Written by the lovely Kim Landers:
Well the summer is halfway done it seems! These past few weeks have flown by. The Texas team got to enjoy a trip to Kansas to help build campsites at a local ACE site with the Oklahoma and Kansas teams. It was great seeing everyone again and we had a blast clearing out the sites. Stacy in particular enjoyed putting her chainsaw certification to good use. Allison, Tina, and I cleared out smaller trees, shrubs, and vines. We ended up clearing out six sites large enough for RVs and trailers. It was great to finally don the hardhats and do some intense labor!
Surveys are still rolling! We’ve had some interesting characters come through our traffic control and some crazy stories to tell each other. Good ole Alex Olsen should be visiting us soon… We have been working hard planning a conservation project with him and showing him how you don’t mess with Texas!
Waco is treating us well! It’s VERY hot but we actually got a break from the heat with some rain this past week. It’s much needed here… One of our lakes is 9 feet lower than normal, a regular site note in our “comments and concerns” portion of the survey.
The New England team is doing well as well. Tim and Adam are enjoying the lakes up in the northeast. They set up a wonderful conservation project where they had the opportunity to teach Boy Scouts about conservation and the opportunities in the conservation field.
A highlight from this hitch included a fantastic Leave No Trace training in the Ouachita National Forest of Arkansas. During our 5 days off from surveying, teams reunited in the woods for some camping, much missed quality time, and most importantly a brand new Leave No Trace trainer certification! We thoroughly enjoyed seeing old friends, exploring a new area, and celebrating Sophie’s birthday! Special thanks to everyone that worked so hard to put this on!
