Fall is finally here in Colorado. The morning air is cool and crisp, the aspen are putting on a beautiful show, and the breweries are releasing stouts. When I first started my internship, the trees had not put on new leaves for the year. Now the leaves are turning yellow, signaling that summer is nearly over and winter is coming. Fall is the season for preparing for what comes next. The plants shed leaves and go dormant to try and survive the winter. The animals are trying to find every last calorie they can before the lean times of winter. Those who garden are canning and putting away the last of the seasons harvest. Fall is a season of review; what went well, what needs work, and what to do differently next year. With my internship winding down, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about this past season and also the future.
This past summer has gone by in a whirlwind. I have been all around the wonderful state of Colorado and explored parts of it that I would have never taken the time to visit. I have met amazing people with a passion for conservation and managing our public lands. Most days were spent outdoors in the sunshine looking for the threatened and endangered plants of Colorado. It has been a great summer and I am so glad that I was able to explore the world of natural resource management and conservation. I got an up close look at how our public lands are managed and how much goes on behind the scenes. The world of resource management is vast and filled with so many great people working to preserve our awesome public lands.
The summer was not filled with just happy feelings and sunshine though. When my internship started I was very excited to travel around Colorado and get paid for it. Now that I have finished my internship, I have discovered that I really do not enjoy travelling for work. Staying away from home multiple days a week ended up being a huge inconvenience. I also have found that I am not a fan of commuting to a metro area. I originally thought my time spent going to work would be a great time to catch up on podcasts and listen to good music. While the music was great, sitting in traffic before and after work became soul crushing after a few months. Spending 2-3 hours a day to get to work and back was bad for life, and most importantly bad for the garden. Working and traveling all summer with a small crew pushed my social skills. I prefer silence and working alone, so working and traveling with people all summer was stressful at times for me. I was pushed to learn and grow this summer, personally and professionally.
I think that internships should be viewed as opportunities to explore yourself and figure out what works best for you as an individual. This summer has given me lots of time to think about where I can fit in with conservation efforts. As much as I enjoyed what I did this summer, I do not think this is what I would like to do with my life. I find myself being drawn to growing plants as a career path. I am not sure if that means growing vegetables locally, working at a botanic garden, or even growing native seed for Seeds of Success, but as long as I get to plant some seeds I will be happy.
It is always hard getting ready for change. Tomorrow will be my last day as a CLM intern and I am not really sure what the next few weeks and months will have in store for me. I am excited to see what comes next and what I can do for conservation. When the snow starts to fall this winter I have a feeling I will be longing for the days of this past summer, days spent sweating in the hot sun of the western slope of Colorado. Winter is coming, but thankfully spring always follows.
