Dear Internet,
I think I start every blog entry with an apology for the amount of time that has passed since I last wrote. So this time, I’m not sorry.
Just kidding :)
All I can offer by way of an excuse is that I’ve been very busy. Since returning from Montana, ERT has fallen into a pattern: by and large we are gone during the week on one project or another, and during the weekends, we’re at home sleeping, catching up on errands, or hanging out together. Somehow we pack in all our “normal people” activities - going grocery shopping, stopping by the library, picking up a new pair of work pants, etc - into two days when what we really want is to sleep and relax. It’s been hectic, but I love being busy, so it’s been great too.
A few weeks ago I was able to get time off to travel to Rochester, NY to see my cousin Kurt marry his long-time fiancée. Congratulations, guys, it was great to be there!
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| Kurt & Tia's first dance <3 |
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| Angie at the Shut-Ins |
In between weekends, we’ve been doing some pretty cool projects. Two weeks ago I went to a State Park called the Johnson Shut-Ins to maintain a fireline for a prescribed burn. the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) regularly burns land to get rid of old, dead material and fertilize new growth; the line keeps the fire in check. We used backpack leaf blowers and bush cutters to cut out the line, which was actually pretty fun! I just wish I could be there when it burns :)
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| Ali, Ivy, Angie, and Warren celebrating fall at the Shut-Ins |
After we finished the fireline, we worked on a little light trail maintenance, and our team leader, Dustin, let each of us first years cut down a tree - my first one! I went last, which of course just built up the nerves while I watched everyone else fell trees. I talked through the tree felling guidelines (counted on fingers: size up your tree, size up the surroundings, find your escape routes, decide on a technique, and execute!) with Dustin, took a deep breath of the acrid and surprisingly sour smell of fresh-cut cedars, and... broke the chain on my chainsaw.
Womp, womp.
Dustin said that the chain broke because I rocked the bar while the chain was running inside the tree. I didn’t think I did that... but I guess so? It was disheartening, but we went back the next day and I got to cut it down for real. Success!
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| My first tree |
The next week, I was based out of St Louis at the Busch Conservation Area, cutting invasive honeysuckle bushes. We used bush cutters, which was pretty fun - I swear, half of the fun of ERT is the toys we get to play with - but it became insanely boring. The thing about power tools is that they are loud, and that generally you work by yourself when you use them. Doing a relatively repetitive and menial task all day gets pretty boring with no one to talk to. Although it wasn’t a bad project - and it was really cool to see the wide swath of cleared land once we’d cut the honeysuckle bushes - I was glad when it was done.
This week, we’re at a park called Peck Ranch, working on more fireline. I was able to cut down two more trees... and more invasive honeysuckle. Only here at Peck Ranch, we get to spray it too so it won’t come back. Luckily, most of what we’ve been doing has been training.
Training on a variety of topics has been a theme since we returned from Montana. Immediately after we got back, we started training on wildland fire ecology; later, we learned about wildfire behavior, safety, and firefighting techniques. This includes things I wouldn’t have thought of, like weather, topography, and fuel types and their effect on fire. The training is pretty interesting, but after being used to working outside all the time, staying awake in a darkened classroom or during an online course is not easy!
We’ve also been trained on how to run a volunteer reception center (VRC) like the one AmeriCorps runs in Joplin, MO to cope with the tornado this past May. When the tornado first happened, our role was mainly clean up, but now we generally direct other volunteers who show up to help. We have a group of four in Joplin now, and I’m looking forward to being there for Christmas.
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| Gettin' down with a chainsaw |
For the past two days at Peck Ranch, we have also been doing a lot of chainsaw training. Although I’ve heard most of the safety and mechanical information before, repetition is always good and now I’ll be certified to cut on MDC (Missouri Department of Conservation) land. No, Mom, this isn’t my official chainsaw cert - that is done at the federal, not state level (safety regulations are different) - we’ll be doing the official certification sometime in the near future. But I did get to cut down another tree today, using a more complicated technique called a bore cut. I’m getting a lot more comfortable felling trees, which I guess is the point of training!
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| My bore-cut tree |
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| After a tree fell in the forest... the sound is incredible! |
Finally, some of the trainings that I look forward to the most are the random things that come up as we work. For example, before we went to Johnson Shut-Ins we realized that the brakes were out on the one truck left for us to take, Cactus. We took the wheels off to take a look, figuring that if it was too complicated or if the damage was too severe we’d take it to the shop for a professional job. But by the end of the afternoon, we had replaced four brake pads and two rotors, all of us learning how to do it on the fly. I’ve learned more about engines when we do our pre-trip vehicle checks, and got a refresher on how to jump a car when the truck wouldn’t start in a parking lot.
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| Warren is in the back working on Cactus; in the front, the old brake pad (left) and a new one (right). Eek. |
I love accumulating all these random, totally useful skills. It’s one of the things I’m looking forward to for this year: learning how to take apart and maintenance small engines and car engines, run a chainsaw, control a wildfire. It’s crazy how much I’ve learned in just two months, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year. Just don’t expect to hear from me too often, what with all this running around and learning stuff!
xoxo,
Liz
