Today I got the chance to help lead a group tour. The group consisted of children and their parents one of the children had a birthday. For the child's 12th birthday the birthday boy helped to plant a beach plum tree along the side of the trail. It is great to see young people wanting to help the environment and learn more about the ecosystem. I felt very proud that I was able to give a tour which helped make someone's day special. 

I have had a great first week as a resource interpretation intern with the National Parks Service. On Monday, I reported for work at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel New York. I have lived in New York my entire life and I never knew about my site until the time of my internship. The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area which encompasses many more properties managed by the National Parks Service. The refuge is home to a diverse array of…

My work day began at 2pm. The wildlife crew piled into a couple cars and took off towards the main office. I got a tour of the place and acquired field equipment for the summer, including binoculars, a handheld GPS, a headlamp, a flashlight, a personal first aid kit, a bee sting kit, and an oh-so-fashionable vest with lots of pockets. Melissa (crew leader) took us out to Juanita Lake to look for owl "artifacts" as a training activity. First, we stopped on the side of a road and looked at an…

The …

Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy (CMLC), located in Hendersonville, North Carolina, has protected more than 30,000 acres of lands that you love—and need—along the Blue Ridge Escarpment, French Broad River Valley, Hickory Nut Gorge, and beyond since its inception in 1994.

CMLC is seeking to fill its Trails Associate position, an 11-month AmeriCorps service opportunity.

CMLC AmeriCorps Trails Associate will assist in the advancement and promotion of public outdoor recreation…

Hello again!

It's been a while since I've posted, but it's also been a while since I've been able to really work. School seems to do that to ya! 

School Update:

This past semester was a WHALE. Two bi-term classes, one after the other, and a…

                For my second round of service,I worked with the Pacific Northwest Regional Office of the  National Parks Service.

I never thought I’d have an opportunity to work with the National Parks Service. Even less so, working with the NPS and being stationed…

Today, Ranger Kim Wentland brought a group of high school students on a tour of Coronado Cave and she allowed myself and my co-intern Darren to tag along with the group. The hike up to the cave was pretty steep, although only half a mile, it felt much longer.

Getting down into the cave was pretty tricky because the entrance was very slippery. We had to hold on as we climbed our way down into the cave floor. The cave goes back about 600 feet and has a few truly massive…

photo of the ruins of the cavalry barracks.

Last Wednesday, we were sent to Fort Bowie to collect as much information as possible and learn about another park in the Southeast…

I spent my summer in the 802 (Vermont), near the Southern shores of Lake…

I'm going to begin this post apologizing for how long it's been since I posted! I kept sitting down to do it and felt overwhelmed at what all I could talk about.  

Since the last post, things haven't been too overly exciting just wet. Either from rain or sweat. In a single week, our Air Quality site measured right at seven inches of rain! So that combined with a common heat index nearly 100 degrees, there hasn't been an overly pleasant week for the outdoor worker in a while.

I…

 We just completed our first two hitches: the first in Denali National Park and the second in Chugach State Park. We were excited to get to work after our two weeks of training, and even more excited to get to see Denali and do some exotic species management in the park. When we arrived in the park, the clouds were so low that we couldn't see  much of the mountain range. We still got to see plenty of wildlife and beautiful sights, though. We spent our first week in Denali working near the…

This past week has been something. I was out for a week in June to help with a summer camp. While I was at this camp, our Air Quality station was struck by lightning. We lost all of our air analyzers, one of our meteorology towers, and parts of our water collection system. Fortunately, no one was hurt and repairs started immediately. Now, two and a half weeks later, we are still repairing and discovering issues.…

First off, I want to apologize for not writing up until now. I always sit down, open this page, and do absolutely nothing. I decide I'll write it later and move on to the next thing. Well, today I will do differently. 

My first two months here at Mammoth Cave National Park were nothing extraordinary. I went to school (I'm a Meteorology major, Floodplain Management minor, and American Sign Language minor at Western Kentucky University), trained for my job, went to school. I only worked…

I saw my first pod of dolphins this weekend. We were skimming the water on a little boat through a maze of canals in the web of marshland surrounding the Golden…

It's easy to understand the history of pest control and its role in agriculture, and even gardening and everyday housekeeping. Our species has always prioritized food security and the discovery of pesticides and conventional (modern) farming have been key to achieving it.

We've gone far but also sacrificed much on the way. Large-scale chemical pest control has left a footprint of…

Well, I had finally made it to Georgia. Before me, like a white beacon in a sea of grass off the highway stood the Butler House, an impressive three story plantation house and soon to be home. It was with trepidation that I walked into my new dwelling, a box of books in one arm and a bag of clothes in the other.

I had researched this place already and learned quite a bit about its impressive history. The house itself was rebuilt in 1925, but the plantation had once been one…

       Time to get your Core Muscles ready  

says  Margaret Belton  Certified Personal Trainer since 1982 

         If you want to avoid major back problems, pulled hamstrings and sore neck/shoulders you might want to start paying attention to your…

Ever since I received my offer for my position in Georgia about a month ago, my life has been a whirlwind. If you don't believe me, let me just give you a run down on the events leading up to my arrival in the Georgian Golden Isles.

I receive the offer a week before April. I lived the last six year of my life in Northern California where I went to college. It is a beautiful and secluded place about three hours from any form of civilization and eight hours from where my family lives…