We seem to experience a little bit of almost every area of environmental conservation work during our service here, from trail maintenance to office work, data collection to public education, and everything in between. All the new skills and certifications we have the opportunity to gain through this program was definitely one of the big “pull” factors for me when choosing to accept this position (that and the fact that nobody else seemed particularly eager to hire me at the time). All the new skills we’ve been picking up here is something that some of my LRCC cohorts have also been pointing out in their postings, and indeed my last update highlighted one of the moments in my service that pushed the boundaries of my comfort in a positive way, so I won’t dwell on this topic any further in this post.
Instead, I would like to focus on how serving here at the SLA not only colors us with new skills and experience, but also gives us the paints and brushes (both metaphorical and sometimes literal) to add our own individual flair to what we get out of this program. For instance, in lieu of an in-person MLK day of service event last month (due to being in a pandemic and all) we were given the option to create paintings to decorate the offices of nonprofit organizations. Turns out we have a lot of artistic skill under our cottage roof and our pictures all came out looking real nice. Some might say that my finished product had the most “individual” flavor to it, maybe even saying so in a less polite phrasing, but all of us took that project and put a little of ourselves into the finished product to some extent (and had some fun along the way!).
But I would say that it is in our educational programs where our individuality shines through most clearly. Since coming here, I have led two Adventure Ecology programs, both of which have been on subjects I have a lot of interest and experience with before coming here. My first one was an outdoor group-sing/jam event where I shared a selection of nature-inspired music from a repertoire of songs and tunes I’ve been developing for most of my life, pulling from previous experience leading family-oriented campfire sessions and performing as a fiddler and folk musician. It felt really great to share that part of myself with a new audience here in New Hampshire and a lot of the participants as well as the other staff members present seemed to really get a kick out of it. More recently, I led a virtual origami workshop where I got to share my love for the art of paperfolding and guided participants through the creation of fish and frogs and other critters found around the Squam Watershed.
We have a lot of distinct personalities and different interests in this LRCC group, and it is also great to see how my fellow service members express themselves, whether it is Nikka turning her journaling habit into teachable material, Kaela sharing her experiences as a long-trail backpacker and 1:12 scale craft maker extraordinaire (coming soon!), or Bri giving folks a whirl on her phone-attachable macro photography lens and learnin’ them some SCIENCE! along the way. By having so much agency in developing these programs, and even being encouraged to play to our strengths or to dive into topics that we are really interested in learning more about while doing so, I think we have added a lot of content to our organization’s education curriculum that is both informative and enjoyable for participants. I also find that when we are working with so much that is new to us on a daily basis, a little bit of the familiar can give our brains a wee break to process, or provide the drive needed to get through planning/prepping an educational program on top of everything else we do here.
I for one am very much looking forward to further adding skills and developing knowledge of conservation work while I am here, and while doing so, I will probably continue to share pieces of myself and my own experiences along the way, whether that is through personal passions like music and origami and where they intersect with the natural beauty we work within, or through academic interests by leading a guided geology hike once the weather warms up and all the rocks around here aren’t buried in snow.
In addition to music and geology, Paul also loves dinosaurs! In fact, when he was younger, he wanted to be a paleontologist when he grew up. Learn more about Paul here!