sleeping when night fell.  The desert sky held the most stars I have ever seen to this day.  Days were spent paddling and the meals we cooked each evening were out of this world.  Outward Bound might’ve been my first experience in meeting folks that I might never see again but would be happy to share a meal with any time. 

YESC introduced me to one of my favourite activities: trail work.  It’s the building and maintaining of trails and one summer they teamed up with the Washington Trails Association (WTA, check them out at www.wta.org !) for a youth volunteer vacation.  A crew of capable young women, YESC/YMCA staff, and a couple of WTA leaders equated to a fantastic week in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  We worked just North of Mount St. Helens, brushing and restoring tread on a trail that hadn’t received much love in years.  Although I’ve used various hand tools before I met the Pulaski for the first time as well was the McLeod (the value of which I would learn years later).  The work we got done was incredibly empowering.  And again the meals were always solid- there’s something about dinners after a day of doing work outside, knowing that you had a cozy tent waiting.  I’ve yet to had a terrible meal when camping. 

WTA camp 2009

WTA with YESC 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Canyon, SCA ASB 2010

Satellite Nursery, SCA ASB 2010

 Time passed and I was on my way to wrapping up my associates degree fall 2010 without much direction.  The only thing for certain was that I didn’t want to transfer to a university right away.  It was summer of 2010 and previously in March I had gone on an alternative spring break trip with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) to the Grand Canyon where 30 college students from around the United States did service projects instead of partying in the tropics.  There’s nothing like sleeping below the sky, frozen by the yipping howl of coyotes and the knowledge that cougars circled the campgrounds at night.  Fact because you went to a presentation by a ranger who had solid data from a tracking collar.  This was yet another instance in which friends that you might only ever see once came about. 

 

SCA NH: Learning what it means to actually snow

Murder mystery in the lodge; photo credit to Emily Lord

My friend Lauren gave me the obvious answer to my question of what to do post community college.  “Why don’t you get an internship with SCA?” and so I ended up in New Hampshire for 10 months in the middle of a state park with 30 or so other folks in their 20s (two of us were 19 at the start).  SCA New Hampshire Corps has been an a major player in the decisions I’ve made the last few years.  About four months of environmental education in local elementary schools with six months of down and dirty conservation work and I was as happy as could be.  

 

SCA NH: Jeremy Burns taking inventory of tools

 I’ve been lucky enough to see some of the folks I befriended in New Hampshire again, some several times.  Others I’ve yet to meet up in the three years since we split but I’m positive we’ll meet up one day.  SCA NH has also introduced me to many other people in the conservation world and likewise I’ve met people who have been impacted by the corps life.  Corps life is one that can never be fully explained because it is happiness, madness, and so much more. This year two of my fellow corps members from NH Corps have started their own corps in Tennessee.  The Great Smoky Mountains to be precise!  Sean and Heather are living the dream and continuing SCA’s legacy on youth and could really use some help in making their first season a success.  Check out Smoky Mountain Corps to support what is already a great endeavour.  You can also learn more about them on their Facebook page and read about how they’ll be impacting crews of young folks and the communities that they are connected to.

 

 

 

SCA NH: Sill bridge built in the White Mountains NF; photo credit to Emily Cook

Where’s Home?

The question is asked of me more often than not.  Living in areas where the population tends to be a homogenous group usually prompts people to wonder about origin.  My automatic answer is Washington.  However I’m of the belief that home can be more than one place.

Home is without a doubt the mountain rich lands of the Northwest with its evergreen forests and enchanting rivers.  It’s also the idyllic woods of New Hampshire in a restored CCC camp, a house right by a Rhode Island pond, and currently the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota.  My work leads me to new places and so I am uprooted, only to leave part of myself when the time comes to leave yet again.  In the fall it’ll be Bellingham for the third time.   

Memories ranging in emotions and feelings are created in all these places.  They are forever etched into my heart.  At times I’ve both lost myself and found who I am, forever building on my identity.  I meet amazing folks and our paths go separate ways but it’s when I least expect it that they might just cross again.  Life is a constant adventure filled with surprises. 

Flying into Minneapolis

With every bagged packed, flight flown, and road trip taken the phrase ‘home is where the heart is’ becomes even more true.  Although I automatically think of the bunkhouse when I hear the word ‘home’ while living in Minnesota I know that one day when the seasonal/nomadic life becomes tiresome (a possibility I have a hard time considering), in the end Washington is where I belong.  I can’t fathom not being surrounded by the Cascades and the Olympics with the Salish Sea always within walking or biking distance.  Western red cedars rise majestically while Douglas fir makes up much of our forests.  The steppes, deserts, and grasslands East of the Cascades are gorgeous in their own rights.  The weather is temperate and the summers are beyond spectacular.  These are a few of the many reasons why my heart belongs in Washington. 

Three and a half weeks in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and I’m feeling fairly settled in.  My pal E. Cook even hooked me up with a sweet birthday gift to help with the transition. 

Care package makes my (birth)day

Minnesota nice is an accurate term as the people here are good and kind.  Everyone in the office and bunkhouse has been grand to work or live with. 

Spectacular sunsets

The Bunkhouse!

While I call Minnesota home I’ll be sporadically blogging about working for the US Forest Service as a pathways intern (timber).  Writing’s never been my strong suit so expect more pictures than words once I figure that out.  I also really enjoy snail mail shoot me a message if you would like my address.  Additionally this is my first summer not with the SCA in three years.  If you’re looking for a road trip take note- 4 out of 6 folks will be leaving the bunkhouse mid-August and I’ll be here until mid-September so it’ll be pretty quiet.  Feel free to visit!