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My AZ Experience
April 18th, 2015
Start date: January 10th, 2015 End date: April 18th, 2015 Student: Blake Dunk Supervisor: Brad Hunter
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Preface
The purpose of this final report is to capture a brief description of the agency where the internship was served, a summary of the student’s accomplishments, a self-‐analysis of performance, recommendations, and overall conclusion of hours served. I would like to acknowledge my university supervisor Dr. Sandra Klitzing and my agency supervisor Brad Hunter for making this all possible. With the ongoing support of both parties, I was able to successfully complete all the requirements necessary to complete my Illinois State University internship as well as the American Conservation Experience requests. I would also like to acknowledge a few others in the ACE organization for all their help, encouragement, and advice throughout my time here: A.J. Conrad, Jordan Rolfe, Mark Loseth, Hannah Wendel and the following crew leaders: Jimmy Gregson, Dale Thomas, and Gavin Monson.
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Table of Contents
Page # Preface/Acknowledgements_______________________________________________________________2 Table of Contents___________________________________________________________________________3 Agency Description_________________________________________________________________________4 Summary of Student’s Accomplishments______________________________________________5-‐6 Self-‐Analysis of Performance______________________________________________________________7 Conclusions and Recommendations______________________________________________________8 Appendix____________________________________________________________________________________9
• VSP Flyer__________________________________________________________________________10 • VSP Evaluation____________________________________________________________________11 • VSP Evaluation Results___________________________________________________________12
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Agency Description
The American Conservation Experience (ACE) is a non-‐profit organization dedicated to providing rewarding environmental service opportunities that harness the idealism and energy of a volunteer labor force to help restore America’s public lands. ACE’s conservation corps program is for American participants, aged 18-‐25 who are considering land management as a career path or potential course of study. Corps members serve in professionally supervised teams as they explore future outdoor careers, learn practical field skills, and develop confidence as emerging leaders in the field of conservation. Most importantly, members are offered opportunities to learn and train under the guidance of professional mentors within ACE, while gaining invaluable career perspectives working side by side with staff from the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and many other stewards of our nation’s public lands.
ACE is a 501(c)(3) non-‐profit organization. This means they are not allowed to make a profit. Every single dollar has to go back into the organization. For every volunteer hour put in, ACE gets paid from the park/organization for that work. It pays for the insurance and maintenance on our vehicles, food for project, staff salaries, utilities, equipment, and tools. National Parks, National Forests, Wildlife Refuges, wilderness areas and other public lands throughout the United States are imperiled by a combination of dynamics that threaten habitat, endanger vital ecosystems, and compromise the non-‐negotiable right of the next generation to explore the natural world. While population growth leads to habitat loss, sacrifice of open space, and acute pressure on native wildlife and plant species, America’s land managers face a chronic shortfall of funding to restore our nation’s most treasured lands. ACE is committed to capturing the growing worldwide spirit of service by providing the professional level of coordination, training, and supervision necessary to translate idealism into accomplishment for the benefit of America’s National Parks, Forests, Wildlife Refuges, and other protected lands.
Works Cited
History / Mission / Cause. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2015, from http://www.usaconservation.org/about-‐ace/history-‐mission-‐cause/
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Summary of Student’s Accomplishments
Over the course of my three-‐month term volunteering with the American Conservation Experience I was scheduled on projects in Pine, AZ doing trail reconstruction, Sedona, AZ doing rock work and ecological restoration, and lastly Chiricahua National Monument, AZ doing trail restoration and rock work. For me, each project was an experience all on its own due to my lack of skills in the conservation field. I saw myself slowly understanding what the conservation movement is all about and I was happy to put forth my best effort.
In Pine, AZ we utilized all sorts of trail tools and techniques to reroute an old mountain bike/hiking trail back into alignment with its former route. This was my first project and I gained many skills in trail construction as well as how to efficiently and effectively use all the different tools that I had minimal experience with. The work consisted of using rock bars, axes, and picks to move large obstacles like rocks and root systems that were nestled in the way of the new trail route. Once the path was cleared, we utilized shovels and mclouds (rake-‐like trail tool) to flatten the trail and create a functional tread with a durable critical edge that would hold up against future erosion. The rerouted trail was about a half mile long and contained multiple climbing turns that were constructed from scratch to safely guide the fast paced mountain bikers down the path.
In Sedona, AZ the main focus was high quality stonework at a popular trailhead located near the Sedona Airport. The work consisted of gathering material from a rock quarry, transporting the stone to the trailhead, and transporting the rock again to the work site. Once at the work site, dry stone masonry was used to build a large freestanding stone fence/wall along with a couple circular retaining walls that also acted as benches. These structures act as a vista point and area of focus for people to enjoy the setting without causing further damage to the area. Once all the rockwork was finished we focused on re-‐vegetating the surrounding areas that were destroyed and fencing off the remaining areas that were still naturally in tact.
There were a lot of power tools utilized to create and shape the rocks to the specific sizes needed including jackhammers and drills. A power carrier was also used to transport the rocks up to the work site. I gained the most experience on this project due to the extended length of time that I spent there and the variety of tools and skills utilized to revamp the trailhead. After drilling the rocks at the quarry they were then split using plugs and feathers and transported to the work site. Once at the work site hammers, chisels, and power tools were used to create perfectly sized rocks for each tier of the wall. After completing the wall and both benches we transported the remaining dirt and rocks throughout the trailhead creating rock islands to further protect the vegetation. Juniper branches and cacti were placed in the restricted areas to create a barrier and cover up the many social trails that were created over the years. While the restricted areas were being seeded with native grasses and extra dirt, a permanent fence was also built to guide visitors to each part of the trailhead. All of this was completed over the course of the two and a half months that I was scheduled in Sedona and I was very happy to see the end result.
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My last project, which took place in Chiricahua National Monument, was also mainly rockwork to effectively rebuild a former CCC wall that was washed away by a recent flood. We were constructing a more durable style of retaining wall so that the trail will remain in tact against future incidents of erosion. Chiricahua is a highly protected wilderness area and because of this power tools were not usable due to the excessive noise they create that disturb the wildlife there. This created very challenging rockwork due to the tougher rhyolite rocks that were being used to create the wall. Everything had to be hand chiseled to precise dimensions and have excellent contact within the wall to generate the most durability. Larger rocks that were too big to move by hand were carried by a high-‐line grip hoist system to their correct positions. Even though this was my final project, I put forth my best effort and many sections of the wall were completed further bringing the project to a close.
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Self-‐Analysis of Performance
Working with ACE has allowed me to get a full understanding of what a professional job in conservation would be like. I got to work directly with personnel within the National Park Service as well as the US Forest Service, which I am interested in as future career options. My strengths that were developed the most were recognized by the masonry work I was completing throughout my term. I also gained a lot of valuable experience in trail maintenance, construction, restoration, and re-‐vegetation. I learned many techniques and terminologies that will guide me in completing these tasks in the future with little or no assistance. Over the course of my internship I had a few shortcomings, which included hiking long distances and carrying large amounts of weight. I have gained a lot of strength during my term and can now hike longer distances without fatigue, but I still struggle with the amount of weight I can hold on my back. I want to be able to backpack long distances in the future and plan to challenge myself in the upcoming years to overcome this weakness. I have no questions about the future and am pretty confident of what I need to do after speaking with multiple ACE staff members about how I can improve and successfully get a job in the field of conservation.
Overall, I effectively completed all of the objectives I created over the course of the internship. After orientation I introduced myself to the heads of the organization and also got to know many of ACE staff. I developed my own project proposal ideas and completed the forms needed by the university supervisor and ACE to carry out the volunteer service project. The volunteer trash clean up I facilitated and organized assisted the city of Flagstaff to clean up a street as well as raise awareness about ACE to the public. I worked with a variety of tools and machinery and became very skilled using a few of them including: hammers, chisels, jackhammers, mclouds, and pick axes. I was very prompt with completing certain university requirements such as reports and evaluations as well as meeting and explaining my requirements to my agency supervisor. I also took the time to reflect and comment on certain aspects of the work being done to my agency supervisor. Towards the end of my internship I was also able to establish many contacts and future references within the agency and other government organizations, which will aid me in applying for future jobs related to this field.
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Conclusions and Recommendations
Through this internship, ACE was able to provide me with a quality experience and a step into the professional lifestyle that I desire for my future. Being able to work directly with federal agencies that I have career interests in gave me a first hand experience of what it would be like to work in those organizations. I got to meet and talk with NPS and Forest Service professionals about how they got to where they were and what steps they took to obtain the experience needed for such work. I really became interested in rockwork and masonry after completing the Sedona project and then continuing rockwork in Chiricahua. I have gained the most experience in that category and think I am well on my way to be a master in masonry. I would like to continue practicing and challenging myself to learn more about conservation and the different types of work that can be done in that field. I have gained many leadership abilities and would also like to continue my experience living and working in the outdoors. Leading others and developing my skills to eventually achieve a responsible status within an organization are my future ambitions. After completing this term with ACE, I have realized all the opportunities that they can provide including future internships working directly with NPS or Forest Service agencies through their EPIC (Emerging Professional Internship Corps) program. I have also been able to meet and discuss the ways to navigate and successfully apply for federal jobs via usajobs.com. My advice to the ACE organization is to really try and motivate the volunteers to work their way up in the agency or move on to bigger things within this field of work bringing with them all the valuable experience gained while working in ACE. My recommendation to Illinois State University is to simply add more classes dealing with conservation and outdoor recreation. While I enjoyed and learned a lot in all my classes in the Parks and Recreation program, I did feel like I wanted to learn more about outdoor recreation, national parks, monuments, and wilderness areas and how we can conserve them for future generations.
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OPERATION: CLEAN UP BEAVER ST.! I am a volunteer working with the American Conservation Experience (ACE) and
I need your help! I will be organizing a trash clean up for Beaver St starting at Cedar Ave going all the way to Aspen Ave downtown and back. This may take around 3+ hours and I only need up to 5 volunteers. If you can help make our street a little greener and take a few hours out of your Sunday to learn about
conservation, please call the number below and RSVP. THANK YOU!
Phone: 847-284-4443
IT’S TIME FOR A CLEAN UP!
March 22nd at Noon Please meet in front of 309 W Cedar Ave Flagstaff, AZ on:
Questions or comments please contact:
Blake Dunk Phone: 847-284-4443
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Beaver St Trash Clean Up Evaluation
On a scale of 1-‐10, how much did you enjoy the clean up? (Circle One)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 What are some things that could be done to improve this project for the future? Did the coordinator explain what and whom the clean up was for? (Circle One) Yes No If so what did you enjoy most about the discussion? Would you attend another trash clean up in the future? (Circle One) Yes No
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Beaver St Trash Clean Up Evaluation Results
Volunteer Responses
êQuestionsê Volunteer #1 Volunteer #2 Volunteer #3 Volunteer #4
1. On a scale of 1-‐10, how much did you enjoy the clean up?
10 10 10
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2. What are some things that could be done to improve this project for the future?
Not much. Project was very well done and organized.
The project was very well planned and coordinated
so I wouldn't change anything.
More people, more roads, also more trash grabbers.
More people.
3. Did the coordinator explain what and whom the clean up was for? Yes or No
Yes Yes Yes Yes
3a. If so what did you enjoy most about the discussion? Enjoyed talking about the positive impact ACE and any group of dedicated
citizens can make on the community. Liked how many people said thank
you.
Hearing about ACE's involvement in the community
and how much people appreciate
it.
How the clean up impacted the
community and how important what we were doing was for the environment.
How involved ACE is with the
community and how appreciative the community
was.