don’t get too comfy with me gone

All of us "happy campers!"

So this is the last blog entry from me. Wow, how fast this month has gone by. I feel like just yesterday I walked through the door of the hostel in Conway. This month helped me meet new people. These people are Sara, Lindsay, Joanne, Wink, Jeff, Ray, Cara, Christa, Megan, Mark, James, Tom, and more. These people are amazing. They’re kind-hearted, sweet, and love what they do. They are people I want to stay in contact with. I’ll miss each and every person I’ve met.

They all have a special place in my heart. So does New Hampshire. This place brought me a lot of new memories, like today with walking along a swamp picking purple loosestrife. And yesterday with camping. I’ll definitely come back here to visit everyone; I can’t wait to see them again! I’ll really miss it here. The girls too, of course—Jen, Marquia, and Ariana are great people to work with. They’ve made this trip a blast. They’re hilarious people and sweet, too. Each of us worked together and were in sync.

Sara has also been amazing. She worked well with us and didn’t snap at us so I was happy, lol. This is my goodbye to you, New Hampshire. But don’t get too comfy with me gone. I”ll come back soon, and this time I’ll bring my family J

~Darlene Valenzuela

Didn't see it coming

I promise I'm a smiley person! Especially when it comes to botany.

In my past week I spent most of my time in the Lubberland Creek Preserve, which basically means in the mix of plants( multi flora rose), insects (mosquitos) and the rain! On the other hand, I loved it. In my time spent I've become in tuned with my interest in botany. Joanne and Lindsay have become my personal Botany 101 teachers and now I know how to differentiate many of the trees and invasive species in Lubberland Creek. My colleagues and I have spent time building character and muscle by searching for invasives, monitoring trail work in the rain and building water bars to keep water off trails.

What I wasn’t prepared for was a tick bite, which I really didn’t see coming. Literally didn’t see coming because it was on my back. I was pretty freaked out at first til I went the hospital and called Wink, who made everything better. In the end I was stoked that I was bitten because now I’m official. In what? I don’t really know but its official.

~Ariana Mitchell

it'll last for generations

All of us in our trash bag fashion!

Omg! Times are passing so fast, it’s already the end of the 3^rd week. Everything just happened like in a blink of an eye. Starting from being strangers with the girls and now being friends. I have learned many things from working in nature and with the group. I will never forget the experiences of working outdoors in nature and the fun activities that we did together. For example, last week we went to fix the steps that we built with Lindsay after the heavy rain while wearing garbage bags to prevent us from getting wet. We felt proud and successful when we were done.

Also we did many fun activities on the weekend. We went to the beach in Maine, and it was an 84 degree sunny day. Aren’t we lucky to have such a good weather day. After the beach we went to fill our tummy with good hamburgers and of course ice cream for dessert. Haha. Oh oh oh! I am not done yet J We ended the day with watching dancing performances and the play “Annie” in a park in Portsmouth. It was such a wonderful experience. I recommend you guys go watch it! Okay. I am done now J Haha. Thanks for reading. Goodbye, have a nice day!

 

~Mei Juan (Jen) Gao

Hanging out at Northland Forest Products with CEO, Jamey French.

Did you know how much money you spend by buying cheap furniture not made from real wood, but with scrap wood? You pay a decent amount for a piece of furniture that will only last a couple of years, just to save you some money. That right there is the problem, when that same furniture breaks and is damaged, you have to buy it again, to only last you that same amount of time. To stop this cycle, buy products that are made from real wood - these will last you generations because of their high quality.  I've learned all of this from my trip to Northland Forest Products. This is a company that sells wood to furniture stores who then sell to us. Yes, because the pieces are made from wood and that makes it pricier, but we should still buy it regardless of the price; it’ll last for generations.

~Darlene Valenzuela