Keeper of the Earth

In February 2019 I began my internship with the National Park Service at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, located in the Sonoran Desert on the Arizona border with Mexico.  For an outdoor enthusiast and aspiring Park Ranger, I knew this was going to be a spectacular final 12 credits while earning my Penn State degree.  And…..it was!

This experience allowed me to put the knowledge and skills learned through my classroom work to practical use while also being part of a team of professionals who care for our National Parks.  I was able to make a difference during my experience there by allowing more interpretive programs to be offered due to the additional staffing I fulfilled. Visitors reaped the benefits of having an intern because the Park personnel had additional time to spend with them.  Serving as the chief point of contact for a group of high school students on a week-long enrichment experience, I was able to devote my entire week to ensuing this group of students had a beneficial outdoor experience as I shared my message about conservation and Leave No Trace, all the while ensuring their safety.

My in-class learning and academic studies were directly related to the work I completed at the Park. I was able to put to use my knowledge learned in my classes about Visitor Survey’s, outdoor education and the impact of visitor’s to the Park.  I worked closely with the Resource Department and assisted them with their snake survey, including the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, as part of their long term monitoring program. I learned that the beauty of the desert in bloom cannot be described and one needs to experience that for themselves.  If I have any regrets about my time spent at Penn State it is that I did not take coursework in wildlife biology or botany for I found working with the Resource Department fascinating.

Being an intern allowed me to be an apprentice of sorts for the National Park Service and validated my desire to become a Park Ranger. My professional growth there was immense.  But more importantly I had an awakening about issues more significant than myself. With the Park being located on the border of the US and Mexico I was able to personally see the effects of illegals crossing the border and acknowledge the controversy that it creates.  Every day I witnessed Border Patrol Agents doing their job by apprehending people who were mostly seeking a better life.  It was often difficult to see and I have come to realize that there is indeed a political and human crisis and don’t pretend to have a solution.

My Leave No Trace training and teaching was often put to the test by visitors leaving more than a trace.  Most visitors to the Park are there to see the beauty of the wide open preserved desert with its Organ Pipe Cactus and inhabitants.  However, for some, there is no appreciation of or respect for the fragile environment and their effect on it. Through this experience though I have learned that the reason I was put on this earth was to be its keeper.