Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

My name is Evan and I would like to share my experience of working communally and cooperatively with a group of ten other wildlife enthusiasts like myself. But first I must give credit to the North Cascade Wild Institute for helping us make this adventure happen.
To start off with, I am currently a senior enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program at Edmonds-Woodway high school. The courses that I take are the most challenging at my school. I am on my way to entering college and I hope to major in engineering. I have considered energy engineering and biomedical engineering but right now, I am leaning towards the latter.
Every year, I go camping with my family but itâ€™s often only a three day trip. I simply enjoy living in an environment with lakes, trees, mountains, and animals. I feel refreshed to get away from the city life. But even a place like the environment must be well kept and I believe that it is up to us young adults to maintain a clean and safe camping site for future generations.
But this time, our adventure was on an entirely different level. In my group, there were three trip leaders and eight students. We shared a twelve day camping excursion and we grew really close together. In the beginning, we had to backpack approximately four miles with all of our gear. The hike was excruciating but I gained a great sense of an accomplishment and I feel more experienced. For about one fourth of the trip, we worked arduously on the service projects. We built several tent pads at two different camp sites. These tent pads would designate an area for future campers because we do not want them to place their tents on the surrounding plants. In particular to the plants in a glacial environment, they barely have time to grow because during most of the year, the plants are covered by ice and snow. We also cleaned a small crossing bridge by removing the moss. Another task was restructuring a few trails. For one trail, there were two routes and one of them was hazardous. We decided to block that route by implanting ferns, grass, and rocks to cut off that pathway. Since the national park belongs to everyone, I have learned that keeping it clean and accessible for future campers and hikers is as important as keeping my house clean for my family and visitors.
From the entire trip, I learned about three main points. One was community building and working together with my group to accomplish our goals. The bonds with my group gradually grew stronger as the days went on. Almost every day was filled with laughter and jokes. The second was learning about the sense of place. Nature belongs to our nation, specifically the people. Anyone can come and enjoy living out in the wilderness and because the North Cascades is a national park, it is shared among everyone. I have also learned the importance of teaching friends and family why we should protect and conserve our ecosystem. Raising awareness is one of the lessons emphasized. The third point is leadership. I have played the role as leader of the day and vice leader of the day in our group. But I have also learned that I try to take as many leadership opportunities available. I usually find myself making decisions and stepping up to take up more responsibilities, especially ones that others donâ€™t have the motivation for.
What I really appreciated were the diverse stories I heard from each individual. One girl survived a life-threatening situation in Thailand when a small enemy battalion raided her village. Another girl was a victim of a family that almost went bankrupt because her father was a gambling addict. A guy in my group lost his mom when he was young and he had to emotionally adapt to growing up with a step-mom. Everyone had a back-story and I felt that when each person talked about their background, our bonds grew stronger. I shared my Chinese culture and the environment I grew up in. I talked about the influence of my grandma and how she shaped who I am today. I felt relieved after I told them my story because I shared something I rarely express. It helped me realize the true meaning of friendship. We acknowledged the hardships we faced in the past and the effect of the influence but we accepted each other for who we were.
After returning from the trip, I felt that I changed into a more mature person. I look back at that experience as an unforgettable memory that exemplified my cultural awareness. I feel that I have become more open with my friends here in my own community and I hope to continue constructing my personal strand in life.