23 Sep I Bid You All a Very Fond Farewell

Where do I start? To describe how impactful and amazing my internship at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area has been would be nearly impossible. So, I will try my best. This internship has provided me with unimaginable experience, knowledge, and connections that I will always appreciate. 

In the month of August, I have really begun to feel more connected to my park ranger side. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I have started to lead my very own interpretive program that takes form of an interactive, intro to birding, bird walk and talk called “Seeing Seabirds by the Sea”. This program has gone very well thus far. My goal for the program was to give visitors an idea of the different seabirds and shorebirds that can be found around Yaquina Head as well as to promote a love for birding. I believe I have been successful with completing the objectives for my program with many of the participants. At the end of each bird walk I ask the audience if they can recall at least one seabird and one shorebird, so far everyone who participated is able to. I also wanted to emphasize the importance of being able to use binoculars for folks who are just getting introduced to birding, I began all my walks with a lesson on how to use binoculars and explaining how important this tool can be for identifying birds. I was able to lead a total of six bird walk and talk programs and I accrued a total of 45 contacts that participated. Some days were harder to attract participants, I contribute some of those issues to the cold weather, high tides, and intense winds but I understand that there can always be more promotion that can be done early on. 

As an EFTA intern I am not required to perform any Yaquina Head lighthouse tours. However, I realized that there is a dire need for more Latino representation within interpretation. I decided to take the initiative by researching and developing my own Yaquina Head lighthouse tour. Although I do not have experience in performing costume interpretation, I know I am capable of the task. I have performed 12 total tours with 123 total contacts, and I have heard many positive reviews of my tours. A coworker that attended one of my tours even stated “I thought your lighthouse tour was informative and engaging. You presented key historical insights while interacting with visitors in a fun and conversational way.” I was also very lucky that my siblings were able to visit me in Oregon and attend one of my tours, they both enjoyed it, and I am just so thankful to be in a position where I can be a role model for them by showing them their Latino brother succeeding in this field. 

I am now in the final week of my internship; I want to just thank everyone I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with. I want to thank my supervisors Stephanie and Alyssa, the rest of the Yaquina Head staff, the seabird monitoring team, as well as the rest of my EFTA family. I bid you all a very fond farewell!