Baby Boomer Ranger

Now I have a project I can really blog about! This Baby Boomer Ranger is going on an Earthwatch Expedition to Costa Rica.

Check this out. I’m going to be an international volunteer.

My journey started about four years ago, while enjoying my Saturday morning grande non-fat latte. Next to the recycled paper napkins and cinnamon shakers, I saw a brochure for a contest. Starbucks Coffee would to send a lucky winner on an Earthwatch Expedition to work as a volunteer living and doing research on a coffee plantation. I took the brochure, checked it out on the web, and it was much more than I thought.

I had an epiphany.

I had a dream of a volunteer and partnership program on the Sierra National Forest. People from all around the country, all around the world, would come to the Sierra National Forest and work with biologists, hydrologists, botanists in gathering data, protecting our national natural resources, and participating in a democratic public land management process. I called it my “Out of the Box Partnership Project.”

One part of my wild vision was having a chance to further develop my personal perspective and experience by participating in an Earthwatch Institute expedition. I blogged about it way back in July of 2005 in “Cultivate the Doers”

Since then, a lot of things on the Sierra changed. My job changed, but my interest in partnerships, travel, and international work experiences remains strong.

Responding to an email forwarded to me from my college roommate, I applied for an Earthwatch Institute Fellowship. Due to the generosity of a philanthropic environmentalist, four Forest Service employees will be able to participate in an international experience, living and working beside researchers and volunteers.

The Earthwatch Institute Mission:
“Earthwatch engages people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment.

We believe that achieving a sustainable future requires objective scientific data from the field – and that the scientific process must engage the general public if it is to change the the world. To that end, we involve people from all walks of life directly in global field research.”

How cool is that? I really like that part about science and changing the world. I’m going to see if it is as cool as it sounds.

Throughout my career, I have enjoyed many challenges with the diverse ecosystems of California. Now that I have projects from the top of the state to the bottom, I am looking to taking another step in expanding my personal professional experience. Participating in an Earthwatch Expedition will allow me a chance to explore other environmental work opportunities. I hope that this project will give me a new set of ecosystem stories, a new set of global conservation considerations, and international work exposure. I am looking to increase my environmental awareness and bring that insight to the people and projects I am leading.

On my spring 2009 trip to Central America, I got my feet wet and I’m ready to go again.

I’ve got my Smokey the Bear baseball cap and my tropical weight field clothes sprayed with deet. My camera battery is charged, my typhoid shots are up to date, and my boots are broken in. Even my fear of www.govtrip.com won’t stop me.

I’m leaving August 9 and returning on August 18, 2009. Please check back as I blog about my trip preparations along the way, my thoughts, my fears, and my occasional panic attacks. I’ll be blogging up until the trip, and if all goes well, I’ll be blogging from Costa Rica while I am there.

Caring for the land and serving coffee. What in the world does growing coffee have in common with the management of national forest lands?
Hell if I know, but let’s give it a try and find out.

This year, Earthwatch. Next year…who knows where this Baby Boomer Ranger will go?

I’m going to dare to dream — and blog about it!