In eleven days, our small Stonehill crew experienced a lifetime. In a burst of exploratory fervor, we learned about the west coast, ecology and ecosystems, and people - especially each other and ourselves. Tim often remarked that we now know more about Oregon than the majority of native Oregonians do. The awe with which we encountered every new landscape was evidence of how much we cherished and learned from our time on the Pacific Northwest. We gathered advice from professionals, including “learn how to work with and manage people”, “know what questions to ask of your research”, “be able to tell good stories”, and “preserve the best”. We saw how they functioned in their careers and how their passions manifested into their work ethics. We experienced many different facets of life, and how ecology permeates into all of our existences.
Some of the things we learned along the way:
Get experience, experience, experience!!!!!!!
Friends you make in college are friends you make for life
Build up your toolkit
Ponderosa pine smell like butterscotch
It may take more than 10 people to hug a redwood tree.
Old growth forests are breathtaking, and often defy words.
Jenna is the most amazing van driver ever
Carpool Karaoke is a blast especially when you have Ryan in the van.
Sea Lions bark all night
Grilled peanut butter & jelly is the best peanut butter & jelly
Try to avoid stepping on sharp rocks in Clear Lake
Shannon is amazing because she got stitches and didn't cry
Juanitas chips are the best tortilla chips ever
O’Hana means family, and family means no-one gets left behind.
Ultimately, we were able to glimpse into the bigger picture that ecology seeks to observe, document, and explain - but we certainly didn’t lose sight of the smaller things, either. Through our experiences together, we learned more about the overarching trends of the pacific northwest, ourselves, and each other - and we certainly are grateful for the experiences that we had, the people, and the places we formed bonds with.
Through this blog, we hope to educate members of the Stonehill Community on what we learned through this action-packed class, and underline the importance of an ecological understanding of the world around us, and through that understanding, foster the spirit and strength to save the only home we have.
As Ranger Dave of Smith Rock quoted to us,
“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.” ~ Baba Dioum
Ecologically yours,
Shannon Perrott Celia Dolan Jacqueline Lerner Douglas Gibbons Thomas Heine Luciano Gordon Ryan Lisa Natalie McDonough Laryssa Kalbfus