Written by Jermikah Parkinson, TTF Alliance for Watershed Education (AWE) Fellow
New Adventures and Friendships,
I was pretty anxious to meet new people, especially at a place I had never been to before. However, meeting and getting to know the other fellows was an experience I really enjoyed.
On the first day, there was a little awkwardness, to be expected, but by the time lunch ended, those lingering nerves left. Although we had icebreakers and physical group exercises, I believe our debate over our favorite fruits built the start of the camaraderie between us. I still enjoyed going through the exercises because they showed how we all supported each other. My favorite was where we had to get through webbed netting without dropping the stick they hung at the top of rope that represented a spider. It took a few tries, but we managed it. Afterwards, we went canoeing, which was so fun, the sun was going down and the ambiance of the lake gave a very serene feel to it. Being on the lake and surrounded by the forest was definitely a highlight for me.
After dinner, we decided to head into town to have dessert at Dairy Queen. We also went to a store called Odd Lots, where many laughs were shared. Many of us even got matching shirts. Our last stop of the day was Wawa, where we got snacks and chilled out for a while.
For the next day on our ecology hike, we went back to the lake to look for invertebrates and organisms. We even found a water snake; it was really exciting. After some time, we met someone who was doing tick research, and she answered all of our questions about her work. It was really interesting and informative. After that, we had a DEIB Workshop, which was my favorite meeting of the day. It was very personal, and it also helped me get to know the fellows more.
Later in the day we had a campfire in the woods where we made smores and roasted hotdogs that an alumnae got for us. While I did not go on the night hike, we all went on another Wawa run which I enjoyed. We definitely came back to our yurts late, but it was so worth it.
The last day was bittersweet, but it was actually my favorite experience. We had a Poetry Workshop and it was beautiful. Everyone who shared had such riveting poems. I felt like I understood them on another level. Sharing our innermost thoughts and feelings- some tears were definitely shed.
Before leaving, we all shared lunch one more time and promised to see each other again. The orientation left me with hope, new friends. And an experience I will always keep close to my heart. Thank you AWE and everyone for making this trip worthwhile.
All the best,
Jermikah Parkinson
