It’s finally time to end my internship with the BLM at Fort Ord National Monument. I had a huge number and variety of experiences here, and I’ll definitely miss all the people, places, plants, wildlife, and ecosystems that I’ve gotten to know.<\/p>\n
I’ve learned a lot during my time at Fort Ord, way more than I would be able to describe in this post. Some of the main things, though – I gained a lot of experience with plant, wildlife, and ecosystem identification, as well as plant anatomy and taxonomy. I’d be able to tell anyone how to ID a Fort Ord grass based on its ligule, or the subtle differences between Ericameria ericoides<\/em> and\u00a0Ericameria fasciculata<\/em> seeds\u00a0<\/em>(not that anyone would ever ask haha). I’ve also seen first hand what conservation work is like, as well as work in a federal agency, which has been invaluable in helping decide the next steps for my career.<\/p>\n And, one last lesson Fort Ord taught me before I left was how to respect\u00a0and deal with poison oak. I’d touched poison oak before and gotten small rashes here and there,\u00a0but a week ago I carelessly worked through a stand of it while repairing goat grazing plot fences, and sure enough now I\u00a0have big angry rashes across my arms, shins, and stomach (even after washing with Tecnu!). I now realize just how nasty and uncomfortable\u00a0poison oak can be, but I also feel that I deserved it to an extent – I didn’t really respect it\u00a0enough\u00a0until that experience set me straight.<\/p>\n Overall though, I am really glad to have had\u00a0this amazing opportunity. I feel very grateful for all I’ve had a chance to learn and do, and to all the wonderful people I got to work with, especially my mentor, Bruce, who guided and supported me in more ways than I’d possibly be able to articulate.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s finally time to end my internship with the BLM at Fort Ord National Monument. I had a huge number and variety of experiences here, and I’ll definitely miss all the people, places, plants, wildlife, and ecosystems that I’ve gotten … Continue reading