Wow. What a crazy couple of weeks it’s been. Since getting here on the 22nd, it has been day after day full of trainings and orientations—Wilderness First Aid, CPR, SCUBA (Brrr!), NH Safe Boaters, the list goes on. It already feels like I’ve spent a lifetime here, after taking in the whirlwind of faces, places, knowledge, and just things, that have made up these past couple of weeks. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world. After graduating in May, like most of my peers, all I really wanted was to find a position, any position, to get my foot in the door in the ‘real world’. I wasn’t picky, willing to go anywhere and do pretty much anything, so long as they’d take me. When I was offered the opportunity to serve through the Lakes Region Conservation Corps here at the Squam Lakes Association, I was ecstatic to have been accepted somewhere. But, little did I know exactly what opportunities this position would entail. The certifications and experience that it offered are admittedly what drew me in, but there’s so much to love here at Squam that I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around it all.
First of all, the landscape here is indescribable. New Hampshire does not disappoint here in the Lakes Region. Expansive lakes of blue reflecting the suns rays found nestled between rolling hills of lush greenery. As I write this, I’m sitting atop one of those hills, East Rattlesnake, which hosts a view over miles and miles of the Lakes Region. It’s a beautiful day, with a sky full of rolling clouds, which are casting great swaths of the landscape in their shadow, dappling the land with patches of light and dark. From here, I can see the Red Hill fire tower standing watch to the east, and the SLA headquarters nestled back in Piper Cove. To the Southeast is just a small sliver of the grand Lake Winnipesaukee, so big it dwarfs Squam several times over. These are views that I don’t think I will ever tire of getting the opportunity to behold, views that are worth writing home about.
And, the SLA itself is an organization that I am grateful for the opportunity to serve under. Their mission can be simply broken down into three words, words you’ll see on banners in the Great Room at SLA Headquarters: conservation, education, access. But all that they do is far from a simple task. They strive to conserve this area to keep its beauty intact for years to come, and to protect the resources the Squam watershed houses. They also seek to educate people about the watershed’s ecological importance, and to provide access to an area that is predominantly privately owned. By doing so, the SLA is fostering a connection between people and the environment, simultaneously raising conservation and stewardship awareness in the public. The very reason I’m up here, to scout out the location for my own Adventure Ecology program that will be hosted through the SLA later this summer, nods to their desire to increase access and education for everyone. The program covers a wide variety of topics surrounding nature and conservation, offering something of interest for everyone, and it’s another way to get people outside and involved. I’m looking forward to gaining experience in ways to help bridge the divide that is all too common between people and the environment, as the SLA does through access and education.
The magnificent views here, like the one before me now, deserve to be seen and appreciated by all. We’ve disconnected from our roots as we’ve become more modernized over the last few decades, and taking the time to get back to nature, see these expansive views, and just let yourself feel small, is something I think we should all be prescribed to do every now and again. I’m looking forward to a summer full of doing just that, be it out on the water, on top of a peak, or anywhere else in between.
Danielle is a recent graduate of the University of Maine, majoring in Ecology and Environmental Science. You can read more about this Oregon native here!