It's my final week at Cuyahoga Valley National Park and this will be my very last blog post. I have been trying unsuccessfully to step back and reflect on the entirety of my summer. What better way to give closure to these digital journals? But...
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to work alongside beginning farmer interns at the Countryside Learning Farm. Countryside is a private program that partners with Cuyahoga Valley National Park in order to preserve the rural landscape of the valley by leasing sites in the park...
As part of my trail monitoring work, I run measuring wheels down trails in all corners of the park. In the early morning mist of the valley and the oppressive heat of the late afternoon, you can find me rolling along with a rickety wheel...
Last week we officially launched my social trail monitoring pilot program! During the day I was too busy to be nervous. I had incorrectly assumed that the Volunteer Management Office would have extra radios and first aid kits, so I spent the day tracking those...
At the end of last week I was gearing up to start recruiting for my social trail monitoring program when my supervisor and I took stock of my project and realized that we were working with fewer trails than we had perhaps expected. In one...
Hello reader, Just now, I was curled up at my desk making what will hopefully be the final edits to my volunteer training manual. My mind was consumed with the details of the citizen science program I have been developing, thinking of how I was going...
Dear reader, Descending into the fog of the valley every morning, I see people finishing up their runs and setting off for work. In the evening, as I leave the park, I observe lots filling with eager cyclists and hikers straight from the office. On...
Hello reader, This past week I’ve been busy laying the foundation for the project I will be working on for the rest of the summer. My end goal is to develop a sustainable citizen science program that will monitor the condition of informal trails within CVNP....
Hello reader, It feels like my first week has been a whirlwind of trainings and introductions, but it has been hectic in the best way possible. I have been relishing the beautiful hikes and the opportunity to meet so many people who genuinely love their jobs,...
Hello reader, My name is Crystal Zhao and I am a rising sophomore at Johns Hopkins University studying environmental science, English, and economics. This summer I will be interning at Cuyahoga Valley National Park as a science communication assistant. My work will revolve around developing a...