Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

In my growing city of Beaumont, California we are constantly growing as a community, but are losing all of its natural beauty. Communities and neighborhoods are being built in the thousands, and we are losing the aspect of nature that people need to understand how nature works and appreciate the beauty of it. When we start losing these sanctuaries of land we start to lose the heart of a city and the beauty of it to cookie cutter houses. We are losing fields that used to hold a herd of cows to housing developments and we are losing hills to business complexes, but in my little corner of the city there will be a kitchen garden that has various vegetables and herbs in it.
Something very important to me is sustainable living, and one aspect of that is gardening, so I wanted to start a garden at my library to also teach that. I started a community garden this past summer to have people of all ages interact with it, and watch something grow, and take the produce home and cook with it.
The two volunteers that made the most impact on me were these two girls. They were both about 12 and they've never turned soil or played with in dirt really, but they had the best of times because they were helping create something though and they loved it. They enjoyed every process of making a kitchen garden from making the raised beds to planting the seeds and watching these sprouts grow. I loved the feeling of possibly making a difference in how someone feels towards nature.
This project made me realize that nature and sustainability are very important aspects in my life. I have learned now that I want a career in helping people respect and understand nature because it is something that gives a lot back to us. This project has made a difference in my life and hopefully others as well.