Don't Lose Heart

I can't remember now where I was but sometime in the last few weeks under my blog ideas note I wrote the phrase "don't lose heart". I'm sure I was sitting in a meeting with other natural resource professionals discussing how we want to approach a community service project or with teachers working on student-led stewardship projects. It's easy in the current political climate to get into a glass half empty mind set and I'm as guilty as the next person of being gloomy about what the next four years bring for the environment, our public education, and the country as a whole. However, and this is a big however, serving as an AmeriCorps member makes it very easy to snap out of this and view our current situation through the glass half full lens. Every day I'm surrounded by really smart people working very hard to get things done. So don't lose heart because there are really hard working people all over the country (not just in northern Michigan) doing their damnedest to make sure students have equal access to a quality education, that we have clean air to breath and water to drink, and that all people are protected under the law. And don't lose heart because I've got some good Southern transplant stories from the past few weeks.

Working with other AmeriCorps members in my office on compiling invasive species inventories, love getting to use my GIS skills but that it's not such a large part of my day to day anymore!

I made it to my second Great Lake- Lake Michigan! Another AmeriCorps member and I took a day trip over to Petoskey and I'm in love with the city. Great shopping downtown, phenomenal views of the lake, and my first sand in Michigan. It's about a 45 minute drive from Gaylord through pretty ag fields and tiny towns. I'm a fan of wandering through small shops and seeing local art which Petoskey had an abundance of; we also found some great board games and kids toys in several stores. Lunch at Roast and Toast on the recommendation of my roommate was fantastic if you're ever in Petoskey. We found our way to Petoskey State Park and I've never been so happy to have a sandy butt and sand in my shoes. Only slightly disorienting to be around sand dunes but not salty air!

Frozen lake with piles of snow on it and a beach with lots of rocks!

Might become a rock nerd up here.

Snow on sand. What.

 

Our monthly AmeriCorps training was down state (Michigander for the lower half of the Lower Peninsula) and it was great to catch up with everyone. It's always interesting to hear the different projects people are involved with; some of which I would love to be working on and others that totally don't get me stoked but man am I glad they get someone else stoked because it's still important work. We all grabbed a beer at Which Craft Taproom and a small group went for sushi at Maru! Side note: we have a place that serves sushi in Gaylord but holy cow do I miss the abundance of choice in Atlanta in terms of ethnic food.

AmeriCorps training on communications for natural resource professionals.

The snow is almost all gone and it feels a little like spring purgatory weather wise. Some days are beautiful and sunny and above freezing so walks and being outside are easy. Other days we drop back below freezing and have a random inch of snow but not enough for skiing. I did wear Chacos the other day and my toes were so happy to breathe! Speaking of Chacos, I had a fairly entertaining conversation about the difference between flip flops and sandals and then really confused the issue when I called flip flops Rainbows. The takeaway for the rest of the table was that Emily is a crazy Southerner. All in all, still doing great up here and enjoying my service and the people I'm meeting but itching for warmer weather!

Hiking in the Pigeon River Country State Forest, gorgeous public land!