I don’t even know what to write here. The last three and a half months have felt completely surreal. I mean, what position would pay me to hike, dive, and drive boats all day? I mean, I’m about to spend the next three weekends in a row camping out with my friends (i.e. my coservers) at Chamberlain Reynolds Memorial Forest. Last week we drove up to Mt. Sunapee to help with a river bank restoration project, and as thanks we got to have a free ride up the ski lift! Whatever job I end up at next, I just know it won’t be nearly as much fun.
The view from our Mt. Sunapee Ski Lift Reward Trip™
North Peak at Whitten Woods. Andy has completed 20/29 of the hikes he needs for his Squam Ranger Badge!
I love being able to spend most of my time outdoors getting my hands dirty, but I also love being able to interact with all the different kinds of people I meet while I’m out working in the field. I’ve had boaters shouting questions across the cove to me as we dive to pull invasive milfoil. I’ve had hikers stop me on the trails to thank me for the work that SLA does to maintain them (and depending on what I’m doing, I sometimes have enough breath to respond between all the panting). I’ve had very long conversations with folks down at the resource center while they wait for their friends to come pick them up on their motorboat (and then even longer conversations when they find out their friends drove to the wrong boat launch).
People around here have genuine passion and interest for preserving the watershed and doing what they can to keep this lake beautiful and tranquil long into the future, which makes me all the more excited to be a part of the community and the work happening here. When I’m wearing my AmeriCorps gear, people will stop me a lot of the time to talk about the different projects we have going on and the different education programs and guided hikes we offer (which everyone should totally sign up for). It’s crazy how fast the summer has gone by, I can’t believe it’s already September! I can’t wait to see what my last two months of service will bring.
Andy driving Millie (the SLA dive boat) in the rain.
Andy recently saw a bobcat and two black bears on his way to the office! Learn more about Andy here!