by Aidan Brown, Smokey House Center 2024 Summer Intern
I walk outside to dewey grass and warm sunshine. I hear calls of a house wren that has
made a home of the old farm house I’m staying in this summer. As I walk along the gravel road toward the office, I take in the cool summer morning air and bask in the glorious view of the valley ridges I am surrounded by. It’s cool now, and I’m comfortable in my work pants, a t-shirt and a newly procured Smokey House Center hat. I know that in about 30 minutes I’m going to be soaked in sweat as I hike halfway up Dorset peak which looms beautifully in front of me as I walk. Perhaps some people would loathe this thought, but I’m excited to get out in the woods. After 2 years of education, this summer I’m actually doing meaningful forestry work, and no amount of sweat and sore calves could stop me from enjoying it.
I arrive at the office and say good morning to my bosses. I have never seen an office as
beautiful as this one, they have a perfect view of the luscious green mountain I’m about to go hike into. Zack and I talk to Walker about our plans for the day, informing him that we are hoping to finish up our variable radius inventory plots for the stand today. He informs us that tomorrow we will be having a staff lunch around noon. Danielle, who coordinates these staff lunches asks us if we’re okay with sushi. Of course we are, we’ve been eating PB&J’s in the woods for the past 2 weeks. We tell Walker that we’ll be staying inside doing GIS and excel calculations tomorrow to figure out our next steps for this project. We are responsible for setting up permanent sampling plots that will be used for a climate adaptive maple program research project. I could rant forever about this program, but there’s already a page for it on the Smokey House website, so I’ll spare you the time. Zack and I collect the safety equipment and measurement tools we need. For these plots all we needed was an angle gauge and a DBH tape, which are both practically brand new, in stark contrast to the tools I’ve used in my labs at school. Once we’ve gathered everything we need, we briefly discuss where we’re going today, looking at the maps of plots we made and uploaded to Avenza. I open my excel sheet for taking data, as I might not be able to once we’re in the mountains without service. Now it’s time to start our work day.
It’s 1 pm now, Zack and I are covered in sweat and we decide to break for lunch. We’ve
finished 8 of the 15 plots we have left and we both need to refuel. We find a pillow in the
topography to sit on and eat our PB&J’s and ritz crackers. This bland lunch might not be
enjoyable in a school cafeteria but out in the woods it’s delectable. We’re sitting 1800 feet above sea level, surrounded by an even-aged forest dominated by sugar maple. This forest looks like it’s been managed to be a sugarbush for decades, but in reality, it naturally regenerated this way after the hurricane of 1938 knocked down almost every tree on the mountainside. I marvel at this natural beauty and bask in the enjoyment of this knowledge I received only yesterday. Suddenly, we hear an owl calling. Zack, an avid birder, perks up and runs off with his camera to try to get a picture. I’m too tired to follow him, but soon he returns excited and shows me the pictures he got. He managed to get pictures of this barred owl turning and looking directly into the camera. It was a rather magical moment. Later that day, we would learn from our friend Elton that owls are a spiritual icon in many Indigenous American cultures, adding to the magic of this moment.
After we finish our lunch and the rest of our plots, we head down the mountain and back
to the office where Zack excitedly shows everyone the pictures of the owl he got. As we walk
home, I feel immensely fulfilled. I feel deeply connected to the valley I’m living and working in. I’m learning more everyday and get to experience the joy of applying what I’ve learned in a real world setting. A feeling I’ve rarely felt overwhelms me and I realize that I am right where I am supposed to be. For once in my life I feel that I’m on the right track, in position to make the world a little better in my lifetime, and I am excited for where my future will take me. More than that, my cynicism about the future of mankind has slowly melted away from the relentless optimism and hopeful work being done at Smokey House. I’ve realized that if people work to heal land, systems and each other with the passion of those at Smokey House, our future is something to look forward to, not to fear.
Comments