Training and Other Happenings

I have been rather busy the past few weeks. The new interns have arrived and we have had several groups on site. My time has been split between working in the barn, helping to train the newbies and working with the groups that are on-site.

Last week, there was an Elderhostel group on-site. I drove a the group for a day and got to tour two local museums: The Hinckley Fire Museum and the North West Company Fur Post. For me it was a bit of a treat because it broke up my normal work routine and I hadn't been to either yet. Spending the day with a group of seniors is always interesting. I think I told my life story about a dozen times but had a good time. I also got to talk about cranes for a few minutes when we drove by 4 in a corn field!

 Ricing demonstration at the Fur Post

Hinckley Fire Memorial

In addition to the groups on site, I have been getting to know the six new interns. All but one is from the midwest (not a lot of diversity this year). The other is from Cameroon. It is interesting getting used to all the new noises and faces in the house. During work hours, I have been helping train the new folks in on classes and team building exercises.

A majority of the education team doing team building!

Myself, Jess and Jane on the course!

Besides working a TON of hours, nothing else much has been happening. I am looking forward to everybody getting settled in and gearing up for the upcoming school year!

Hamline

TA DA!!

A benefit of my internship at the Audubon Center of the North Woods was a graduate certificate in environmental education from Hamline University. I finished the classes in May. When I got home this weekend my certificate was waiting for me!

Weekend Up North

My grandparents came to visit me this past weekend. It was a fantastic change of pace from the past week. We just moved slow and relaxed and saw some sites. On Friday I showed them around where I work. On Saturday, we hit up the Duluth and Superior area. We went to Canal Park as well as a couple Wisconsin State Parks. In addition, my Grandpa showed me some of his childhood stomping grounds.

Lighthouse at Canal Park

Manitou Falls at Pattison Park State Park

Little Manitou Falls at Pattison State Park

Shortly after my Grandparents dropped me off at my house,  my housemates asked if I wanted to go to Duluth with them. So I hopped back in the car and went to Canal Park and Superior Street with them. On the way home we grabbed pizza in this cute little place in Moose Lake.

It was a fun filled, relaxing weekend and a bit of what I needed!

Goodbye and Hello!

This past weekend was full of goodbyes and see you laters and a few hellos.

Friday afternoon my sister came to visit me for the weekend. I showed her around the center, introduced her to some of the critters and let her play on the rock wall. Saturday, we did the high ropes course and went up to Duluth. I had lots of fun and it was nice getting out and about!

Katie and I up on the high ropes course!

After Katie left on Saturday, I went to the centers Dinner at the Lake - Volunteer Recognition Dinner. I hung out one last time with the interns that were leaving. As 2 interns left Saturday, another 2 were arriving on Sunday. Its a little bit weird having people leave after living and working with them for so many months. In a situation like here, you get close to your fellow interns fairly quickly. The house and office are alot quieter now. It will be interesting getting to know the new folks over the next couple months!

intern party!

Yesterday evening, we had a little celebration for the end of the year / interns bon voyage party. We had lots of laughs and here are a few shots from the evening!

Amanda, Me and Manu

Me and Amanda showing off our matching fleeces

Sherburne NWR

Earlier this week, the interns went on a trip to Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge for one of our Hamline classes. It was lots of fun and the first trip where all of the interns were present. We had to pose and get a group picture in the "eagles nest."

While on the refuge, we got to see a TON of birds and prairie plants. As an extra bonus, our tour included several parts of the refuge that are closed for breeding season. Over the course of 5 or so hours we saw multiple bald eages, red tailed hawks, norther harriers, trumpeters and CRANES!! We saw 10 cranes in total and 1 was already painted for breeding! So much fun and probably one of my favorite intern outings so far :)

Banning by Snowshoe

Today at work I got the chance to go play in the woods - literally. Shayna, Clarissa and most of the interns went on a snowshoe hike in Banning State Park. For those of us taking Hamline courses, this was considered a class. This meant I did have to pay attention and take some notes while having fun.

Our hike followed the creek beds and was close to 3 miles. The rock around here is sandstone which is a rather soft rock - this makers for some interesting rock formations and views as it weathers. Along the way we saw some animal signs like coyote tracks and scat, bits of deer remains, mouse homes and some woodpeckers. We also came across some amazing views and frozen waterfalls (as you can see behind us in the picture).

We stopped, built a fire and ate lunch over looking one of the creeks. The steep incline also provided a perfect hill for sliding. Which we did...several times while exploring other inlets in the area. Its not often that we all get off site so when we do, we are sure to make the most of it. After smores, we headed back to the cars. All in all, not a bad day at the office!

lichens-r-us

This weekend, the interns had a trip up to northern Minnesota to visit Wolf Ridge RELC. The center is located on the north shore of Lake Superior. We drove up to have a look at another center that is similar to the Audubon as well as fit in a couple activities for our Hamline classes.

First up was lichen hunting. We learned the basics about lichens and then headed out to a nearby state park to find some lichens. I have been taking photos of lichens and fungus for awhile now and it was neat to finally learn some basics. A lichen is a symbiotic relationship between a fungus, bacteria and/or algae. I had lots of fun taking photos and trying to identify some species while enjoying the amazing view of Lake Superior.

Lichen Hunting at the state park

My favorite lichen picture!! A water droplet on several kinds of lichens - one of which is possibly a reindeer lichen.

Amazing View!!

The next day we went to a farm that is completely off the grid. They get almost all of their energy from various renewable energies. This was neat to and its neat that they can run an entire farm this way. After this we headed back to Wolf Ridge to observe a class. I watched Trees and Keys which is a class about identifying trees. It was kind of interesting and gave me the chance to explore the trails there a little bit.

Overall, a nice quick weekend trip!!

FIELD TRIP!!!

Today, the interns got the chance to go to the Raptor Center and Como Zoo in the cities.

First stop was the Raptor Center where we got the chance to see the education facilities, including many of their birds. We also got the chance to talk to someone who has worked in the wildlife field for a while and pick her brain. Below are 2 of the birds - a barn owl and great horned owl.

Next up was the Como Zoo. A nice small zoo near the raptor center. I had lots of fun taking pictures of plants in the conservatory (see below). In the cafe, I got a delicious mint chocolate coffee. I must admit that it was Caribou Coffee which makes it that much more amazing that I enjoyed the drink. (For those of you who don't know this, I am a Starbucks girl and usually hate Caribou drinks)

Overall, it was a good day. I learned a thing or two while I got some good coffee, a trip to the zoo and the chance to see some birds. Definitely cant complain!!

Charter School Visits

I have spent the past three days visiting 3 of the charter schools that the Audubon Center sponsors. It was quite the road trip with lots of time in the van and lots of time observing different teaching methods.

The first school we went to was in Minnesota City. I did not get to observe the teaching styles here but did teach a lesson of raptors. I taught the first hour after lunch (I always hate teaching the first class after lunch because so many kids go into a food coma). This class was of 9th/10th graders and pretty much unresponsive to my raptor lesson. We got the chance to talk with the director of the school and watch a board meeting which was interesting to see.

We got up super early the next day and drove to our second school - La Crescent Montessori. At this school we only observed classes. It is a Montessori school - so there are no lessons in the traditional sense. Each child in the class works on different lessons so there is lot of hands on activities and no lecture. To an outsider it often looks messy. It is a interesting teaching style and have no idea how I feel about it.

That same evening we got back in the van and headed to our last school - Cannon River STEM School. We spent the evening at the school in the living room of the staff housing. The school is situated on the campus of a boarding school so it really has a campus feel to it. This school was my favorite. It has an emphasis on science and technology so the kids learn alot about nature and science through projects. All of the teachers had really good rapport with the students so it was a positive learning environment. I observed for most of the day and then helped teach the Kindergartners about owls.

Overall, I learned a lot about various teaching styles and have a better understanding of the schools that come visit the center. The trip was exhausting though and I am happy to back in my own room!