Becoming Outdoorsy!

Yesterday, I went canoeing for the first time, and I woke up this morning surprised by how sore my shoulders were! We started around 10AM when it was still slightly chilly. We put on life jackets and successfully made it into the canoe without tipping. I took the front and Caroline brought up the rear; she was great at steering—I was impressed! Anytime I began to get nervous that we were drifting one way or the other, Caroline always seemed to be on it, ready to steer us in the right direction.  It was hard work to begin with as we headed into the wind. It was extra difficult right before we turned back when the wind was extremely strong on the open water. I could tell a significant difference as we returned with the wind at our backs. Once the sun came out about halfway through, it was the perfect Saturday activity to be outside and enjoy some nature.  Speaking of nature, there were many animal sightings! Most notably, we saw two alligators. One was just barely poking its hea...

     I am super excited to write this blog post because I am heading home from a week in Peru! My week was filled with experiences unimaginable and the most stunning nature pictures to go along with it.       One of my strongest impressions from Peru is that there is so much beautiful vegetation for a city the size of Lima. There were vines of flowers on every roof and window, and lush green along each highway. And fun fact: Lima is the only capital city in the Americas on the coast (excluding the islands).      Then, we ventured out (by boat) to four islands surrounding La Punta where we had the chance to jump in and swim with the sea lions. I do not believe I have ever been in the Pacific Ocean: it was frigid but refreshing in the most life-giving way!     The highlight of the trip was our two days in Cusco. We woke up at 5am in the morning then travelled 5 hours by bus then train then bus to reach the entrance of Machu Picch...

This past Thursday we embarked on an incredible experience: Alligator Catching! This was my favorite experience at the nature center so far, and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on it. One of the most shocking aspects of this excursion was what a process it was to catch the alligator, reel it in, bring it to shore, secure its jaws, take all the measurements, and release it back exactly where they found it. It was quite the day! There are still some questions I was left with—the biggest one being: what is the purpose of collecting all the measurements? It seemed like an overly extensive process just to figure out the weight of one of many gators. Additionally, I would like to know how many they catch and measure each year? What is their food source and what other species reside in the pond? How do they count exactly how many are in that murky pond? Overall, it was fascinating watching the rangers of the Fort Worth Nature Center manage these animals. They were up to the challenge of ...

Reflecting on our third day of habitat restoration at the Fort Worth Nature Center, I found great fulfillment in the progress we made on Thursday. In past visits it felt like we weren't actually making a dent in the privet, but this time we most certainly did! After clearing the entire area near the sign and moving over to the second lot, it was clear we were making a difference. It's amazing what we can get done with 12 people hard at work!  This reminded me of the starfish story that I heard from our student council president my freshman year of high school. It goes like this: there was a young boy walking along the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean that had washed up from a big storm. A grown man came up to him, gestured to miles of seashore with hundreds of starfish, and said, "What are you doing? You will never make a difference." The young boy picked up a single starfish, threw it back into the ocean, and said "Look, I made a difference for that o...

1) "Dog" The Alligator Highlights : I would love to do a series of funny highlights about Dog. This would be in the form of short clips (30 seconds or so); the best platforms for this include TikTok, Youtube shorts, and Instagram reels. I imagine everything from Dog eating dinner to walking around the office presented in a humorous form.  2) Day in the life of a Park Ranger : People on social media always get a kick out of following along on the daily lives of real people. If one of the park rangers could video themselves with everything that their job entails, we could cut and edit it to make a great TikTok, Instagram video, etc.  3) Informational Bison Content : When I talked with Jarod about the bison herd, I learned a lot of facts that were interesting and made me appreciate these beautiful animals. I would love to do the same for followers of the Fort Worth Nature Center.