Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Planting trees has been my familyâ€™s way of helping protect the environment for several years. I have become more concerned about the welfare of our planet more recently, and I have become involved in many projects involving things like recycling and biofuels. Planting trees with my family and conducting a research project involving biodiesel fuel are the two main projects that have motivated me to work harder to protect the environment both now and in the future.
I first began working to protect the environment about five years ago when my family and I decided to plant 5,000 trees in the fields around our trailer. It was a lot of work, but we were able to get it all done in about two weeks. We planted many different kinds of trees. We had the â€œCOW fieldâ€ where we planted cherry, oak, and walnut trees, another field was mainly spruce trees, and we planted elderberry, boysenberry, and buckeye trees closer to our trailer. We planted dogwood trees near the power lines since they wouldnâ€™t get as tall, and we planted swamp oaks near the lake. The cherry trees were my favorites because they were already about three feet tall while most of the trees we planted were only one foot tall, but we did have to dig much bigger holes for them because they also had much longer roots. Each spring after we planted the trees we walked through the fields and counted how many of them had died, and then we planted new trees to replace them. We also have other traditions including buying a potted tree every Christmas and planting it in our yard.
Another project that has influenced how I view the environment was my research project last year. I did an experiment in which I compared the microbial stability of biodiesel fuel to that of petrodiesel fuel. One of the main concerns people have about biodiesel fuel is that it is more susceptible to bacterial growth than petrodiesel fuel, and I wanted to wee whether or not this concern was justified. I found that biodiesel fuel isnâ€™t necessarily more susceptible to bacterial growth than petrodiesel fuel is, but it can be if the oil isnâ€™t cleaned properly. Therefore, we must set a standard for the production of biodiesel fuel before we promote it for wide scale commercial use, but it could definitely be a good alternative to fossil fuels.
The work that I have done planting trees and researching biofuels has really motivated me to do more for the environment in the future. I would like to be able to help the environment as part of my job. Programs like the Apprentice Ecologist Initiative can have a huge influence on young people and are a wonderful idea. The projects that I have participated in have definitely had a big impact on me.