Out With the Old, In With the New

Seven weeks, three trail bridges, two sets of trail stairs, nine tent pads, a dozen fires, endless laughs and a whole lot of brush cleanup later, it was time to say goodbye to Lake Ouachita State Park. The staff held a farewell breakfast in our honor and I am proud to say that for the first time in this program, I did not cry. No, it had nothing to do with not being completely distraught about leaving - Kyle, our favorite trail crew friend, taught me a new trick: when you're about to cry, squeeze your butt cheeks!

Sunset over Lake Ouachita

 Our next destination, Hobbs State Park, was about five hours northwest. Upon our arrival we were welcomed with warmth and kindness - typical Arkansas. Our new home is a beautiful, five bedroom cabin in the middle of the woods. Fireplace, a living room with recliners, a laundry room inside the house. Did I mention that I have a room that I share with only one other person? With closet space? AND a door? AmeriCorps has completely redefined the word "spoiled" for me.

On our first day at Hobbs State Park, we attended a celebration held in honor of Aldo Leopold. For those of you unfamiliar with this brilliant man, Leopold was an American author, scientist, ecologist, forester, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his book A Sand County Almanac (1949). At the celebration, we honored the magnificent nature writer by reading passages from his book. My team was asked to participate, and I volunteered to be one of the readers.

“We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect,” ― Aldo Leopold

Inspirational, beautiful writing with a tragic twist that sought to remind us about the fragility of nature, the vitality of learning to appreciate it and the importance of preserving it. Being surrounded by dozens of people who all saw Leopold as a role model, who spent their lives fighting his cause made me realize that throughout my life I have not been doing enough to help preserve and protect our planet.

Yes, reading up on what can be done to help is important, but "it's effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum," ("Sunscreen Song" reference, please have a listen). The problem with today's society is that each day, fewer people are providing direct aid to causes. We get bombarded with offers from others to help out FOR us - money donations, petition signatures, Facebook "likes" (the latter is just silly if you ask me, yet you still see thousands of people "liking" photos to provide prayers for dying children).

Rather than donating money to Green Peace, why not go out and plant a tree? Trust me, the feeling of accomplishment you get when you give something life with your own two hands is worth the dirt under your fingernails. And who knows, if planting trees will make people feel a deeper appreciation for nature, maybe they will stop destroying it.

Planting my very first tree!

I probably do not say this enough, but I am thankful for AmeriCorps - it has given me the opportunity to feel not only a deeper connection with nature, but also a sense of purpose when it comes to helping it.