Hi all! My name is Hodge and I am a Crew Leader at Valley Forge National Historic Park in Pennsylvania. I am currently at home getting some last minute packing done for my trip up to PA on Friday. I cannot wait to finally meet with my co-leader and cover all of our pre-program logistics before the crew arrives Wed, July 20th.
All of the kids sound very excited from our phone and email conversations. I hope their enthusiasm carries throughout the whole program. I will be coming into this program having led a crew last year in Klamath National Forest, California. (This picture is the view of Mt. Shasta from our base camp last year.) I have high expectations that this experience will be just as fun and exciting as my time last year.
Our crew will be unlike most National High School crews in that the park has arranged some living quarters – the Lafayette Quarters to be exact – for our crew to stay in for the duration of program. It may not be the true back-country experience, but we will have something special in mind for our Rec Trip at the end!
From what our agency coordinator has told us, we will mostly be performing invasive species removal with two of their volunteer programs: the Weed Warriors and Crayfish Corps. As the titles imply, we will work on both invasive plants and crayfish. We will also have some opportunities for volunteer work. We’ll discover what those are when we meet our agency contact.
Check back soon to meet the crew and follow us as we explore the historic parks and natural lands in Pennsylvania.