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Coming from a privileged childhood, my parents always taught me the importance of giving back to the community. I have been volunteering in one way or another for as long as I can remember, and even helped pay for college with community service scholarships. Upon graduation, I knew I wanted to get experience working for an environmental non-profit. The partnership between VHCB AmeriCorps and The Nature Conservancy was a perfect opportunity for me to combine my interest in ecological issues with volunteerism.
My position as the Field Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator at The Nature Conservancy has two main components. The first is to help everyone else with their field work. This includes: collecting seeds, planting and monitoring trees, measuring ditches, checking snake cover boards, walking boundaries, eradicating invasive species, cleaning up roads, etc. The other part of my job is to coordinate our volunteers. This involves recruiting, organizing, and tracking volunteers that help us with the projects previously mentioned. I’m also in charge of organizing our Natural History Series; a sequence of talks open to the public designed for people to learn more about some of the hottest topics in conservation and the environment.
I’ve learned a lot about the importance of public outreach and relationships with supporters of non-profits. I love learning and implementing systems to maintain and expand our followers and volunteers. The amount of ecological knowledge I am gaining is also amazing. From little things like plant identification all the way to creating sustainable land management plans. I am so excited to build on this foundation and take this knowledge and experience into graduate school and my career.
VHCB AmeriCorps and programs like it are important because they really work to make a reasonable change in the world. I believe this is possible because of the specificity of their missions. Many groups work for the greater good, but without a particular focus it is hard for them to make a difference. VHCB’s goals towards creating affordable housing and preserving natural areas give them a realistic objective to work towards; with tangible results.
When it comes down to it, all of humanity benefits from my work! I think sometimes people forget that the Earth is what sustains all of humankind. The things I do with The Nature Conservancy work to protect, preserve, maintain, and manage natural areas so that people can enjoy the environment not only for recreation, but for a greater quality of life.
This has truly been the perfect opportunity for me to work with people and continue with my biology interests while making a difference in the world!
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