Like most of us who accepted internships through the VetsWork AmeriCorps program, I was a bit nervous as to what I was getting myself into. Now that I am five months in at the King Conservation District (KCD), I can say with confidence this was one of the best decisions I’ve made. The number of things I’ve learned and experienced couldn’t have come from anywhere else. The internship challenges you in all kinds of ways, but at the same time, rewards you with knowledge and experience. These include helping with writing forest stewardship plans, leading forest site visits, being in the selection process with cities to increase their urban canopy cover, and to leading projects such as with Firewise, where I work with communities and contractors to decrease their fire risk. I was pretty overwhelmed the first couple months and still feel that way sometimes, but I was told there would be a lot of work in the interview and I gladly accepted the challenge. There is so much to do and learn and just like with anything, you get out what you put in. The great thing about the length of this internship is the fact that you really get to see if it’s somewhere you’d like to continue working at and if it really is the field you’d like to be in. I’m halfway done with mine and I can already say that this is definitely a place I would love to keep working and continue making a difference in King County.
