PLT GreenSchools YLINC 2014 Day Four

The last day of our amazing journey was one of packing up tents, cleaning up headquarters, and two more final activities outdoors. Early in the morning, Stephen f. Austin State University Forest Wildlife Management Professor, Dr. Warren Conway invited the kids to look for birds on the lake shore. With Dr. Conway's spotting scope, the kids got to see a bird that they have already seen a millions times in illustration, but never in the flesh: a bald eagle! The National Bird makes itself at home on Lake Sam Rayburn frequently, but the campers felt very fortunate to see it. Like an avian ballet, hundreds of cormorants and pelicans churned the waters by the lake shore, and a great blue heron flew by for a photo op.

Left to Right: Andre Sanez, Dr. Warren Conway and Lyndi Long watch the fog roll in and watch for birds on the shore of  Lake Sam Rayburn

After getting packed up and ready to go, the kids took kayaks out in the water, which seemed to be the highlight of the camp. Dr. Tamberly Conway, U.S Forest Service Washington Office Partnerships, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, led the students on one last fun session of Zumba outside overlooking Lake Sam Rayburn.

Emerson Hernandez helps Andre Saenz and Clarissa Trevino get going on thier kayak.

Then it was time to say goodbye. Emerson Hernandez, Gabriella Bravo, Luis Cruz and Carlos Jimenez each wrote a letter to Tamberly and read it out loud. These letters were expressions of the kids gratitude for this opportunity. Tamberly was moved to tears, as her friends poured at their hearts from the words on the page. Everyone shared one last group hug, one last Austin cheer and made their way back to Houston. The students left nature as they found it during these past four days but nature did not leave them as when the students and nature first met. Each of the Y-LINC students left a piece of themselves with the nurturing nature that found them.

Emerson Hernandez, onenof our campers from El Salvador, said that before he signed up for this outing, he had plans to attend college, become a writer and open his own business. After this program though, he still wants to write and be an entrepreneur, but he is determined to make time to go out and enjoy nature. He is determined to live by his favorite epigram: "Give more than you can ever take" by working with and donating to groups that have programs just like this, if not to create a nature experience camp of his own. He says that these four days have made him "love nature even more."

Emely Velasquez, a Student Case worker at Houston Independent School District's Dropout Prevention Department and a 2005 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School, believes that programs like GreenSchools! Y-LINC have a positive effect on students. "Things like this, helps them keep coming back every day, and that keeps them from dropping out.” Emely joined us for the week as another vital partner, helping us set up the camp and keep it running smoothly. One of our goals was to introduce the youth to world of opportunity in the outdoors: Emely is confident that we have accomplished that goal. “It broadens their horizons. It introduces them to different opportunities that they may not have even known about.”

Funds from U.S. Forest Service Conservation Education and National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council made our event possible. The FNFGT, the U.S. Forest Service, NUCFAC, National Project Learning Tree and many other vial partners are building "Greenbelts" of Project Learning Tree GreenSchools! in Houston ISD through the Greenschools! : A Model for Green Communities partnership. Part of the work of that partnership involves providing access to outdoor recreation and delivering educational programming that connects the public to their Urban Forests. We have accomplished that and more.

Dr. Tamberly Conway, one of our event's principle organizers, along with Dr. David Clipson, the Friends of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, Executive Director, said that another goal of this camping experience was to“establish pathways to education and careers in natural resource conservation and management or just establish an interest in higher education.” Another goal was to establish a stronger bond between Stephen F. Austin High School and Stephen F. Austin State University, which are being developed as sister schools. In addition, Stephen F. Austin High School supports a diverse student population, with an approximate 96% Latino student enrollment. This partnership between the high school and the university will help to create pathways for Latino and other diverse youth, while establishing opportunities to diversify the SFASU College of Forestry and Agriculture as well as various agencies and organizations who are seeking to establish a workforce that mirrors the public they serve.

In addition, our partnership is developing a program model that will allow other school districts across the country to form GreenSchools!, establish GreenSchools! Greenbelts, and involve the schools and communities in the development and implementation of GreenSchools! Action Projects that support a healthier environment and sustainable ecosystems. Nalleli Hidalgo, Tracy Sanchez, Charlie Jordan, Arianna Berdote, Andre Saenz, Samuel Camarillo, Emerson Hernandez, Luis Cruz and Gabriella Bravo are our Green Ambassadors who are working to bring new schools into the Houston East End Greenbelt. Emerson, Luis and Gaby decided to offer themselves as Greenschool Ambassadors during this very adventure!

This event also contributed to the U.S. Forest Service Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. One USFS focal area is to increase diversity in the Forest Service workforce but also think about diversity as it related to USFS programs. We included our diverse student group in nearly every decision and encouraged them to continue to be involved in the same types of projects back home.

“We believe that through these programs, we can inspire youth at an early age to become better conservation leaders and to think about the possibilities of an education and a career in natural resources,” Tamberly added. “We are trying to lay the groundwork for the next generation of the U.S. Forest Service and of our nation as a whole."

But even if the kids don't get a job with her agency, she is confident that what they learned here will empower them throughout their lives to be knowledgeable, active citizens who will care about the environment and who will better understand the management of our nation’s natural resources for the greatest good.

Our awesome PLT Greenschools Y-LINC 2014 crew!

PLT GreenSchools! YLINC 2014 Day Three

Day Three was filled with adventure in the National Forest. We met with many awesome professionals of a cross section of disciplines from the U.S. Forest Service who introduced our kids to the very real possibility that they could have a great career working in the outdoors.

The U.S Forest Service and the Friends of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas is dedicated to helping our students stay safe, and shows that dedication by requiring them to wear hard hats when traveling in the forest. John Boyette gave everyone a safety lesson on being in the forest, first thing in the morning before we loaded up into the vans.

John Boyette discusses safety in the forest with our campers.

 When we arrived at the Angelina National Forest Work Center, Operations Team Leader, Jim Crooks , Acting Angelina and Sabine National Forest District Ranger, Rachel Smith and Angelina and Sabine National Forest Assistant Fire Management Officer, Dale Snyder talked about safety and using fire as a forest management tool. Rachel said that, compared to east Texas, not as much prescribed burning happens in the west due to the complexity of the terrain, longer fire regimes and public attitudes in the west. According to Dale, cost is also a limiting factor: the U.S. Forest Service can burn for about $17 an acre in East Texas compared to $200-400 per acre in the western part of the country. Rachel, Dale and Jim also discussed the considerations involved in determining whether conditions that are best for burning: risk of losing control of the fire, risk to the health of the fire crews, risk presented to the public by smoke, and the effectiveness of the burn.

Rachel Smith, Jim Crooks and Dale Snyder talk about managing forest with fire.

From the USFS Work Center, we traveled to Upland Island Wilderness, one of the natural areas in Texas Congressionally designated as Wilderness. Federal protected Wilderness Areas are lands that are protected from future human development where motorized vehicles are prohibited and are managed to be, according to the text of the Wilderness Act, as "untrammeled by man" as possible.

Upland Island Wilderness, so named because it was an Island of trees spared from clearing from the "cut out and get out" period of the 1930s, was bought from Temple Inland in 1984. Temple Inland removed all merchantable timber 6 months before ownership was transferred. It took the Forest Service 15 years to go through the protocols of the National Environmental Policy Act. Remnants of human activity remain in Upland Island, including culverts, road signs, and the Rushing Place historic home site.

In 1994, a wildfire threatened dozens of homes, nearly destroyed Rushing Place, and burned 3,500 acres overnight. The U.S. Forest Services Wildland firefighting crews got the fire under control, thankfully, with no loss of life or structures. The fire was so dangerous due to 40 years of undergrowth, in an ecosystem that generally experiences natural fires every four years. That danger, and the loss of habitat for the endangered Red Cockaded Woodpecker, led the U.S. Forest Service to develop burn plans for the Wilderness, which was recently approved by Congress.

The campers explore Upland Island Wilderness

Dale explained his duties as a fire boss in the field. As the topmost officer in an incident command, it's his job to make sure that everyone stays safe, knows what to do and stays aware of changes in the blaze's behavior.

After a short walk through Upland Island Wilderness, we visited a site on private land that was involved in the County Road 32 wildfire in August 2011, a fire that endangered around 350 homes in the Ebenezer community. The man who was convicted for setting the fire is currently serving a 23 year sentence.

But, as Tamberly told the campers, a lot of good came out of the fire. The landowner cleared the burned forest a few weeks after the fire and shortly thereafter, the landowner replanted longleaf pine through a cost share program supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The fire had also allowed the underlying seedbank to respond with healthy tufts of native Bluestem grass and other lush native plants and grasses.

At Boykin Springs Recreation Area, Rachel and Dale told the tragic story of the Yarnell Fire and the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew that perished in the blaze. Rachel said that hotshot crews are much like a Swiss army knife for fire: they are self sufficient, highly experienced, in great shape and have many skills. Dale emphasized the importance of fuels mitigation with that story, since only one landowner complied with a fuels mitigation plan that was in place in the City of Yarnell many years before the fire.

Clarissa Trevino is so zen on the dam at Boykin Springs Recreation Area in
the Angelina National Forest

U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Chris Crain explained the duties of his job, keeping the law in the forest and making sure that people stay safe. He also gave the kids a primer on how to survive in the wilderness, since the possibility of getting lost in the woods is a job hazard for a U.S. Forest Service officer. He explained how to get the three things you need have to survive: water, shelter and fire. Captain Crain showed the students how to build a fire, how to build a quick shelter by leaning sticks on a large log and how to harvest water by tying a plastic bag around green vegetation. The most important rule, according to Captain Crain, is not to panic.

Campers build a fire to stay warm with Chris Crain at Boykin Springs

It may not be Holiday Inn, but this shelter made from sticks and a poncho
might keep you alive on a cold night.

Dr. Warren Conway, a professor at Stephen F. Austin State University who will soon be moving over to his alma-mater Texas Tech, asked the  campers to share some of their perceptions regarding their learning adventure and asked them about their interests in education and careers.  He matched the students’ interests with viable career options to help the youth better understand their potential career pathways.  Dr. Conway gave them a lesson on owl biology and natural history and then played several recordings of various owl species. The group heard a couple of owls in the far distance and soon, everyone began to try their own mouth calls as they hooted and whistled, trying to mimic the recorded owls.  Tomorrow will be their last day here, and we are sure that this journey is one that they shall remember for a long time.

Be sure to check out our Twitter feed, #YLINC2014, for live tweets and exclusive photos of our Youth Leadership in Nature Challenge journey! There are exclusive photos of the PNPC and more on our Flickr page as well!

Youth-LINC 2012 - Day Three

It may be safe to say that our drought is over, with as many days that it has rained this week.

But our campers spirits were high, as you can see campers Naielli Hidalgo, Blanca Garcia, and Alma Garcia turned breaking camp into the rain as another chance to giggle, as they're pictured trying to squeeze as much water as they can out of their tent in the middle of a rainstorm. We left Cagle wet, but we still left on time. Mike Ross (USFS Fleet Manager) gave a very relevant safety meeting on the dangers of flooding, warning us to stay out of creek bottoms even if the rain has ceased. After filling our ice chests with ice and water, we traveled to Houston.

Naielli, Alma, Blanca, and Enelidad drying out their tent
with love at Cagle Recreation Area.

Many of the campers grew up in Houston suburbs, and 4 of them went Youth-LINC's destination on Wednesday, to Stephen F. Austin High School. Lantrip Elementary, Jackson Middle School, and Austin High School are official Project Learning Tree Greenschools! due to the efforts of FNFGT, the school administration, and most importantly, the student body itself. Youth-LINC campers Naielli Hidalgo and Blanca Garcia performed a Greenschools! investigation that led to the installation of a 300 gallon rainwater catchment system. Duy Tran and Derek Morrison, biological engineers from Texas A&M University, assisted in the project's design.

Duy Tran (foreground left) and Derek Morrison
(foreground right)  explain the rainwater
catchment system at Stephen F. Austin High School 

Austin High earned its Green School status via its commitment to the environment and its decades old school garden/park area on campus. Youth-LINC showed its commitment by installing a sign commemorating the formation of the Greenschools! "Grapevine", weeded part of the garden, and installed smaller signs labeling the plants there.

Lantrip Elementary, Jackson Middle School, and Austin High
school are all on the Greenschool "Grapevine". The
Youth-LINC campers painted and installed this sign. 

After Austin High, we traveled to the Stephen F. Austin State park. Everyone carefully laid their belongings out to dry on clotheslines they hung themselves. Julio, Alberto, Andre, Franco Gonzales, and Blanca competed against eachother in a chili eating contest, using chiles harvested from the Austin High garden. The results were hilarious, and will be posted on FNFGT's Facebook page.

Alberto Gomez, Andre Saenz, Julio Bedolla, and Franco Gonzales before their faces were soaked in tears from their Chili-Eating contest. Blanca Garcia also participated. Watch the battle on our Facebook page! 

After dinner, the Campers puzzled out the sailor's knot, a leadership exercise that teaches interdependence and perseverance. The campers were tied together in a knot that looked impossible to get out of, but if they thought outside the box and worked together, they could slip out.

We also celebrated the birthday of one of our long time Amigoes, Lyndi Long. Lyndi had been with us since 2008, and led students at Youth-LINC last year. We are all very happy for her, and hope to have many more years of her enthusiasm and education ability.

Tomorrow, we will be tour Stephen F. Austin State park and a recycling plant in Houston, among a tornado of other activities.