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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Yosemite, California, USA

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Yosemite, California, USA
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gabelewis2004



Registered: March 2009
City/Town/Province: Arcata
Posts: 1
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It is surprisingly exhilarating to swing a pickax and roll rocks at 9000 feet all day in the sweltering heat. The complex task of fitting 300-pound rocks together to form water bars and rock walls challenges both my wannabe-be bulging muscles and my intellect; it is honest work that inspires reflection on the timeless glacial peaks and astounding physical beauty surrounding me. I take pride in this work for making me a stronger person, both mentally and physically, and because it will preserve the trail for decades to come.


For the past three summers, I have been extremely fortunate to participate in building, restoring, and maintaining trails with the Yosemite Youth Conservation Corps. After my first summer, I was promoted to a Youth Leader. For the next two seasons, I had the opportunity to supervise crews of 12 teenagers in rehabilitating trails throughout Yosemite National Park. My responsibilities also included organizing backpacking trips into the wilderness. Although it was challenging to supervise peers my age and older as we engaged in hazardous work projects, I eventually found a balance between work, safety, and recreation through observation and counsel from my supervisors. I feel truly blessed to have worked and played in some of the most beautiful lakes, rivers, and mountains in the world, nestled into God’s playground in my temporary backyard.


My trail work experience has provided countless life lessons, including teamwork (figuring out how to carry a 900 pound tree with 15 fellow crew workers), self-sufficiency (managing the mundane details of life: food, shelter, medical care, even laundry, while being miles from civilization and its supportive infrastructure), and reverence for and love of nature. I have learned to respect the environment in all its tranquility, rage, and beauty. The past three summers I spent eight weeks far from all electronics. Painful as this was at first, it taught me to treasure the gifts of both nature and small communities.


My initial incentive for working trails began as a means to please my father; I had hoped this shared bond would diminish our daily collision of wills. Within a few weeks of living and working in the mountains, I recognized how passionately my father and I shared a respect for the wilderness, an ethic of hard work, and a love of creating lifelong friendships around evening campfires. After my first season, my father and I connected on an entirely new level because I could finally see through his eyes and understand what was truly important to him.


I am looking forward to exploring ways in which my math and science abilities will dovetail with my YCC experience. I am appreciative and proud to have had these trail work opportunities of leadership that allowed expression of my father’s legacy of hard work, determination, and inspiration while at the same time finding my own path.
· Date: March 9, 2009 · Views: 6295 · File size: 24.3kb, 160.4kb · : 1500 x 1125 ·
Hours Volunteered: 11200
Volunteers: 35
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 15 to 18
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): 1000
Trash Removed/Recycled from Environment (kg): 500
Native Trees Planted: 10000
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