We are a Dawdle of Naturalists

Tomorrow is the start of my second week of training, but first I wanted to tell you about my first week. So much has happened, and I've learned so much already. Everyday we have three different three hour classes and fall into bed afterward most of the time. The classes we are going through are the ones we will be teaching on our own soon enough. This is only a fraction of courses though, so throughout the year we'll observe a course once or twice before teaching it ourselves. We have also been spending so much time building our community. The other 15 Nats (student naturalists) and I have been bonding more than anyone could imagine this first week. We are like minded and full of excitement and passion, and already showing our abilities to support each other in almost every way. It's truly amazing, but I'll move on to talking about classes now. Well actually, here's a picture of Thistle. How cute is he? I'm gonna get to know him better and bring him to a class with me :)

Also, a pic of most of us from our sunrise hike last Monday.

Okay, so first class was Superior View Hike. It involved a 3 mile round trip hike to a peak for a gorgeous view of Lake Superior. We did fun activities along the way, such as a watershed activity (eek!) as shown in the photo. I also want to take this opportunity to explain that stories are a very integral part of the Wolf Ridge experience. Obviously for us nats, we'll be building our stories individually and as a community, and with the staff throughout the year. But story is also a large part of every student that visits. We're here to facilitate a learning experience but each student's story is added to Wolf Ridge's. So naturally every class has a focus on story. Along our hike we told stories of geographic past, human past in the area, as well as personal stories connected to the lake.

 Tuesday afternoon we did Ojibwe Heritage which may be a total chaotic class but probably one of the most fun as well. Ojibwe is the tribe native to the north shore, and we have two sites on campus that have a summer home (what all of us are scrunched into), a winter home (teepee) and a fire area to cook.

 The class mainly focuses on skills. So we practiced starting fires both with flint and with a bow drill. I got smoke with the bow drill, but I actually got fire with the flint! Other skills include banging wet logs (black ash)-to remove strips for basket weaving, making bracelets from the inside of a basswood tree, wild rice processing, as well as cooking and eating the rice and raspberry tea.

 Processing the wild rice means parching it with the fire and dancing on the rice with moccasins to separate the chaff. The tea is made with real raspberry leaves, and then of course there is maple sugar (I'll get to tap trees later this year for syrup) to use for sweetening both. Also in this class we'll tell an old Ojibwe story in the teepee which is exciting but I'll have to work on my storytelling voice. Other fun part is everyone gets to adopt an Ojibwe nickname as we play the part of a giant family. I'm still working on my final one so I'll let you know when I feel good about it.

So one of our group activities separate from classes was for us to create the ultimate naturalist that we all aspire to be. As you can maybe see from this drawing, we're a crazy group and want it all. We're all so excited to build our skills and start carrying field guides everywhere with us. It's insane to think we're going through these classes as students and in a week will be teaching them on our own. Our learning process is a huge part of our experience though. We will be evaluated multiple times throughout the year as teachers by staff, peers, and ourselves. We are also all taking at least 9 credits through Wolf Ridge, but I'm taking an additional 9 credits through University of Minnesota. Credits here at WR will be through seminars by staff and individual projects such as a nature journal. I know a lot of people are still confused about this, and to be honest I still don't know all the logistics.

 So we started off Wednesday morning with Adventure Ropes which I was so excited for but soooo  nervous as well. Check out the photo of my chilling in my harness :) So WR has two high ropes courses and it's without a doubt one of the most popular classes. I'll have more pictures of the course/me on it later. I will say I've gone through, between the two courses, seven times and I still get super scared. I mean I go through the whole thing smoothish, but inside I'm freaking out. I've also done practice falls (we have to demonstrate to our classes) and they scare me still. Working on conquering it though. It actually is crazy fun though, especially the zip lines.

 In the afternoon we did Stream Study which  you all know I loved :) It's basically a hike to a stream and measuring chemical/physical characteristics, than catching fun creatures to identify! We caught a 3 inch long giant water beetle that was eating a crawdad. Cool stuff. That night we did Starlab and Astronomy which are two different evening activities. Picture of starlab - It's a giant dome where you project the stars. It's sweet trust me. Outside we have a killer huge telescope to see the real stars. Anyone that visits will need to spend a night out with it. I also want to use this as an opportunity to say how nice everyone is. They repeatedly tell us that all of it is ours. We can use whatever we want whenever we want. Ropes course, starlab, telescope, canoes and gear galore and free to us whenever. So lucky.

 Thursday was Renewable Energy where you tour all the awesome sources of energy here at WR including a wind turbine and solar panels. There's a lot more to it, and we make a cake with a solar oven.
In the afternoon we did Seeds of Change which focused more on awareness of the food we eat and how our choices affect the world. A fun activity was grinding our own corn and wheat to make muffins. They were pretty fantastic.

Friday exploring classes. In the morning we did Animal Signs which means you get to bring Thistle into the class to talk about the different sign you can see, then hike around looking for new signs. Obviously with most signs you find you can tell a story which makes it fun (not that already isn't).
In the afternoon was Wetlands which of course I loved. We didn't so much follow the lesson plan, but identified all kinds of plants which was really helpful. Fun poem I learned:
Sedges have edges
Rushes are round
Grass has noes and grows from the ground.

After dinner we went canoeing on Wolf Lake, which will be a class but they said we might each teach it once and that's it because of weather/temperature issues. So this first photo is after we put everything away from canoeing and watched the moon rise over the ridge.

Then to celebrate our first week we took an evening swim/ made a bonfire on the beach of Superior under the full moon. Pretty amazing sight. You should be jealous. This weekend I've mostly relaxed. Checked out Grand Marais which is a touristy town about 45 min north along the shore, did the ropes course a couple times, and slept most importantly. 

Quotable moment:

Having lunch on the deck today and someone noticed a dead bird that had hit the window. Someone right away grabs it as we check it out and say things like:

What kind is it?

Is it a male or female?

Can is see the patch?

What kind of condition is it in?

Let's take it to the dead animal freezer. 

The reason that we have a dead animal freezer is for our taxidermy seminar later this year.

Daybreak

I hope everyone had a great Monday! Some of my fellow student naturalists and I decided to wake up at 5 am, hike up Marshall Mountain, and watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. And as hard as it was, and as tired I was the rest of the day, it was completely worth it. The sky was just starting to lighten as we got to the top, and got to see the entire sunrise over the water. Check out some photos below...

From the same spot I took a couple pictures of Wolf Lake, one of the two lakes on Wolf Ridge property. The first shot is looking south, you'll notice  Lake Superior in the background. 

This is Wolf Lake again but looking west. One of the inside rock walls is supposed to be based on the cliffs on the left, and the far end is where I went swimming. The amazing lighting and colors is because the sun had risen about 5 minutes prior. 

And finally, this is Thistle, the resident porcupine. He is so adorable and I can't wait to get to know him better! Today for training we toured the main campus buildings, met a lot of staff, and talked about expectations and stories. We had a couple meals and lively games with staff included that really set the year off right with  lots of fun and I can't wait to have more. We students are continuing to have a great time bonding and establishing our community here. The rigorous training starts tomorrow, and we'll begin learning the classes we'll be teaching. 

A couple really good quotes from today:

Begin each story with an end in mind. 

Life will pass you by - make sure it's worth watching. 

I'm here! And it's amazing!

Hello again! I am officially all moved in to Wolf Ridge and about to spend my second night in my new home! It's been very exciting getting to see the place for the first time and meeting everyone. It all started with an exhausting drive of 575 miles (about 10 hours driving time). I did slightly break it up by staying with a wonderful friend in Madison the first night. The seven hours the next day went fairly quickly. A few raindrops around Duluth but stopped right when I got to the beach my family always stops at on our way to my Grandma's cabin (photo to the right). Dipped my feet in the freezing water, and later I found out most of the beaches around Duluth are still closed after e. coli contamination following the floods earlier this summer. But I did see a family swimming....
But in the end I arrived. The last hour was a scenic highway along the coast. And as I pulled into Wolf Ridge property, I could not be more amazed.

It's been really great meeting my fellow graduate naturalist the past two days. We've been doing all kinds of bonding and getting to know each other really fast. About half of us were here yesterday, and all but one moved into today. All together there are 12 girls and 4 boys, we all live on the same floor and share a big kitchen and living room areas. It's on the second floor of the building (photo), and kids will stay on the first floor soon enough! There is also a second dorm to house more kids. We are the only people that live on campus full time though, and currently the only ones here. Side note, I think I'm the only person here who has never worked at a camp before.


The first night a few of us checked out the organic farm next door, which has connections to Wolf Ridge (someone was house-sitting and we helped with chores). It was really neat, solar powered and completely off the grid. There were also adorable chickens and sheep. But we stole a ton of fresh vegetables and eggs, and took it back to the dorm and we had a feast together out on the deck. Someone even got fancy and used vegetables to decorate the table. After dinner we took our first night hike, which was way fun and trust exercise all of its own. Trust each other that we're actually on a trail, and trust our feet to see for us. We hiked to Wolf Lake (one of the two lakes on campus) and took a swim in the cold but refreshing water.


Today we've been settling in a little more. I'm kind of mostly unpacked but in serious need of decorations so picture of my room will come later. Wandered around campus a little more, met more  new people, etc. At one point our volleyball game was interrupted to search for a missing snake in one of the buildings. Sadly the snake was not found (it was small and rare) but I'm determined to start the legend of the missing snake.

Then we thought it was a good time to do a ceremonial dive into Lake Superior. The beach (photo) was no more than 10-15 minutes away and really amazing. I wish I could have swum to the caves in the photo, but I was not in the water for longer than 2 minutes. Those of you who have been in Lake Superior understand why.

Then for dinner we made a few dishes and hit up the Finland community potluck in town. The town has a population of 190 and has monthly potlucks. It was really great to see the community and meet some cool folks. I'm hoping we can be involved in the community even though we'll be a little secluded on the ridge. Then once it got dark, we took a walk out on the roof and did some stargazing. I wish I could have photographed for you,  but it never would have done it justice.

That's all for now! Training starts tomorrow and it will be very intense, so I might not post for awhile. A bunch of us are starting the day with a 5 am hike to watch the sunrise!

One Week Till I Move

Well hello there all. I've told so many people I would be starting a blog, so now I have to go through with it. In one week I will begin as a Graduate Naturalist at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in northern Minnesota. I've tried explaining what I'm about to do to so many people and maybe only a couple actually understand, whereas others I've tried to explain in multiple times. This blog is meant to clarify what I'm actually doing with my life and keep everyone in the loop. Hopefully I will have plenty of adventures, funny experiences with teaching, and more information about what I'm learning to share with you all. 

Some classes I'm looking forward to teaching - Stream Study, Superior View Hike, and Orienteering. 

A Class I'm intimidated by - Rock Climbing - Though I'm sure at least a couple good stories will come out of it!

I've been at my parents' house for the past three-ish weeks and I finally realized today I should probably be packing. My belongings are currently spread throughout three different  rooms in all states of organization. The picture is of my brother's room where we had to pick up the bed to give me space to sprawl. Mr Polar Bear is angry he's  been banished to this room. The only fun part of packing is Space Bags. You don't know how fun they are till you try them, so do it now!