I grew up near Tallahassee, FL and my family loved spending time outdoors camping, hunting, and fishing. I joined the US Army at the age of 19 and continued serving as a Fire Control Specialist for 20 years. My love of the outdoors never faded and I try to escape to the woods as often as I can to...
2024 VetsWork: Eddy Colado
My name is Eddy Colado. I grew up in Sheridan Montana at Woodson Ranch (Ruby Habitat Foundation). I spent most of my time outdoors working for the foundation in field irrigation, riverbank restoration, and equipment maintenance and repairs. I very much enjoyed the great Montana outdoor activities...
2024 VetsWork: Taryn Oseen
Hello! My name is Taryn Oseen. I am originally from a small farm in Shalersville, Ohio. Growing up, my family and I were always outdoors, and I naturally became very passionate about environmental protection. When I graduated from high school, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Sonar Technician and...
2024 VetsWork: Christopher Glenn
My name is Christopher Glenn. Born in Portland, Oregon, I have spent the majority of my life in the Pacific Northwest. My roots in Oregon run deep, with only a brief hiatus during five awesome years living in Hawaii. I worked as a wildland firefighter for three seasons and developed a deep...
2024 VetsWork: Cooper Roberts
My name is Cooper Roberts, originally from Central Indiana, where my childhood was filled with romping in local creeks and forests alongside my three older brothers. This early love for exploration has stayed with me, evolving into a deeper appreciation for nature, which I now share with my spouse...
2024 VetsWork: Arthur Hunsinger
My name is Arthur Hunsinger. Growing up in northern Georgia, rural life didn't offer many opportunities, but the Appalachians were at my back, and in those forests, I found a valuable refuge. I'd carve out my own little trails and build forts that felt more like home than the family house. When I...
2024 VetsWork: Aaron Laughlin
My name is Aaron. I'm a married father of 5 wonderful children. My wife and I both brought children from previous marriages and somehow managed to create one little one ourselves. They range in age from 2 to 13 so the house is always a circus. I was born in Portland but grew up in Vancouver, WA. I...
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Taylor Davis
With just under a month left of my Forest Service internship with the Recreation Department on Mt. Hood’s East Zone, I feel hopeful about my natural resource career path. I feel I have a better understanding of recreation management and the work it takes to keep a healthy balance between...
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Tom Bonnette
The last few months working as a Rec Tech (recreation technician) at the Homochitto National Forest through the AmeriCorps VetsWork Program has been a whirlwind of activity that’s been educational and lots of fun. I was lucky enough to have my first week of work coincide with the reopening of Lake...
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Jacob Brainard
Here at the Savannah River Forest, my fellow Mt. Adams VetsWork intern and I have spent the last few months filling in as the primary operators of one of the site’s phytoremediation facilities. The Savannah River Site has several such facilities that utilize different methods of remediation. Our...
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Taylor Davis
With just under a month left of my Forest Service internship with the Recreation Department on Mt. Hood’s East Zone, I feel hopeful about my natural resource career path. I feel I have a better understanding of recreation management and the work it takes to keep a...
Beavers Sold Out, And We Got a Musical Surprise!
SOLD OUT! Last week’s Sense of Place, Beaver Power: Teaming Up With Nature’s Engineers to Restore Our Watersheds, packed the house (and the livestream)! Speakers, Jeanette Burkhardt and Margaret Neuman, took us back in time to uncover how beavers have shaped the...
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Tom Bonnette
The last few months working as a Rec Tech (recreation technician) at the Homochitto National Forest through the AmeriCorps VetsWork Program has been a whirlwind of activity that’s been educational and lots of fun. I was lucky enough to have my first week of work...
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Jacob Brainard
Here at the Savannah River Forest, my fellow Mt. Adams VetsWork intern and I have spent the last few months filling in as the primary operators of one of the site’s phytoremediation facilities. The Savannah River Site has several such facilities that utilize different...
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Olivia Day
The Mississippi heat can be a bit unbearable at times, but getting to help conserve threatened species and work with the individuals I get to work with on a daily basis makes it worth it. During the months of May and June, I got to help multiple agencies within...
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Jodie Robinson
I am five months into my internship working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and I am loving it. When I started in my position as a Salmon Habitat Restoration Specialist, I didn’t have a strong background in marine biology or related education....
2023 VetsWork Field Note: Robert Ontiveros
During my time here, I have covered a wide variety of tasks, from trail work to community events and public outreach. Some of my favorite things to do are to explore all the new places and find everything that no one has touched in years and bring it back to use....
From Our Executive Director: Seeking Stability
“True stability results when presumed order and presumed disorder are balanced. A truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits to be transformed.” Tom Robbins This year, Mt Adams Institute has been seeking stability. The organization...
2023 Land Stewards Field Note: Sienne Krulis
I have thoroughly enjoyed my AmeriCorps service term with MAI and USFWS. This has further affirmed my desire to work for USFWS later on in my career. While I don’t feel like a full-time USFWS position is directly next in the cards for me, I am grateful to learn of...
2023 Land Stewards Field Note: Kyle Strachan
For better or worse, I often end up diving into life-changing decisions with no expectations of what will happen. That’s how I ended up taking a NOLS course that led to a passion for outdoor education and how I transferred to a college out west and began studying...