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
Pacific Northwest meets Minnesota 