To say life in Canaan Valley was an adventure would be an understatement. The longer I am here, the more I believe that your service year is what you make of it. The opportunities with Canaan Valley and AFNHA have seemed endless. Join Emily Langer as she explores her adventure so far!
Conservation: USFS Outreach Community and Conservation
One of Emily Culp’s main goals for this year and serving with AmeriCorps has been to advocate for blurring the lines between community goals and conservation goals. In order for conservation to work, the community must be supportive and advocate for the lands that need to be preserved. Public lands can be great spaces for recreation, however, they are also simultaneously lands that are meant to be protected and preserved for the sake of wildlife and general ecosystem health. Serving in an outreach position with the US Forest Service is a perfect place to put these ideals into practice, and Emily has been happy to be able to assist with conservation minded community initiatives.
Conservation: WV Department of Forestry Outreach Education
This has been a very challenging task in the time of Covid-19. Without being able to go to all the schools and festivals, Kaitlyn has found new ways to communicate and educate kids and the public about our impacts on the forest. Most days are about thinking and creating new ways to educate without being there in person. This gives her the opportunity to use online knowledge and continue to gain more insight about new online platforms.
Heritage and Community Development: Stories from the WV Railroad Museum
AFNHA AmeriCorps member Emma Pringle reflects on the opportunity to explore a few of her career options while getting a stipend for it, offering hands-on experience in her potential field, and letting her network with other professionals with her work at the West Virginia Railroad Museum in Elkins, WV.
Projects from the Beverly Heritage Center, a review.
Join Adam with the Beverly Heritage Center! “Since February of 2020, I have been serving with the BHC. In that time, I have worked in the collections department, with most of my time spent assessing and cataloging documents. While this work is highly important to the goals of the BHC and there have been genuinely interesting moments and items during it all, it unfortunately does not make for the most exciting reading. Instead, I will write about some of the current projects at the BHC that I have been involved in recently.”
Conservation: Canaan Valley NWR, Hannah Studdard
Conservation: MNF Eco-Watershed, Kalee Paxton: 2019-2020.
When you think of a stream, what comes to mind? You probably think of water (obviously) or about the fish that swim in it. Maybe you think about aquatic insects that you find by turning over rocks. Maybe it makes you think about fishing or swimming with your friends. Talking about streams, a lot of things can come to mind, but what about the word “habitat”?
