Love your Mother Earth

In case y'all didn't know, April 22 is Earth day. I think the fact that its a day before my birthday combined with my love for Pocahontas at a young age should have hinted at the fact that I wanted to be an environmentalist. Anyway, because Mother Earth is far to large to have only one day, I have worked the last two weekends at Earth Day events. I think these events are incredible opportunities to teach kids about our environment. It always amazes me how excited they get about what we are showing or teaching them, and also how much they already know. First up was the Mauka to Makai (Mountains to Ocean) day at the Waikiki Aquarium.

The Mauka to Makai day wasn't something I would normally work on in my office, mostly because I work in the forestry section and we have three interns who work strictly for education and outreach. But because we were short people, I volunteered. Anything to get more hours that don't involve me typing away on a computer right? Man, was I glad I agreed to do this. First of all, its at the Aquarium, which despite being rather small (especially when compared with the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach) was one of my favorite activities to do when we used to visit Hawaii. Its right on the beach and has cool touch tanks, a monk

seal, and a ton of tropical fish to see. But the real reason this event was awesome, was that I met Wyland. Even if the name doesn't seem familiar to you, trust me, you have seen his work. You know the whale tale license plates? Ya that's him. Pretty much anytime you see an incredible mural showing ocean life, it will be Wyland. Long Beachers, he did the whale mural you see near the pike on the Long Beach Arena. Basically when everyone else had Lisa Frank folders in elementary school, I had Wyland. He is a friend of our outreach and education coordinator and was there promoting the water pledge (I'll put more info below). And I was working at his booth handing out signed posters and he just walked over and said, "Hi, I'm Wyland, nice to meet you" all very casual. Meanwhile, the fan girl inside of me was being repressed so I could keep my cool. It was really great to finally meet one of my art heroes. On a side note, my boss invited him to get drinks with us later, but he was already back on the North shore, but next time she has to go out to his house she said she's taking me with her. To see his studio would be beyond amazing. 

Next up on fun Earth Day events was working at the Marine Corp Base. This one was not one of my favorites, mostly because it seemed more like an event rather than focusing on the environment. There were three different tent areas and only one focused on the environment. The other tents had a lot of vendors selling things from green tea and fertilizer to Hotels and diving lessons. It was kinda fun because they let everyone shop in the Marine Mall, which is already cheaper than the regular prices, but on that day everything was 20% off. Unfortunately I didn't really need anything so I just stocked up on some of my favorite Clinique supplies. 

My last earth day event was at Sea life Park. This one I didn't really get invited to work, I just told everyone I was going. I used to really like going to Sea life park when I was younger but hadn't been in years so I was interested in checking it out. It was actually a really great event because there were a lot of cool groups tabling. It was being sponsored by Sustainable Coastlines that had over 650 volunteers clean the beach before heading over to the event. It was just very grassroots which made the hippie part of me very happy. Once the other

volunteer arrived, I got a chance to go explore. You really forget that when you're younger, everything seems much larger than when you are a grown up. It amazes me how small the park was, now that my legs were two times longer. The area I was really excited to see was where they used to have the dolphin show. Its a big arena and in the middle is an island. When I was younger I legitimately thought when I was a grown up, I was going to live on that island, with the pretty Hawaiian guy, our pet dolphins and the pirates across the way. What more could a girl ask for? Unfortunately it now appears that area is being used for dolphin encounters, which makes me think they were hurting on money. I personally am not a huge dolphin encounter fan, mostly because I find something kinda unsettling about putting on a life vest, walking into a shallow pool and then making these dolphins pretend to kiss me for a picture. It made me that much more appreciative of the wild dolphin swim I got to do in New Zealand. 

The other issue all this marine park brought up was the issues regarding animals in captivity. If you've seen The Cove you would know why I would be uncomfortable. Its a documentary showing the dolphin harvesting in Japan for the use of dolphin shows across the world. I would recommend it to everyone, but you will be disturbed and need a box of tissues. These types of places and zoos always make me think about the issues of education and study compared with confining wild animals to small habitats and their constant exposure to humans. I think its great that kids get an opportunity to learn and be inspired by these animals so that later in life they may want to be wildlife biologists or marine biologists. But on the other hand, it can't be good to keep them in such small spaces. I think I have reached the understanding that I am ok with animals that were born in captivity staying in captivity but definitely not with taking wild things and caging them. Also, I think that the San Diego Wildlife Park is a better direction to go than zoos. They have bigger enclosures and they usually get to be on their natural surface (grass, dirt) over concrete. Anyway, just some of my thoughts. 

Lastly, if you are interested in pledging for better water conservation, go check out http://www.mywaterpledge.com/

Up next, Kauai and Birthday!

First Field Trip!

So I have now completed only 3 days at my new job and I already feel at home. My bosses are great and have so much knowledge to share! My first day was filled with lots and lots of reading. I am working for the forestry department, but mostly focused in land assistance programs, so similar work to what I did for my senior internship at the NRCS. The projects I am focusing on have been the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and Forest Stewardship Program. Haven't heard of them? Well that makes two of us. So my first day was spent reading about these various programs and becoming educated on them. I also got introduced to a couple more projects that I am still waiting to learn more about.

While the first day was a bit of a bore (reading dense material on the computer for 9 hours) the second day was much better. I was going on my first field trip! So I am assisting with a Pacific Islands Conference at the end of this month and we were hoping one of the FSP projects could host a dinner for all the islands. These islands include American Samoa, Palau, Guam, Federated States of Micronesia, and a few more, to come to Hawaii to discuss forestry issues specific to Pacific Islands. I am so excited to get to help out with this conference and meet all these incredible people especially since I have such a focus in the Pacific Islands. Anyway, back to the field trip, we went to this beautiful agroforestry farm in Kalihi called Ho`oulu `Aina where they are working to grow medicinal plants and all native Hawaiian plants. We discussed menu ideas for this dinner and they described things I haven't even heard of so I am super excited to be involved and learn new things. It was also great getting to go outside and experience a new ecosystem. It is amazing how much I learned going on field visits with the NRCS, without even realizing it. I learned what plants are invasive and native to California, but none of that applies here. Its a totally different forest and I have a lot to learn. So far we have gone over Albizia which is all over Manoa and Hawaii and invasive to Hawaii and Kukui, the state tree, which is also invasive. I also got to see what Koa looks like when its not the kitchen table I am eating off of! I am so excited to become familiar with a more Polynesian ecosystem.

Another project I am working on has been changing the rules in their statutes, which means I am putting all those law classes to work. It is a bit weird how much I enjoy reading statutes and knowing why particular language is used over another. I am excited to get going on this so that hopefully by the time my internship is coming to a close, I can say I helped change a statute! I am also working on the Big Tree project to help get Native Hawaiian trees on a national register and just got an email from someone doing the same thing but for New Zealand! So I hope to either get a few of our trees on the national list and a couple more on the Pacific Islands list in New Zealand.

So enough about work. Many of you ask how I am doing and what I am up to. To be honest, I've only had one weekend so far and it was spent unpacking my giant suitcases and becoming settled in my new life. Most of the time my days include work, going for a run, dinner, then relaxing before retiring quite early (as many of you know I am a bit of a night owl so this has probably been the hardest part). Running has been so enjoyable here, and I am not sure if its because the humidity makes it easier to breathe, the downhill at the beginning of my run, or the slight mist that is always hanging around Manoa in the evening. I just feel happy while running, which hasn't been the case since I took 3 months off after spraining my ankle. It has been a highlight of my day and I am hoping possibly a key to making new friends since I plan on joining a running club soon. This weekend I look forward to meeting up with some family returning from the World Cup in New Zealand (I am soooo jealous) and watching the All Blacks take on Australia. Hope to check in soon!

Heres a couple of pics from the field visit!

New Resident of the Great State of Hawaii

So I am not completely sold on wanting to do a blog for my time in Hawaii since I am just going to be living here and its not like im a tourist, considering how many times I've been to Hawaii. But I am thinking that it would be a good way to reflect and to share hopefully what will become really cool things related to my new job.

So in case you are unaware of what the heck I am doing in Hawaii, im going to fill you in. After graduating from UCSC with a degree in Environmental Studies, I went out into the real world in search of a job. I applied mostly to federal jobs because I had experience working with the NRCS already. I also knew that I wanted to work in Hawaii at some point. I decided to go the Hawaii Conservation Conference in the beginning of August in the hope that I could network and maybe get hired. I learned a lot and met tons of great people, but wasn't offered any jobs. What I did learn was that there was a group called KUPU that placed people in environmental positions in Hawaii using Americorp funding. They had year internships with a living stipend and an educational award at the end. After inquiring about my chances to actually get picked, I was pretty sure I had found my next employment.

So I was interviewed by a couple of groups that were interested after looking at my resume and application. It was all phone interviews mostly asking what experience I had, what I was most interested in, and what my responsibilities would be if I worked at their office. Both of my interviews were with the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources: Div. of Forestry and Wildlife but were different focuses in that department. I quickly heard back from the Forestry section and agreed to be their intern for the year!

I have been lucky enough to have experience with traveling and moving somewhere new, whether it was moving to Santa Cruz for college or studying abroad in New Zealand. I kinda thought that this would feel the same way. However, as I was on the way to the airport, I realized that this was probably the last time I would call LA home. There is no return home ticket waiting to bring me back to all the friends and family in California this time. It was a bit of reality check since I had made this big decision on a whim. Add in a bit of stress about having two very large suitcases (at the maximum weight and still short of belongings) and two bags pushing the boundaries on the term "carry on" and I had a bit of a freak out.
Once I got to my gate, I heard they were offering a $400 flight voucher, $30 food vouchers, a hotel room for the night, and 1st class tomorrow if you gave up your seat and I instantly agreed. Then I had a voucher to come home at some point AND got to fly 1st class. So I got a shuttle to the hotel, and Heather D. joined me at the hotel for some dessert, compliments of Delta. The next day I flew in style, drinking mimosas, coffee, tea, eating an egg omelet and chips, and pretty much over indulged in a way that only a coach flyer would.

Yesterday was my first day and I went and picked up my car which we had shipped out so I wouldn't die riding a moped (thanks mom) and then ran some errands. Mostly it was me attempting to put off unpacking, which I successfully did (still incomplete). I am staying with family in Manoa which is pretty close to work, which is in downtown Honolulu. I went to check out my work today to pick up paperwork and to get a feel for the office (aka figure out work appropriate clothing). Turned out they were doing a meeting going over their various projects in the office. I got a general overview of what my responsibilities were and even ended up with my name on projects despite not officially starting work until Monday. The most exciting thing was learning that there would be a lot of new things to learn. I will get a lot of opportunities to build on skills I already have (private land conservation projects, GIS) but I also get to learn new ones like spatial analysis, compliance, lobbying for legislation, all things I am eager to do. Best part, there will be island hopping in my future! DOFAW (Dept. of Forestry and Wildlife) has a couple of easements on various islands and each year they have to do monitoring of the property and I get to go along! Theres at least one on the big island and one on Molokai that I get to go see. I also have a field trip planned to do some invasive control at a marsh on the winward side so hopefully I will have some fun pictures for you all soon.

Well I guess I should probably get back to unpacking, still have a whole bag and a half to deal with :)