How I Finished My Term

By:  Kailyn Wentz - Environmental Education and Outreach Intern - Snohomish Conservation District

Kailyn and Kelsey - P.S. I Love You CampIf you remember from my last blog* I felt good about what I had accomplished while teaching and while I was excited I had no idea what the summer had in store for me. I can now say that the summer and the fall that followed have been fantastic! Here are some highlights from the last 6 months...

• I've assisted on two different compost studies (cutting and weighing pumpkins, and shoveling and sorting composted horse bedding)
• Met an amazing group of kids while working at Sound Salmon Solutions' PS (Puget Sound) I Love You Camp
• Wore some fancy robes and learned all about Conservation Districts while at WADE (Washington Association of District Employees) Training
• Talked with farmers for the SCD's 70^th Anniversary
• Spent my days walking a creek wearing waders and spotting/surveying Knotweed
• Felt a bit like a creeper while out on Livestock surveys
• Helped with the Scriber Creek Restoration Project
• Taught 698 students and 230 community members
• Co-led salmon hatchery tours with the Stillaguamish TribePumpkin compost
• Oh and I co-planned a murder mystery! In the process I learned ALOT about Smokey the Bear and how to plan a murder mystery, but mainly lots and lots about Smokey.

*Although as it turns out I forgot to email the final version to Luke...so hopefully it will find its way to the interwebs soon.

*Kailyn's First Blog (Never too late)*

When I started at the District I was most worried about the teaching environmental education aspect of my position. Would I be able to teach in a way that the students could connect and get excited about? Would I even like teaching in a classroom? There were lots of worries and unknowns but now after teaching 1,367 kids I can say it was an amazing experience! I've had kids tell me, “This was the most awesome science, EVER!” and teachers confided that I was a replacement for field trips they could no longer afford. All of these comments added up to some serious pressure to continue creating awesome experiences that both kids and their teachers will remember.Kailyn's thank you cards

While teaching itself has been both challenging and inspiring, it is the things kids say/do that are the most fun. Here are some of my favorites:

• While teaching the water cycle, precipitation often turns into perspiration and condensation becomes constipation.
• On a nature scavenger hunt a group of kids began excitedly yelling, “A skeleton, a skeleton!” Not specifying what kind of skeleton they found I rushed over, but luckily it was only a fully decomposed deer skeleton. It was hard convincing the kids to not take it home.Ooooo a skeleton!
• After teaching at a preschool, a little girl came over and placed a sombrero on my head. The teacher informed me that I was now a part of their class and I would be lucky if they let me leave. The little girl told me I could buy sombreros at www.sombrero.com or in Mexico.
• The cards, letters, and crafts the kids create are inspiring and it is hard to have a bad day when you read, “You did incredible! You did awesome! You did really amazing!” all on one card.

Now that my spring teaching has wrapped up I am anxious for what the summer might hold and while I have no idea what to expect I am ready for the next adventure.***

***Please refer to the blog post listed above

Making Connections

By:  Drew Schuldt - Riparian Restoration/Outreach Intern - Palouse Conservation District

These folks are tops in my bookAs we all know, NWSA has ended; an event that leaves a heavy heart for a number of people throughout the country, myself included.  As such, I thought I would take some time to think about what NWSA has meant for me, what it’s done, and where it has taken me, directly or indirectly, in the last two years. 

Because of NWSA I have lived in Trout Lake, Wenatchee, and Pullman WA; Oregon City OR, and Lake Arrowhead, CA.  I have spent long stints in Las Vegas, NV and Jackson, WY.  I have spent time exploring the great cities of Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, San Diego and San Francisco, CA.  And I have also been able to see some of the great outdoors that our country has to offer such as Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, the Selway Bitterroot wilderness, the Wenatchee National Forest, the Grand Tetons, Red Rocks, Smith Rocks, and the Sisters in OR.

One of my life changing momentsI have been able to see some of my favorite bands play in Portland and Seattle.  I was able to attend a sci-fi museum and see the original Darth Vader costume, which admittedly was a big moment for me.   I’ve played with Grizzly Bears, visited Barbarian themed towns, and gone to a number of baseball stadiums. I’ve also met some really remarkable people, made some great friends, and worked for some amazing organizations.

When I look back at the last two years I’m pretty amazed at everything I’ve done, both in and outside of work.  It’s these things that make life the great adventure it should be.  While NWSA may be over, my life will continue on, with many of the people I’ve met here, and I know that the spirit of the Academy will live on through all of the people it has touched. 

Catch Me If You Can

By:  Autumn Eckenrod - Education and Outreach Coordinator - West Valley Outdoor Learning Center

 

Autumn educating kids like usual :)I, like the main character of the movie this blog is titled after, have had many professional incarnations. I have gone toe to toe with the Trucking Union rep while working as the acting terminal manager for a trucking company. I have scrubbed walls with bleach at a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant, and I have served extra hot no foam lattes for the nation’s largest coffee shop.  I have wrangled alligators, snakes, giant iguanas and snapping turtles in Florida, have directed short plays and lead improv troupes, and  have caught and counted all kinds of sharks and rays. I have worked the land on an organic farm overlooking the Caribbean Sea, and I have taught science to more students than I can count.  My latest professional incarnation has been working with the West Valley Outdoor Learning Center in Spokane Washington. One of my favorite aspects of my job with the OLC has been how much my job changes day to day. I might spend one day entirely at my desk doing paperwork, but the next I might get to take kids out to catch water bugs in a creek, or take an owl out to meet a couple thousand people, or go kayaking with a group of young scientists. The variety of this job works well with my ADD approach to professional work, and I will be very sad to have it end. I am comforted though that I will be able to add this job to my long list of interesting life experiences, and I am looking forward to venturing out to find the next one!  

Good Advice

By:  Lindsay Gafford - Education and Outreach Coordinator - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Columbia National Wildlife Refuge

Whose advice are you going to listen to?  Getting guidance can be difficult if you’re anywhere near as stubborn as me.  The independent in me wants to do everything my own way, even if that means going down a path with more obstacles.  Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to serve yourself a slice of humble pie and open up to the idea that you can learn from others.  This occurred to me as I found myself taking advice on life from a fictional YouTube sensation named Marcel, the Shell.  I guess I need to adjust my perspective on advice.

Marcel the ShellIf anyone is unfamiliar with this charismatic character, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta9K22D0o5Q

As the viral video was cracking me up, I realized what it was that made it so funny to me.  No matter how great the challenge that a small shell faces living in the big wide world, there’s always a way to deal with it.  I realize how lame it sounds to be so inspired, but I think it’s brave.  It’s easy to look at all the possibilities of your life and become completely overwhelmed by it.  As the holidays approach and my internship comes to an end, I prepare myself for my next move.  I am a rook on the chess board of life.  Sometimes I charge straight towards the things I want.  Sometimes, my decisions appear to advance me in a more lateral fashion.  Both moves are equally important.  You have to learn when to reposition in order to align yourself for something better.

This internship has allowed me the time to focus on what I want my next move to be.  And what move is that, you ask?  For now, it’s a move home.   I can’t tell you what the New Year will bring, but I can tell you that I am trying to embrace my freedom and catch up on parts of my life that I have been neglecting.  I’m going to soak up all of the support, love, and good advice I can find.  In the last two months, I have seen so many people go out of their way to see that I am taken care of.   They are waiting in the wings to provide me with whatever I need:  a reference, a heart-to-heart, an opportunity, if they can.  Their effort does not go unnoticed.

Since my February arrival, the Northwest Service Academy has done an outstanding job connecting interns like myself with resources to help them succeed.  Their generosity is ferocious and I can accept that now because I know it comes from a place of love and loyalty.  Support, advice, guidance.  Call it what you will, but it can all sound like instruction.  But that is only if you let it.  It could be that there are a great many people in this world that are just as intent on seeing you succeed as you are.  Well, okay.  I’m ready to listen.  But, first, one final piece of wisdom from Marcel the Shell:

“Guess why I smile a lot… because it’s worth it.”

Urban Planting

By:  Matt McCain - Education Outreach Coordinator - City of Spokane - Urban Forestry Division

I love cities, forests, and the intersection between the two.  Working for Spokane Urban Forestry, my passions are pretty much spelled out in the title of my employer.  As an urban planner and wannabe architect, I’ve always focused on the big picture of city design.  But for the past few months, as I’ve augmented the tree planting crew during the busy fall planting season, I’ve learned the incredible transformation a single tree can have on a city block . 

Reforest Spokane DayThe Urban Planner’s disposition is to envision massive change over a period of decades.  But a few trees can have powerful effect with little cost or construction (and it's instant…no waiting).  We recently planted a several trees in front of a “starving artist’s” live-work space.  Before the trees, the building’s interesting architecture fell flat amidst the barren landscape.  After planting, the site became an eye magnet.     

I also recently witnessed the power community initiative has to transform urban park space.  Hundreds of locals planted 10,000 Ponderosa Pine seedlings around Spokane.  Before planting day, I couldn’t fathom the impact 10,000 foot-high baby trees could have on the city.  But after helping plant a thousand seedlings next to one of my favorite creeks, I realized we helped give birth to a forest within walking distance to my house (unfortunately, I’ll have to wait for this one).  That is enough to satisfy any urban planners hunger for transformation.