What do you want to do when you get older? This is a question I had been asked a lot while I was growing up as a young man. Naturally, my answer changed over time. My first answer was that I wanted to be Santa Claus. Then, over the years, I went through the rolodex of childhood career ideas; a firefighter, an astronaut, the president, etc. Working with the National Park Service wasn’t anywhere on my radar at the time.

For centuries, we’ve been relying on our partnership with animals to enhance our safety. Between 1959 and 1974, 300 missile sites were active across the county.

Representation matters, and while doing an education piece with a group of girl scouts recently I got reminded of how powerful it is to see yourself represented in intentional ways.

Minute Man National Historical Park tells the story of the first battle of The American Revolution. In April, the park holds different events to commemorate the battle that occurred on April 19^th, 1775 over the course of two weeks. With Patriots Day being a holiday in Massachusetts, this becomes a very high visitation time for the park. Visitors come to the different programs and events that are happening at the park.

A beach park may seem like a vacation, but there’s so much more that goes on just below the surface. There is a lot of hard work that gets done at Assateague Island National Seashore. As our site’s CVA, I’m privileged to have a first-hand look at the hard work being done.

August 5, 2019 |  Rodney Flora's job is a bit nostalgic - he uses traditional masonry techniques to build structures at historic National Park Service sites in the Mid-Atlantic region.

August 5, 2019 |  Henrietta Marks is an AmeriCorps member serving in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) WaterCorps Program in Fort Defiance, Arizona with the Water Resources Branch of the Navajo Nation, and is tasked with assessing drought impact. 

August 5, 2019 |  Current AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate, Katie Stanley is serving a 10-week term with the Piney Creek Watershed Association (PCWA) in Beckley, West Virginia. Only five weeks in to her service, Katie has been busy fostering environmental stewardship in her community. 

August 5, 2019 |  The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and the Stewards Program have a years-long partnership through which dozens of interns and AmeriCorps members have gained experience with the agency. 

August 5, 2019 |  Emilee Martell is currently serving her VISTA service term in partnership with the National Park Foundation at the St. Croix River Association (SCRA) in St. Croix Falls, WI. SCRA works to target and prioritize conservation efforts which result in the greatest pollution reduction, land protection, and stewardship growth.