29 Jul Fish and Feathers Internship Wrap-up
I am so sad
This has been such an impactful summer. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have been given to live in such an amazing place and meet such amazing people. Here’s what I have been up to in the last few weeks and some closing remarks.
The Finale
To recap: This summer, I was in charge of organizing 4 “Fishing Discovery” programs, and 4 “Fish with a Ranger” programs. Fishing Discovery are programs about topics that have to do with fishing, that aren’t necessarily fishing itself. Fish with a Ranger are programs where we…fish with a ranger! All of these programs had to take place at one of the Heritage Sites that are partners with the park. Somehow it worked out that all of these programs are taking place in the last 2 weeks of this internship. I’m going out with a bang!
Food, Family, and a Rich History
The first of the Fishing Discovery programs that I planned was on fish and fishing in Finnish culture. This took place at the Hanka Homestead, a homestead of Finnish immigrants that is now a museum. It is out in the middle of nowhere, which makes the fact that people thrived here so much more impressive! I asked Oscar, a descendent of the Hanka family to speak about the importance of fish to Finns. Oscar is genuinely one of my favorite people that I have met up here. He told us stories and talked about the things that his family has done in the area. He spoke about the places he fished and then the food that they would make once they brought it home.
Oscar went above and beyond by making all of us food! He made us a Finnish pancake and a Lake Trout chowder. He taught us the names and taught us the history of the dishes. I am so grateful to have met Oscar and that he shared so much of his life and his family history with us! The program was great, and I am wanting to learn more about Finnish culture now!
Maybe My Proudest Moment
The second of the Fishing Discovery programs was at the Porcupine Mountains, where Fish & Wildlife came and did their Sea Lamprey show. I got to work with them and also the DNR/Porkies staff. This was the program that I was looking forward to the most, and it came together beautifully. I am so proud that I was able to make it happen, and I am so grateful that F&W and the Porkies helped me to bring in as many people as possible. I think we had ~30 people, that’s a lot for up here in the UP! Shawn and Chad from F&W did an amazing, thorough presentation. People were asking questions, and they were super involved throughout the entire presentation. There were live Sea Lamprey and people got to touch them, feel what the mouth feels like, and Chad even let one latch on to his hand! The Porkies staff are some of my favorite people now. Katie is fantastic, and she is great at interpretation. They had a fish casting game that everyone was excited about. The people who attended went out of their way to tell us how much fun they had, and that makes me feel so good! I am so happy that I was able to do this, and also meet so many cool people!
Breaking the Curse
The third of the programs that I planned was an invasive species nature walk with Elam of the Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area. This program was awesome. So chill. We had 10 high school students attend and they were asking questions, and I could tell that they had a good time.
As far as the curse, the walk went from our visitor center to Swedetown Pond. We have had very bad luck at the pond all summer, as it has rained for every single program (4) that we have held there. This day was the exception! I had a great time, and I want to look into invasive species management areas in my hometown!!!
One More to Go
The last of the 4 Fishing Discovery programs hasn’t happened yet! It is on fly tying and fly fishing at Fort Wilkins. The Copper Country chapter of Trout Unlimited will be leading it. I can’t wait! I’ve been wanting to learn to tie flies for a while now.
Fish and Fish and Fished with a Ranger
We held each of the Fish with a Ranger programs at the location of each Fishing Discovery. They were a huge hit! The kids love the fishing and it get them out to places they have not been before. It’s been fun to use real fish to help them learn to ID. We’ve seen many different species, and even a few turtles! Shout out to the kiddos in the first and last photos, they and their wonderful mother have been to every single program that we have put on. I appreciate them so much!!!!!!
My Experience as a fish and feathers intern
Yes, I learned about fish, but I ran into some unexpected lessons too.
I had a blast diving into learning about the fish that live in Lake Superior and its watershed. I didn’t know very much about these fish, and now many of them are my favorite fishes! Lake Sturgeon, Brook Trout, Lake Trout, and King Salmon are just to name a few. I have always loved fish, but this summer made learning about them so accessible and less intimidating than it was before. I will forever keep up with how the fisheries are doing up here!
I knew that I was coming to a historical park, but I wasn’t expecting how much I would love learning about the history of the region. I have always found mining to be a fascinating topic, but this took things to a whole new level. From the indigenous mining 9000 years ago to the Calumet & Hecla mine that closed in the mid 1900s, I loved learning it all. What I find so cool about the park is that the lives of the people here are highlighted just as much the mining process itself is. This town was built by immigrants, who each had their own cultures and traditions. It’s beautiful to be able to look back and see what life was like.
Maritime and ships were something that I knew absolutely nothing about. We do not get a lot of large boats sailing through southern Wisconsin. I find that life to be so interesting and I had so much fun learning about the shipping industry and trade routes. There is a lot that I don’t know, but I’m definitely going to keep used the boat tracking app whenever I’m bored.
My Biggest Lesson
One of my biggest lessons was learning the power of confidence. I have been known to be quite anxious about things, but this internship has provided me with so much confidence in my ability to get things done. Confidence has eased my anxiety about talking to new people. I have met and networked with a ton of fantastic people, and it has been fun. Fun, not anxiety inducing.
My most important lesson has been learning to trust myself. Confidence is knowing that I will do a good job, but trust is knowing that whatever decision I make, I will make it work. Trusting myself is knowing that I can be in uncomfortable situations and thrive. Trust is knowing that even if I don’t think it is perfect, I know that I will make a good end product. Trust is allowing myself to relax. I trust that I can thrive, and I trust that I will thrive anywhere I go in the future.
This summer has been lifechanging in my perspective of how I view myself and how I move around in the world. I am ready to walk with the memories of this summer in mind, remembering all of the accomplishments I have made. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. I will cherish the things that I learned this summer for the rest of my life!
thank you!
Thank you to Environment for the Americas for creating these awesome internship opportunities, as well as being so supportive of all the interns. Jose, Paulina, and Stephanie, you’re the best. Y’all are what make this internship special.
Thank you to the entire KEWE staff. I loved working with all of you so much. Huge thank you to Karl for being an awesome mentor and thank you so Amber for being an awesome supervisor. Thank you to all of the other rangers, Whitney, Lynette, Dave, and Nick. Thank you to ALL of you. You have made this summer so so so special to me. I am going to miss KEWE so much.
Thank you, Sue and Jeff. It was a pleasure to meet both of you, and I feel so honored to be able to spend time with you. Y’all spoil me!
Thank you to Milsy!!! I am so happy to have been living with another intern, and I am even more happy that it was you! You’re my bestie for the restie.
Thank you to my mom, my brother, and my beautiful girlfriend for being so supportive and for coming to visit me. I am sad to leave, but happy to come home to you three.
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