My first months in New Hampshire have already yielded a moose sighting, and I am immensely pleased. “Moose-watching” might not have been the motive front and center on my AmeriCorps application, but—as far as I’m concerned—it was in the fine print. Contract fulfilled.
The trail work crew stops for lunch at one of Mt. Doublehead's outlooks. I'm the creeper behind the camera.
Speaking as one who has spent much of her life in wintry woodland states, there is so much that makes this corner of New England special; nowhere else have I caught the crisp scent of wintergreen wafting up through freshly-fallen snow, laughed at otters splashing around in glittering coves, and gazed at sunsets turning the sky and lakes alike to a brilliant gold.
Nor have I ever before encountered people who are so deeply attached to their natural areas. Through my dabbling in nonprofit work across the East, middle, and Western states, I have slowly come to the realization that there are as many flavors of nonprofits as there are communities. Every one of those initiatives begins at the level of the individual, and here in Squam, the individual cares. It’s marvelous to see the crowds in attendance at the monthly Science Pubs, the cheerful volunteers who show up on cold winter days to help us clear brush and blowdowns on the trails, and the strong bonds between local conservation organizations. Seriously—I’ve visited lots of places, and I don’t think this level of cooperation and involvement is normal. I wish it were.
The geodesic dome house on the property we were cleaning up last week. It’s a shame we had to knock it down; looks perfectly livable to me!
PC: fellow LRCC servicemember Grace Callahan.
Just last week, we of the Lakes Region Conservation Corps (LRCC) assisted Pete Helm and Roger Larochelle of the Squam Lakes Conservation Society (SLCS) in rewilding a beautiful property that had arrived in their hands gilded with an abandoned building and rusty scrapyard. We spent the better part of the morning tiptoeing around the collapsing structure, excavating a hillside in search of abandoned cables and other cast-off metals. It was difficult work, but deeply gratifying to see the immediate result of a cleaner forest. On top of that, a few of us had the opportunity to go fishing in a nearby pond that afternoon!
I’m sure we were the very picture of professionalism and decorum: sliding around on the ice, howling war cries, and bludgeoning the frozen expanse with iron implements until we'd smashed open a hole large enough that we could reach down into the frigid, foul water, grab hold of our quarry, and with one mighty heave—or several little heaves and a lot of slipping—triumphantly beach a slimy abandoned tire. Or two. Occasionally even three.
All told, we pulled nearly 60 tires out of that pond and the surrounding forest in a single afternoon. We later cleaned up the remaining fragments of old ceramics and glass, and finished by burning the building’s rotten timbers after it collapsed with a little help from our dear friend, Mr. Excavator. With any luck, we’ll soon see a lovely trail installed in an area that was once cluttered with castoffs. On to the next big project!
As satisfying as the work may be, it’s easy to get bogged down by how much we still need to do to clean up our natural spaces. But conservation involves more than cleaning up messes of our past; it’s also planning for a better future. When we’re not fishing for tires or sawing apart blowdowns to keep trail corridors open, we with the LRCC are seeking out ways to reduce waste, live sustainably, and ensure that New Hampshire’s lakes always remain the purest water around.
The Squam Lakes Association (SLA) has been working especially hard toward that last end—my fellow servicemembers and I recently had the opportunity to attend a Squam watershed plan report. We got the barest glimpse of a (years in-the-making) watershed plan that will be going live on the SLA website later this month. It considers the potential impacts of continued development around the Squam Lakes, and helpfully identifies ways that we can keep our water quality up through efforts like erosion control and septic system maintenance.
Some big parts of that plan rest on the shoulders of individual homeowners: people who care. Anywhere else, that might have me concerned. Here, it has me hopeful. Here, there is a community both willing and eager to create a better world for tomorrow. Here—where I’ll remain for a full year of service with AmeriCorps—I think I’ll feel perfectly at home.
And if you see me on the street, tell me where I can spot some more moose.
Micaela is a full-year member serving at the Squam Lakes Association. She is currently working on re-routing signs for our trails, installing duck boxes for the upcoming season, and updating the SLA Great Room exhibit. You can read more about Micaela here!