Whirlwind of a Week

July 24, 2014 Posted by: S Martin

What a whirlwind of a week last week was for the interns and I! There were so many last minute changes to the schedule but it ended up working out for the better. The best part is that the interns got to dive right into to the Youth Summit.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, while the interns spend their time working with the interpretation division at their various duty stations I had met with my supervisor, Kathleen Robbins, to discuss specific odds and ends one of which included the Youth Summit planned for August 7th. Only a couple weeks away, I was really happy to find out that we had a good sized budget to undertake the task of feeding and entertaining an estimated 60+ youth.

I was then able to call local caterers and bakeries to get quotes. After some deliberation, the interns and I decided that we would settle on a 100 serving sheet cake (half chocolate, half vanilla) with a butter cream frosting. After all, the summit will be birthday themed, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the book Man and Nature, written by George Perkins Marsh. For lunch, the interns decided on a buffet style spread, which will include, sub style sandwiches, potato salad, and two large trays: one with sausage and onions, the other with cheese lasagna. We will also have a large Caesar salad on the side and 2 loaves of garlic bread. It sounds appetizing, doesn't it?

By the end of the day on Friday, the interns completed the invitation to send out, as well as the rules and regulations for the essay contest which will be based on Man and Nature interdependence, and stewardship. So far we have invited over 60 people and we are hoping that most of them will attend. The interns have worked very hard on this summit, and I am proud of all their accomplishments thus far.

On Saturday, we worked closely with Kyle Jones of resource management during the event of BioBlitz. This annual event goes from sunrise to sunset and allows local scientists and community members to come together and label the variation of species of insects and wildlife that we have within the park. They then in turn take pictures and post them to a website called iNaturalist, which helps with the labeling. The interns were also able to go on led walks by these Naturalists. For example, Alex went on the insect traps and bumble bee walk while Brandon went on the aquatic invertebrates and Anthony went on the tree talk. It was a day of science and socializing.

To end the week, Anthony developed and led a leadership development workshop focused on the concept of inequality. He used fun activities including one called "The Blind Sheep" and led us through some Ted talks. His ideas and insight was wonderful and I am certain the interns were able to take away the connection between leadership and its role in inequality.

Last updated: July 24, 2014

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

54 Elm Street
Woodstock, VT 05091

Phone:

802-457-3368 x0

Contact Us