Interpretation

Today is morning number six at Giant Sequoia National Monument. There was quite a rush to get here, but once you arrive everything slows down. So far there has been an interesting mix of camper time and professionalism. My supervisor is definitely the on time, efficient type. She is the District Planner, in charge of making sure all environmental laws are followed within her district, on top of being in charge of the three of us interpretive interns. It seems nearly every long time Forest Service employee has multiple jobs and titles assigned to them over time. So M-- is the district planner but she is also in charge of interpretation. I learned the other day that there is no budget anywhere in the Forest Service for interpretation. Those interested in having interpreters must carve the money from the recreation and wilderness departments within their district. In this case, the three of us interns are paid through the Student Conservation Association. The Forest Service just has to give us a place to stay, reimburse the driving that we do as part of our job, and pay for the indirect cost of people dealing with more paperwork.

When I speak of an interpreter I mean someone who teaches visitors about a forest, park, monument, historical site, etc without simply relaying information. In one of the interpretive theory books we are assigned to read the author described interpretation as a cross between an art and a science.

Part of our job yesterday was to walk around Hume Lake, to try and familiarize ourselves with the area. We then met up with a long time Forest Service volunteer who does raptor programs. This woman is amazing; she has a house in the middle of the city where she rehabilitates wild animals, or cares for those that can’t be rehabilitated. She has large cages in her backyard where she keeps owls, she has had deer and coyotes running around before, and a red-tailed hawk that just lives in the house. The opportunity to talk to this woman and have her as a resource will be wonderful. She is an encyclopedia of local plant and animal knowledge.

D-- and a Burrowing Owl

Judo Tournament

On March 19th I participated in my second Judo tournament. After arriving for weigh in and registration at 10:30 all we had left to do was wait.....And wait.....And wait.... Around 4 hours later my friend got called and began his matches so Mom and I actually had something to do. About a half hour after that I was called up. Over about the next two hours my friend had four matches and I had two.

Sadly, I quickly lost both of my matches to competitors with considerably more tournament experience than myself. Hopefully I will make a better showing at the next tournament :). My friend though won second place in his division!

Winter Quarter

Wow, I have been really bad at this lately.

As I said in my last post, I am taking Geology 211 (physical geology), Math 125 (calculus II), and Biology 205 (Intro to cellular and molecular biology). I am also taking beginning weight training but due to that being a one credit PE class, it hardly counts.

Sadly biology 205 is my least favorite course this quarter. It's cell biology, which is boring and you can't see it, and there are so many tiny little things to remember. Ugh, I am getting through it, but there is a lot of textbook reading and lab work. I know I shouldn't really complain about having to work hard in college. It's just that I'm lazy.

I actually really like calculus. It seems the more math I take the more it seems like magic! My teacher this quarter is this nice lady, and a good teacher. She's also a bit of a push over which is nice. As long as you pay attention in class and ask questions she basically tells you everything that will be on the weekly quiz.

It took me a few weeks to catch on to the fact that geology was actually going to be some work. I came in to the class assuming that it was going to be really easy. I don't know why I thought that, I just did. Know that I have gotten into the flow of having labs twice a week I am doing much better in all my homework (meaning A's instead of B's). I got a high B on our first test and with some more studying for the next test I am positive that I will get an A.

Over the past few days I have been e-mailing national parks across the country to try and find a summer job or internship. Many have gotten back to me with a positive message, and I am now working on applications. A guy at Buck Island Reef national Monument in the Virgin Islands actually offered me a volunteer turtle research position with lodging and a stipend but they need people to stay until October and I have to get back to school by that point.

Speaking of school, I am finishing up all the paperwork necessary to go to Scotland in the fall so hopefully that will be finalized soon!