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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Cimmaron, New Mexico, USA

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Cimmaron, New Mexico, USA
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Mike93



Registered: December 2010
City/Town/Province: Greencastle
Posts: 1
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Michael Hohl
Community Service Project: Philmont Scout Ranch


My name is Michael Hohl. For my community service project I worked at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico, building and maintaining trails as well as helping to remove invasive species of plants that cause harm to native plants. Philmont was first opened in 1938 with 35,857 acres and has since grown to 127,395 acres. It contains approximately
770 miles of trails. Every year about 22,000 scouts and venture crews visit Philmont for a two-week backpacking trip. I chose to volunteer at Philmont because I traveled to Philmont as a Boy Scout in 2008, it had a major influence on my career choice, and I wanted to give something back.
While I was doing my community service, I learned many things. One of the most important lessons I learned was teamwork. Teamwork played an important role in all the work that was done on the trail, from pulling out large tree stumps, to identifying and removing invasive species of plants, to carrying rocks to fill in a hole. Teamwork was always needed to succeed and get the job done. I also learned how much work it takes to build and maintain trails that are used by thousands of hikers each summer, from mapping out trails to filling in potholes.
Philmont only employs approximately 25 summer trail maintenance workers to build and maintain the over 770 miles of trails within the ranch. The organization relies heavily on volunteers to help maintain the trail systems. I helped to build a new trail as well as repair a damaged one; I also removed bull thistle and cheat grass, both of which are invasive species.
On our off time off, volunteers learned about the environment of New Mexico.
I believe that there are not enough volunteers in our society today. Some people would rather have a job that pays than volunteer for one that doesn’t. Volunteering helps those organizations that assist the less fortunate, or help to inform the public. I’m sure that many organizations couldn’t exist, or do many of the things that they do, without the help of volunteers. Volunteer work is especially important in today’s world. Even giving just an hour of time every week could make a big difference in our society.
I learned so much from my community service experience. It was alot of hard work, sometimes long hours, and depending on the weather, not always the best working conditions. But I had fun helping to build trails and meeting new people from around the country and getting to learn about where they live. My favorite type of work was learning about and removing invasive species. It gave me a huge feeling of accomplishment at the end of my stay to look back and see all the work our team had done. I went to Philmont hoping to give something back to the organization that made such a big impression on my life, but in the end I also “got” so much more … the memories I made, the lessons I learned, and the feelings of accomplishment at doing a good job are worth so much more than I ever imagined! I am hoping to return to Philmont as a volunteer again next summer.
Date: December 12, 2010 Views: 5133 File size: 68.0kb, 116.7kb : 640 x 480
Hours Volunteered: 1260
Volunteers: 7
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 17 & 16 to 21
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