Monday, April 19, 2010

April on the Forestry Crews

The last couple of weeks have been an exciting debut to an unforgettable experience that everyone in this program has encountered.
Though some days can be overwhelming, those days are also healthy. I am in the forestry crew, also known as Crew 1 with eight other members including my supervisor. We have all been introduced to trail and forestry work. We’ve gone on the “Arsenic Trail” to help out Game and Fish which included hiking down into the Rio Grande with cut throat trout on our backs to restock in the rivers. We’ve worked on a dedicated employee’s house that has a trail leading to his farm animals. There we learned how to construct tread maintenance, erosion control, and retaining the already built structures. We’ve worked on a trail called “Dos Arroyos” that the town of Taos issued last year. This trail is used for recreation and as a safe route to the hospital. On Dos Arroyos we put in posts and rails that look a lot easier to put in than they actually are. We’ve also been working on our personal development. A part of this development is our team building and knowing the ins and outs of our peers. I myself have worked on my own personal etiquette, which can be overwhelming at times. I am gaining the patience and strength for my future, and it’s not an easy job. I will say that I am grateful for this glorious opportunity and am making friends along the way.
-Caleb Cruz, Crew 1