Busiest Month Ever

So after getting back from Maui, I immediately left for the Big Island for some Forest Stewardship and CREP site visits, followed by the Forest Stewardship Advisory Committee meeting. The site visits were crazy because we only had one day, and a lot of places to go. We started out with a property that was currently applying for Forest Stewardship. Once we finally made it to the top of the longggg road, we got out and I saw an I'o adolescent (Hawaiian Hawk). It was just sitting there as we walked around the property.







Next up we went to a property that had been in the stewardship for 10 years. It was amazing to see so many Ohia and Koa growing on a property and surviving. We also visited some properties that used the funding we provided to plant trees to harvest in the future. It was a great opportunity for me to practice testing myself on species here. The hard part is that you have to learn the common name, hawaiian name, and the scientific name. Definitely have a long way to go before I have the native plants memorized.

The meeting provided me with some great opportunities to network with people from other agencies, and also to learn more about the process of the forest stewardship program. But after a weekend of meetings and site visits, I was excited to go home. Home was filled with catching up with friends, an amazing trip up to Santa Cruz to hang out with my girls, a couple of shopping trips, Disneyland with my family and friend before she left for NZ, wine tasting with my mom, and finally ended the 2 week trip home with the Surf City Huntington Beach Half marathon. While I didn't get to run with all of girls on the run, we were all doing it together. I had signed up for 1:40 pace and then realized how fast it was and decided maybe that was just a bit too fast. I went out with my group anyway and actually finished within 1:42. I was super excited to try my first asphalt half marathon. Then I hopped on a plane back to Hawaii.

But the adventures didn't stop there, I went straight into a service trip for my internship...