30 May Life is a Whirlwind of Education and Experinces

Over the last week/weekend I had the incredibly valuable (and fun!) opportunity to travel down to the Sisikiyou Field Institute in Selma, OR and take a Grass Identification Course with Dr. Barbara Wilson of the Carex Working Group. As I’ve mentioned before, I came into this job without a strong botany background and a bucket of anxiety and insecurity about my ignorance. Turns out my worry had no foundation, surprise! Within two months of starting at this duty station I’ve been given formal training, like this Grass ID class, and informal training from my crew, both on plot and on dedicated “tour your duty station” vegetation ID days. Now I view the Identification Keys sitting on the bookshelf behind my desk as an accessible resource rather than a mystical tome of advanced knowledge I could never hope to understand. This experience has been a good reminder of how elastic the brain is, and proof of my favorite mantra: You can learn to do anything if given the time, resources, and support.

Something I’ve noticed about the PNW’s Forest Monitoring Assessment Program is how much value is placed on investing in people. This attitude is evident at the top in our leadership and has undeniably trickled down to create a culture which supports learning and training. Already this season I’ve attended a Wilderness First Aid course with Noles Wilderness Medicine, tuned into a week of virtual protocol training, been granted dedicated time to pursue a GIS certification through Michigan State University, and now this Grass ID course has been added to the list. Looking ahead, in mid-June I’ll be attending a two day workshop dedicated to understanding common insects and diseases we encounter in western Oregon/Washington. I have a distinct memory of walking out of a final exam back in undergrad and mournfully thinking “I only have a year left dedicated to learning”. Ha! Turns out life is just continuous learning, and opportunities for formal instruction and informal intellectual generosity are all around—especially here in the Pacific Northwest Research Station.

My time at the Sisikiuou Field Institute held quite a few side quest adventures: climbing a nearby mountain to watch the sunset (if I may share some recently learned wisdom—try not to forget your headlamp when climbing a mountain to watch the sunset. No matter what books might tell you, stars do not give enough light to see by); impulsively taking a dip in the river during our lunch break (it was cold!); laying in the field we were camping in and watching the elusive Northern Lights (negligible light pollution, best case scenario for an unexpected bucket list event!). I’ve been waiting to share this until we all had the chance to share pictures from the trip, because the area was just gorgeous. Enjoy a few pictures of my time at the institute and stay tuned for more stories of education and adventures!