Nicodemus Wilderness Project
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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Holly, Michigan, USA

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Holly, Michigan, USA
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akpucher15



Registered: December 2017
City/Town/Province: Holly
Posts: 1
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My name is Amanda Pucher, I am currently a sophomore attending Oakland University and transferring to Michigan State in the fall of 2018 studying Biochemistry. Therefore, I am very interested in how biology and chemistry interact in the world. I was born and raised in Holly, Michigan. A small town one hour north of Detroit. And I have choose to participate in the Apprentice Ecologist project on behalf of the Nicodemus Wilderness Project, because I love to be outside and participate in improving the environment in any way I can. I live on dirt road that little car traffic compared to a paved road, however it has a very mature woods and water system surrounding it. On our property alone we own 3.5 acers of woods and natural beauty. My family and I have devoted our time to making the environment around us a better place for tomorrow and the years to come. My mom and dad are both very strong environmentalist, which gives me the passion to want to help the world in any way I can. At home we recycle everything and try to repurpose as many items as we can minimizing our carbon footprint. As well as increasing our access to oxygen by planting to trees locally in our community.
We also try to decrease other’s carbon footprint by picking up trash on our road. Every year on Earth Day my family and I walk our road a mile either to the East or the West and pick up trash. We started this tradition when I was in junior high, and have happily continued the tradition 10 years later. We usually accumulate 4- 5 bags of trash between the 4 of us, and find nearly 50 returnable cans. One thing I have noticed from picking up trash on the road all these years is that it takes longer for the road to look dirty after it is cleaned. People don’t want to be the reason the road is trashed, but if there is already some debris it’s a lot easier to contribute. It makes me depressed to have to look at a dirty road every time I drive home, which is why it gives me such a rewarding feeling to clean it. This year in 2017 we only accumulated 3 bags of trash and a half a bag of returnable cans. Therefore, showing cleaning the road is having a positive impact on the community and environment. There is a vast amount of wildlife surrounding us with the hundreds of uninhabited acreage and water ways. Hence why I do it, it’s important for animals to have a safe place to live so the food chain can succeed naturally without the need of human aid later on down the road.
Growing up around a woodland environment and observing wildlife in its natural habitat has given me the exposure to understand what animals need to survive and observe the cycle of life. We also have access to over 100 acres of hunting property up north that we take care of year round. I love to be outside and take care of what we, the humans of the earth, have the responsibility of. Our property up north replicates our environment at home, it’s all woodland with a few lakes and streams weaving between. One of my dad’s and I’s favorite outdoor activities is to plant trees. We have planted and migrated over 20 pine trees in our back yard over the years, as well as 6 apple tree. This past fall we moved 5 new pine trees to our back yard from the hunting property. At the property up north there are hundreds of pine trees that sprout each year and we migrate a few of them to our backyard hoping they will succeed in a more open environment, as opposed to a very mature tree landscape with not a lot of room for young trees to grow. When the trees get home we make sure to plant them right away in fresh soil in an open landscape giving them enough access to sunlight and room to grow. It is important to have a cycling woodland, there needs to be new room for younger trees to grow, which is why we remove older or dead trees from the premises to make room for new life.
In 5th grade I took a class field trip to a local state park and the environmentalist taught us all about the habitat around us and how we need to take care of it if we want it to last, and ever since then I have been inspired to want to do go in the world. As a part of the field trip we were all giving a sapling of a pine tree that was to be planted somewhere we could take care of it. I planted mine in the backyard 11 years ago and now it is taller than me, approaching 6 feet tall. I was taught growing up that if you want something is succeed you need to care for it, and I think that’s a great lesson for kids to learn because they are the future of the world.
Participating in this project has helped me get back into touch with nature and realize all of the things I already do for the environment, which was a very rewarding experience. I think teaching environmental science to kids at a young age is very important because it starts with each generation and it’s our job to teach the students younger than us. Plus, there are so many healthy and positive factors about getting involved in your community such as, being active, having a rewarding feeling, and becoming a part of something greater. Thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to be financially rewarded for doing something good in the world.
· Date: December 16, 2017 · Views: 3111 · File size: 26.8kb, 1388.5kb · : 2448 x 3264 ·
Hours Volunteered: 30
Volunteers: 15
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 20 & 50-51
Native Trees Planted: 5
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