by Mt. Adams Institute | Jun 8, 2020 | VetsWork
I grew up in Texas. I have always loved being in nature and find a strong connection to animals and plants. I spent six years serving in the military as an Air Force officer. I graduated from Baylor University and the University of Texas at Arlington. Since being out...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jun 8, 2020 | Field Notes
Mt. Adams Institute (MAI) will do better. . . For too long, it’s been easy to disassociate environmental and conservation focused work from the social justice and equity issues that plague our country. And yet access to the outdoors and public lands (and all of...
by Mt. Adams Institute | May 21, 2020 | Field Notes
Mt. Adams Institute has received $1,119,904 in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency responsible for AmeriCorps and other national service programs. This funding will support up to 95 AmeriCorps members...
by Mt. Adams Institute | May 18, 2020 | Field Notes
It is with heavy hearts that we’ve decided to cancel our in-person camps for this summer. Our deliberation was greatly impacted by a continued sense of uncertainty about the current and future state of the COVID-19 pandemic. While both Washington state and other...
by Mt. Adams Institute | May 12, 2020 | VetsWork
I grew up in Texas and joined the U.S. Army when I was 22 years old. I’m the first in my immediately family to obtain a college degree. When it comes to the outdoors, I love to go hiking, exploring, and taking photos of everything that catches my eye. My future goals...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Apr 29, 2020 | Field Notes, Summer Camp
Below are some important updates for Cascade Mountain School summer camps. First, the million dollar question . . .will summer camp happen this year? In these ever changing times, we unfortunately cannot provide a definitive answer just yet, BUT we can tell you how we...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Apr 15, 2020 | Field Notes
Tell us about your your journey to where you are now… Hello! I grew up as the third of six kids with my mom and dad in a little farm town in central Illinois. At age 11, my family moved to a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. While Detroit is very urban, my town was...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Apr 15, 2020 | Field Notes
As you know, we are excited to welcome the Sense of Place lectures series as a new program of Mt. Adams Institute. Like everyone, Sense of Place has had to adjust accordingly to the coronavirus pandemic.We want to thank the community for the support you’ve given...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Apr 12, 2020 | SOP 10
An extraordinary time in Oregon history occurred in central Oregon when a religious sect from India set up an experiment on an abused cattle ranch outside Madras. In the 1980s, the Indian...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Mar 8, 2020 | SOP 10
First-person storytelling has a unique power to deepen our understanding of the histories, cultures, and environment that surrounds us. Confluence Story Gatherings are welcoming forums that feature the stories of Native elders, leaders and thinkers, told...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Feb 21, 2020 | Field Notes
“I knew I wanted to work in natural resources when I was 15 and my mother took my little sister and me on a trip to a guest ranch in Moose, Wyoming. The landscape, it’s wildlife, and it’s people hit me as hard as anything ever has. My life from then...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Feb 19, 2020 | SOP 10
The Hood River Watershed sustains the Hood River Valley in countless ways – we depend on the river for agriculture, drinking water, recreation, industry, supporting native fish populations,...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Feb 5, 2020 | SOP 10
In the early 1900s a Finnish community settled in the Hood River Valley. In particular the Annala, Hukari, and Jakku families. Why did they journey to the United States from Finland and then to the mines of Minnesota, plains of North Dakota, and finally to the...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Nov 19, 2019 | SOP 10
Why are the fish at one of the most popular recreational fishing areas in the Mid-Columbia considered too toxic to eat? For over 40 years, the U.S. government dumped toxic pollution in and along the Columbia’s shorelines at Bradford Island, located near...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
I was laying in my hammock reading “Guns, Germs, and Steel” by Jared Diamond, when finally it clicked. The general thesis of the book is that environment and ecology are some of, if not the, biggest factors in determining how a culture, technology, and a...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
Winter has come… It is now October; the grass is icy and the air crisp. Our last month has come and I still remember the first time I drove up the long winding roads across the Columbia River and the sketchy metal Hood River bridge (not actually that sketchy...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
With AmeriCorps graduation approaching, I’ve been wrapping up my work with WREN and filling out end of term paperwork. One of the questions on my Member Exit Survey asked if I felt I had an impact on anyone in my community during my position. I answered yes,...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
By this point in the summer, I think I have a good grasp of how the flow of each day goes. Wake up, get ready for camp, drink a lot of tea, set out materials, wait for the shuttle to show up with the kids. However, for my last week of camp I actually had an...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
The following are potential hazards that a wilderness backcountry ranger on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest might face on a daily basis. This is not an attempt to scare anyone away from spending a season in this position, but serves as a list of some of...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
The purpose of this blog is to inspire anyone who is interested in a Public Lands Stewards AmeriCorps position with the Mt. Adams Institute (MAI), but has yet to fully commit. This specific blog is oriented towards the Wilderness Ranger position in the Methow Valley...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
While writing this post I was able to reflect on the last four months and all the experiences therein. This season seems like it has flown by, but so many things have happened in this tiny amount of time. I spent many happy days at the south coast native plant...
