Conservation Diaries

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Conservation Diaries is a podcast series from the voice of the youth of the National Park Service as they share their passion and commitment to conservation of America's natural and cultural treasures. Listen as interns, volunteers, fellows, or employees across the National Park Service share their perspectives on conservation and why it is important for youth to be involved in the stewardship of their public lands.

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April 19, 2023

Conservation Diaries: Josefina Polhammer Aliaga

Transcript

Transcript

[intro music]

Lucy: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Conservation Diaries, a National Park Service podcast. I am your host, Lucy Hurlbut. And in these episodes, we are featuring youth from around the world volunteering in national parks through the National Park Service’s International Volunteers In Parks Program.

Sometimes called "IVIP” for short, this program brings many talented people from different cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds to gain experience to work in conservation-related fields in National Park Service sites and programs. Our agency also has the opportunity to learn from their knowledge and perspective. While this podcast series focuses on youth, the International Volunteers In Parks Program is open to all ages.

Our guest today is Josefina Polhammer Aliaga, a graduate from the University of Chile. Her studies and interest in US cultural and Indigenous history brought her to the National Park Services in search of her next career journey.

Josefina: I thought, well, volunteering in one of these parks, any park in the US, they are actually very beautiful, so it would be fun. In the beginning, the main thing for me was being able to work with nature, because I love the outdoors. But when I got to the program and when I actually started doing the job, I discovered that I was going to get much more from this experience than I was expecting to. I learned so much.

Lucy: Josefina spent four months volunteering at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, often called C&O Canal for short. Today it is one of the most popular national parks in the country providing a wide variety of recreational opportunities including hiking, biking, fishing, and camping. She arrived from Chile just as the busy summer season was beginning and was all too happy to jump in and learn on the job. She worked in the Great Falls section of the C&O in various roles from mule care volunteer, to boat volunteer, to Billy Goat Trail steward.

Built during the heyday of the canal era, the C&O Canal was used for almost 100 years by mule-drawn canal boats to transport coal and other cargo to the ports of Georgetown and Washington, DC. In the 1950s there was a movement to pave over the C&O Canal and turn it into a parkway. Among those in opposition was US Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.

Josefina: Justice William O. Douglas, he said, "Okay, we can't let this happen." He wrote to one of the newspapers from that time that was doing news about this highway, and he asked the editors to go on a hike with him along the canal that it lasted about eight days, I think. Yeah. It was a long hike, to show them how amazing this was as a park, as a place to enjoy nature, more than as a highway. So they did the hike, and it worked. The editors from different newspapers published articles about how this was a place that we had to protect.

Lucy: Josefina’s joy and passion for her duties was infectious. When asked about the mules, she lit up and bubbled over with love for working with Eva, Dolly, Jen, and Julie. Her attention to the detail in their care, from grooming and feeding to picking pasture and keeping the flies off them, was evident in how the mules responded to her. Eva would follow Josefina every day as she left the paddock to get some extra love. By the conclusion of her time here, she was training and mentoring staff in how to best care for our mules.

She was able to give her coworkers and visitors great advice on trails and could give vivid descriptions to help inform visitors on recreating decisions.

Josefina: So one of the things... Oh, it depends on the weather. Usually, a lot of people like to do hiking. We have the most difficult trail in the whole park was in the section I was working at in Great Falls. It was called Billy Goat A. It was a two, three hours trail and you had to do rock climbing, and usually when it was too hot, we would tell the visitors, try to avoid that trail, try to do some other trails. We had some like that would go into a forest, not as tiring, not as exposed to the sun. But yeah, that was one of the most popular things people would do.

Lucy: Some of the notable accomplishments Josefina can claim during her brief time at the C & O Canal were hosting a discussion on the difference between American and Chilean national parks as part of the park’s monthly VIP Speaker Series, engaging new park audiences by developing a guided interpretive walk in Spanish, designing and publishing our next generation of Mule Trading Cards, supporting the park’s partner organizations by taking a leadership role during Latino Conservation Week events as well as multiple days of service focused on trash pick-up or invasive species removal, helping to identify and provide initial treatment for colic (a potentially deadly condition) in Dolly while calling for more experienced assistance, and obtaining an Certified Interpretive Guide certificate from the National Association for Interpretation. It’s no wonder that the park voted her its volunteer of the year.

Josefina: It was very, very tiring, but super fun. After that, I learned some other positions in the boat, but the other one that I did the most was doing the ranger talk that we would do on board with the visitors. That was super challenging for me. I usually don't enjoy speaking in public and it's worse if I do it in English, but it was good to try it and see that I was capable of doing that.

Lucy: Josefina’s experiences volunteering in the US led her to consider how one’s cultural background can be an asset when connecting with visitors.

Josefina: Yeah, I think in any environment, having diversity, it's super important. You get different point of view and you get to connect with people that have different backgrounds and different life experiences. So yeah, it's really great.

I think that was very helpful in the way that I could engage and connect with visitors that came from Latin America or had some background or they spoke Spanish. It was much easier to connect with them. I noticed that when I was talking to someone and they discovered that I was from Chile and that I could speak Spanish, they would be much more open. They would ask much more questions.

Lucy: International volunteers have a unique awareness of the National Park Service. Many countries do not have a similar organization that provides cohesive management and policies for their public lands. They sometimes also have fewer resources and less staff. Providing opportunities for young people from other countries to work in the US parks is something that is extremely valuable to gain different experiences for the stewardship of public lands.

Josefina: I think volunteering in any park, in any national park in the US, I think it's a unique experience. Of course, it won't be exactly the same as mine, but I can only imagine it would be amazing. You don't only get to work with what I think it's one of the most well-organized park systems in the world, which is the National Park Service. You also get to work with very professional people, very committed coworkers, and you get to see amazing places, amazing landscapes. You get to learn a lot from your coworkers. And I would also like to add that you can also meet some amazing people and make some great friends, which is something that makes the experience much, much better.

Lucy: Josefina credited her international volunteer program with helping her discover the next steps in her career. She discovered what interpretation was and became aware that it could be a profession. As a result, Josefina has decided to pursue a job in a Chilean national park, museum or historical park, and perhaps undertaking a master’s degree in public history in the future. Connecting the US national parks with individuals from other countries makes parks more dynamic. International volunteers bring unique cultural perspectives to them, and in turn, have experiences that have an impact on their own lives and potentially an impact on conservation in their own countries.

The National Park Service’s International Affairs Office coordinates programs like the International Volunteer in Park Program that helps the national parks share its mission with countries around the globe. For more information about the program, you can visit nps.gov slash international cooperation:

And remember, there are many opportunities for youth and young adults 15 to 30 years old and veterans 35 years old and younger to work with the National Park Service.

To learn more about these jobs, internships, and volunteering opportunities, you can go to nps.gov slash youth programs.

Thanks for listening and happy trails!

[music fades]

Meet Josefina Polhammer Aliaga, an international volunteer born and raised in Santiago, Chile. She spent the summer of 2023 volunteering at Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park in many roles, including a mule care volunteer, trail steward, boat volunteer, and interpreter giving talks to park visitors.

April 19, 2023

Conservation Diaries: Erwin Lopez Osorio, International Volunteer

Transcript

Transcript

[opening music]

Celeste: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Conservation Diaries, a National Park Service podcast. I am your host, Celeste Morales and in these episodes, we are featuring youth from around the world volunteering in national parks through the National Park Service’s International Volunteers In Parks Program.

Sometimes called "IVIP” for short, this program brings many talented people from different cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds to gain experience to work in conservation-related fields in National Park Service sites and programs. Our agency also has the opportunity to learn from their knowledge and perspective. While this podcast series focuses on youth, the International Volunteers In Parks Program is open to all ages.

Erwin Lopez Osorio participated in an international internship with Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology at the Technological Institute of the Valley of Oaxaca. A few years later, he obtained a master's degree in conservation and management of natural resources at the National Polytechnic Institute CIIDIR in Mexico.

Erwin: I'm a Mexican biologist and I'm from Oaxaca City. This year, I had my first experience abroad thanks to the National Park Service and Environment for the Americas.

Celeste: Since he graduated, Erwin has been promoting bird conservation in his community teaching others how to identify birds and involving them in monitoring projects. He wanted to devote his career to their preservation. Working with scientists in the US national parks appealed to him because he wanted to learn new techniques to apply to his work in Mexico. Learning about bird migration patterns and their habitats in the US was equally valuable to him.

Erwin: I specialize in birds, and through them, I make my bachelor's and my master's degree thesis. And also, I participated in some volunteerings in Mexico. One of them focused on bird banding, and another to promote bird watching in my state. I'm a person that loves spending time in nature, so this position was perfect for me because it include all things, right?

Celeste: Erwin worked in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. Situated in high mesas, located in a beautiful canyon with red rock cliffs, the park contains many signs of ancient Native Americans, who carved pueblo dwellings, into rock walls. It also includes a diversity of wildlife and plants.

The park’s natural resources staff conduct many inventories and monitoring research projects to access the existing conditions of the Bandelier’s natural resources. This helps its scientists to understand the current state of its biodiversity and to develop the best management actions. Bird banding is an important part of its efforts to understand the health and numbers of the park’s avian population.

Erwin: And additionally, in most of the land of this part park is considered a wilderness area, so that represent a refuge of many species of birds, such as beards, and mammals, fish, plants, et cetera. This year, we started an introduction of two species because the water quality and the macro vertebra appoinents is better in the park.

Celeste: Erwin was an intern with the park’s 2022 bird banding team which monitored and tracked nesting birds at four sites at different locations in the park. Erwin assisted the park with identifying, banding, sexing, and ageing southwest birds. This included setting up mist nets, removing birds from the nets, banding the birds, and releasing the bird quickly and without harm.

A key part of Bandelier’s bird banding program was educating under-served school children about the bird banding processes, with an emphasis on the biology of birds and potential influences from warm climates. Erwin created a 45-minute bird banding presentation to deliver it to 20 different 4th-6th grade classes. The classes also visited the banding site to see the park scientists and Erwin in action.

Erwin: We caught different kind of warblers. Yeah, it's pretty cool. During the breeding season, and some of them during migration. Yeah, it was exciting.

Celeste: Bandelier’s bird conservation program is helping to protect species that migrate to Latin America. Working across borders is important to their survival. Teaching conservationists from those countries how to study birds and protect their habitat is crucial. Moreover, relationships between future leaders abroad and national park scientists will promote cooperation to further protect shared populations.

Erwin: Yes, this park has another method to banding birds. So yeah, I learning new techniques. I learned, of course, about characteristics of new species for me. Well, a good news through this time at Bandelier is that now I'll help in our new banding station in Oaxaca thanks to support from Bandelier in a place called Monte Alban.

Celeste: The National Park Service realizes the importance of diversity in the work force. Having different perspectives helps us manage our resources better and helps us to connect to all communities. We need to extend the benefits of parks to everyone and to enlist their stewardship. Hosting international volunteers allows National Park Service to share its conservation strategies around the world.

Erwin: Honestly, I didn't know that, as a foreigner, I could participate in the National Park Service. Yeah, but now I understand that organizations such as Olympias and Environment for the Americas are supporting underrepresented groups like Latinos, which is fantastic. This year, through the Fish and Feathers Internship, most of us were Latinos and that is so cool.

Celeste: Helping children and youth to understand and appreciate nature is vital to the future of protecting our national parks. The experiences that we provide will have a lasting impact on their conservation values; thus, ensuring that our public lands will last for generations to enjoy.

Erwin: We need a better environmental education for tourism activities, promoting activities with children are crucial.

Celeste: Working in national parks is a great experience for young people. They can see first-hand what park rangers and other staff do and have opportunities to live close to nature. For many, it expands their understanding of conservation careers and provides a catalyst to want to learn more about science and history.

Erwin: I want to say thanks for this opportunity as a Latino. I enjoyed my stay in the United States. Yeah, I would recommend that other young people with a similar ethnicity apply to this program. It's a great experience. It's not only a job. It definitely helped to learn new things, and it's sometimes a challenge.

This international program represents an excellent opportunity of training for people involved in the natural sciences. And additionally, we can increase our English skills through these programs.

Celeste: Erwin had a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills that he will bring to his own conservation efforts in Mexico.

The National Park Service Office of International Affairs helps parks throughout the United States share its mission with partners around the world. It coordinates international volunteer programs like Erwin’s, which benefit national parks by connecting them with the global community through sharing skills with future conservation leaders who will be better equipped to protect resources in their own countries.

And remember, there are many opportunities for youth and young adults 15-30 years old and veterans 35 years old and younger to work with the National Park Service. To learn more about these jobs, internships, and volunteering opportunities, you can go to nps.gov slash youth programs.

Thanks for listening and happy trails!

[music fades]

Meet Erwin Lopez Osorio, an international volunteer from Oaxaca, Mexico. Erwin spent the summer at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico with the International Volunteers In Parks program. He shared his expertise as a biologist, including during research and education programs about birds in the park.

April 19, 2023

Conservation Diaries: Wesley Reverdy, International Volunteer

Transcript

Transcript

[intro music]

Celeste: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Conservation Diaries, a National Park Service podcast. I am your host, Celeste Morales. In these episodes, we are featuring youth from around the world volunteering in national parks through the National Park Service’s International Volunteers In Parks Program.

Sometimes called "IVIP” for short, this program brings many talented people from different cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds to gain experience to work in conservation-related fields in National Park Service parks and programs. Our agency also has the opportunity to learn from their knowledge and perspective. While this podcast series focuses on youth, the International Volunteers In Parks Program is open to all ages.

Our guest today is Wesley Reverdy, from France. While volunteering with the National Park Service during the spring and summer of 2022, Wesley completed his Master’s Degree in Environmental Science. Wesley had the opportunity to work in several park projects throughout Saguaro National Park. During his volunteer service, Wesley monitored the natural resources and carried out important research studies that help the parks understand the health of the ecosystems in the Sonoran Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network based in Arizona and the Chihuahuan Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network in New Mexico.

Wesley has many hobbies, but his passion is spending time in nature and watching wildlife. He often goes to the mountains near where he lives in France. In his country, students must do a final internship experience to complete their degrees. Wesley’s dream was to do his in a US national park. He did not know how to go about arranging that, so decided to stumble on the International Volunteers-in-Park website and filled out an application.

Wesley: I was like, yeah, I really want to do that final internship in the USA with the National Park Service, because the National Park Service is a big thing in Europe when it comes to nature conservation especially.

Celeste: Wesley helped the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Desert networks on several wildlife monitoring projects during his five-month term. He worked with a team of National Park Service scientists in various field studies, mostly focused on park mammals and birds. The results of the projects will help National Park scientists to determine which species are located in certain areas of the parks, and how that may be changing over time. Wesley also worked in two other projects related to stream and spring water monitoring. Additionally, he helped measure stream water quality and collect environmental DNA, or eDNA, shed by organisms living in or using the springs.

Wesley: Yeah, I mean, yeah, thanks to that master's degree, I had a lot of courses about coding, for example, coding was really, really important for that second part of the main project about processing the data. So for example, that course from my master's degree was really, really important. Really, really helpful. And I was able to bring my knowledge about that with me in the US and also a lot of more theoretical in information knowledge, I would say. Especially about ecosystems, all the different species and that kind of stuff. That, that's some things that we learn a lot in France, theoretical things.

Celeste: Wesley’s biggest project was with the Chihuahuan Desert Network. He led a research study which established a new protocol for the acoustic monitoring of bird and bat populations. This work involved deploying camera traps in the field and collecting data from them. Due to the rapid effects of climate change and the ever-changing world of science, capturing the research studies is vital to the future of the US desert ecosystem. By using a system of recorders in the field, the team could download the information and listen to it many times, increasing the number of bird and bat species that can be identified, collecting vocalizations remotely was much more efficient than in person observation. The project was the first deployment of acoustic devices in the network’s parks. The new method will have a huge impact on future acoustic evaluation of avian and bat populations.

Wesley: So basically, instead of sending people on the field to hear the bird vocalization, you can just put a monitor, an acoustic monitor on the field during maybe one month, and then you can retrieve it after one month, and it will do a way better job in terms of capturing acoustically, all the vocalizations. And then you can just hear afterwards, everything on the computer and you have way more time to say, yeah, I can recognize this species, or no, it's more these species. It's not one-shots, and if you didn't hear it correctly, then it's not possible anymore to hear it. Here with that matter, you can hear it multiple times.

But we did some tests around the research learning center in Tucson where I was based, and the tests were completed. So we had all the different species and where the recorders codes the vocalizations exactly. And that was really interesting because people that were working at that place since 10 years, they heard on the recordings, they heard some species that they had never heard before at that place. So it's clear that it's really interesting to have that kind of recorder that is recording all day long or during a period of the day. That is really significant.

Celeste: The acoustic monitoring project is revealing some sobering things to National Park Service scientists.

Wesley: If you look at all the statistics, numbers, and everything, it's clear that there is a big issue with birds related to global warming, but not only with birds, it's also dealing with habitats that is fragmented. I don't know if it's the right word, English fragmented. Yeah. So yeah, it deals a lot with that too, and loss of habitat too. And it's kind of same thing for bats. So yeah, I mean, if you look at all the statistics and the number, the last four birds for bird species is really consequence, especially for North America and for bats. I think it's the same thing everywhere. I know that we have a lot of issues too in Europe. So yeah, it's not only a problem with global warming, but I guess that's global warming is accentuating a little bit the thing.

Celeste: Wesley, like so many international volunteers, brought such an interesting perspective on management of the National Park Service’s natural resources. Attitudes toward wildlife, especially predators are very different in France and other countries in Europe. Including volunteers and interns with diverse cultural backgrounds in National Park Service projects makes national parks more dynamic as they bring different approaches to the work. These individuals can connect parks to a broader range of communities especially when they develop new stewardship values that they bring home.

Wesley: There are some similarities, but I guess that the biggest difference is I would say our behavior towards wildlife, and especially great predators. I guess that's the whole world, have a lot of work to do about great predators. But in France, I mean in Europe, and especially in France, we have some problems with them. I don't know why, but it's something very cultural, I would say. People don't love wolves, for example, don't love bears and that kind of stuff. I mean, not everyone, but that's kind of a cultural thing. So a lot of our program to bring back these species are not really efficient, not as efficient as some other programs around the world or in the US.

Celeste: Climate change is rapidly affecting our planet and the national parks. Providing young people with opportunities to work with NPS scientists to gain experience managing park natural and cultural resources is so important. Young people will be future park leaders and will need to develop climate change adaptation strategies that will be key to protecting species in the national parks. Wesley spoke about this during our conversation.

Wesley: First of all, I would say that's important. Now, globally, that's young people. I mean, young people have to be really interested now in nature or conservation and that kind of stuff, because with global warming and that kind of problem, it will be a problem for our generation, for everyone. So globally, it's really important that young people are interested in that kind of question. And as I said, that kind of experience with the National Park Service is really helpful because you are learning so many things that we are going to learn in maybe 10 years or something like that. So that kind of exchange is really, really interesting because people that are doing that kind of exchange me will be able to bring this really cool stuff with them more quickly, and so we'll be able to monitor wildlife, for example, way better and more quickly.

Celeste: Wesley has returned to France and is finishing up his degree. He is eager to achieve his dream of working in a national park there. The field experience will help guide the next chapter in this career journey.

The National Park Service’s International Volunteers in Parks Program has coordinated over two thousand programs for international students and young park professionals during the last twenty-five years. These individuals have made a difference in protecting natural and cultural resources in their countries.

And remember, there are many opportunities for youth and young adults 15-30 years old and veterans 35 and younger to work with the National Park Service. To learn more about these jobs, internships, and volunteering opportunities, you can go to nps.gov slash youth programs.

Thanks for listening and happy trails!

[music fades]

Meet Wesley Reverdy from France who spent summer 2022 volunteering with the Sonoran Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network and Chihuahuan Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network. He used his background in natural resource management to participate in studies to determine the current state of wildlife, plant species, water, air, and climate and monitor long-term trends.

April 19, 2023

Conservation Diaries: Sarah Nolan, International Volunteer

Transcript

Transcript

[intro music]

Celeste: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Conservation Diaries, a National Park Service podcast. I am your host, Celeste Morales. And in these episodes, we are featuring youth from around the world volunteering in national parks through the National Park Service’s International Volunteers In Parks Program.

Sometimes called "IVIP” for short, this program brings many talented people from different cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds to gain experience to work in conservation-related fields in National Park Service parks and programs. Our agency also has the opportunity to learn from their knowledge and perspective. While this podcast series focuses on youth, the International Volunteers-In-Parks Program is open to all ages.

Celeste: Our guest today is Sarah Nolan, from Buckinghamshire County in the United Kingdom, she is a recent graduate of the University of Cambridge, UK, where she studied medieval history, literature, and languages. After thru-hiking for two weeks in Finnish LAPland-ED, she realized that she wanted to pursue a career working in natural history. She decided that she would spend a year volunteering abroad to gain more outdoor skills and learn about national park management. She spent the first part of the year in Brasov, Romania, working with bears. Then, last summer she volunteered at North Cascades National Park.

Sarah: So, the exchange program with the Park Service seemed like an opportunity where I could actually use my skills and be a contributing member of the society. I was in for the time I was there. And equally I wanted to learn, expand my experience of natural history and working with natural history because natural history is something I'm very interested in a personal level, but I haven't had a lot of exposure in a professional level. And so, if I'm looking for jobs that kind of combine heritage work with natural history, I thought it would be a real benefit to have experience in a more natural history-based work environment. So, I could sort of point to that as professional experience as well. And then also there are just so many beautiful places in the US that I wanted to visit.

Celeste: Sarah worked for four months as a volunteer interpretive ranger in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area of Washington state, which is managed by North Cascades National Park. The park contains a rugged mountain landscape with 300 glaciers and many pristine lakes. The Lake Chelan Area is a very remote place that can only be reached by ferry. There is no cell phone service and groceries stories, supplies must be delivered there. Sarah worked at the park visitor center providing talks and helping orient the public.

Sarah: So interpretive rangers are kind of like the human link between the visitors and the park. So, it was a lot of visitor services, answering questions, learning cool things about the park and then educating people about those cool things.

Celeste: Sarah discovered that she loved sharing stories with visitors. Being a historian, she was drawn to research topics about the history of the area. She loved digging into the park’s archive collections, where she discovered a photocopy of a map from about the year of 1857. It was drawn by a guide from the Native American, Solish Tribe. She realized that it was illustrated very differently from modern GPS maps. She was fascinated and decided to develop an interpretive program about how cultural perspective affects the way people view land. Her talk focused on comparing historic maps made by local tribes and those drawn by early western explorers.

Sarah: So, the essential question that I used for my ranger talk was how do different styles of maps influence our imagination and exploration of place? So that was feeding back into the Solish map that I used where for example, waterways and trails weren't distinguished on the map. They were kind of both just referred to as equal ways of travel. So again, there's that kind of emphasis on travel and kind of practical use over a literal GPS representation of the landscape as seen from a bird's eye view. So, this question was aiming to kind of challenge how when we look at a map, we kind of take it for granted, but how even modern maps can shape the way we think about the landscape. Are we limiting ourselves to the beauty points that are noted on a map? Are we thinking about it in terms of trails, in terms of roots of travel?

Celeste: Learning to develop interpretive talks benefited Sarah by showing her what kind of a career that she might like to pursue. Her program allowed her to combine academic research with working outdoors interacting with people. It helped clarify things for her and gave her some professional experience.

Sarah: And I hope that the park has benefited from me because again, with being a small team, even having an extra pair of hands on board meant that they could keep services running, that they might not have been able to keep open otherwise. And also, it means that future rangers will have access to the kind of research and programs that I prepared. So, for example, the talk on maps that I did, all that research is now available for them. Other programs that I've run such as once on wildfires, I've now kind of put together resources that other rangers can then go on and use. So hopefully I've been an asset to the park too.

Celeste: International volunteers bring diverse perspectives to park’s projects. Having opportunities to explore natural and cultural resources in American national parks is exciting as it may be the first time that they’ve seen them up close. They help parks tell important stories in unique ways inspiring staff and visitors.

Sarah: Yeah, I think whether it be volunteers or interns or workers from all across the globe is only ever going to be a positive because you get so many different experiences, like whether they be cultural or just from different life experiences for example. I think I would approach my work in interpretation from a very historical viewpoint.

Celeste: Volunteering in another country is a great experience for young people especially in a national park. In many developed countries the land was altered more than a thousand years ago, and their parks do not contain as much wilderness as those in the US. Additionally, America’s national parks are a great introduction to our country and to the things that we most value. The International Volunteer Program is designated by the State Department as an official exchange visa program for this reason.

Sarah: I would absolutely recommend that people do it. I think as well with it being a sponsored visa, even if you are in a volunteer position and you're not getting paid for that time with the visa being sponsored, it does feel like you're not being taken advantage of; you are being valued. And it's a fantastic way to actually get to know the character of a place. I don't think you can get to know the character of a place unless you're there for a significant time and you're contributing something. So absolutely would recommend it.

Celeste: Working in national parks provides young people with a wealth of opportunities to challenge themselves and try new things. Sarah hadn’t done any overnight hikes since she was a teenager, so she wasn’t expecting to do any during her volunteer program. However, she met a lot of people at North Cascades who were experienced backpackers.

Sarah: So actually, I ended up borrowing one of my colleague's tents and sleeping bag and camping stove so that I could go on an overnight hike. And it was probably a highlight of my time there because I think if you just tell somebody, oh I went on a solo hike for two days in a wilderness area with a can of bear spray, particularly in the UK where we don't have any animals bigger than a badger, people are like, oh my goodness, what are you doing? You're an insane person. But actually, when you're there and you are around experienced hikers, it really doesn't feel like you're doing anything particularly scary or unsafe, particularly if you are properly prepared. So, it was actually a really great exercise in seeing how you can expand your own comfort zones.

Celeste: Sarah has since returned home to the UK and has discovered a career in the field of interpretation. She credits her volunteer program with providing skills that will be essential to her new career path. The National Park Service’s International Volunteer-in-Parks program coordinates opportunities like Sarah’s for nearly 100 foreign nationals in many US national parks. It is one of several programs that helps the NPS share its expertise with individuals from around the world.

And remember, there are many opportunities for youth and young adults 15 to 30 years old and veterans 35 years old and younger to work with the National Park Service. To learn more about these jobs, internships, and volunteering opportunities, you can go to nps.gov slash youth programs.

Thanks for listening and happy trails!

[music fades]

Meet Sarah Nolan, an international volunteer from the United Kingdom, who was a volunteer interpretive ranger at Lake Chelan National Recreation Area during 2022. She brought her interest in history and the outdoors to help with historical research, as well as assisting park visitors and giving programs.

April 19, 2023

Conservation Diaries: Elisa Distefano, International Volunteer

Transcript

Transcript

[intro music]

Celeste: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Conservation Diaries, a National Park Service podcast. I am your host, Celeste Morales and in these episodes, we are featuring youth from around the world volunteering in national parks through the National Park Service’s International Volunteers-In-Parks Program.

Sometimes called "IVIP” for short, this program brings many talented people from different cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds to gain experience to work in conservation-related fields in National Park Service parks. Our agency also has the opportunity to learn from their knowledge and perspective. While this podcast series focuses on youth, the International Volunteers In Parks Program is open to all ages.

Our guest today is Elisa Distefano from Rome, Italy. She volunteered at North Cascades National Park the summer of 2022. As a volunteer Elisa stayed in Stehekin Valley which has long served as a passageway for travelers, linking Washington's interior wilderness to the rugged Cascade Mountains. It's one of the most remote places in the 48 contiguous states and has a very small community. During her volunteer service Elisa joined several projects including collection of seeds, of grasses in helping mitigate deforestation of some areas of the park. She also helped with the fire management team and contributed to the management of an historic orchard where some apple varieties are cultivated.

Elisa Distefano: The experience of fire management was super interesting because I had some monitoring sites where the team was measuring how the trees grow after fire events. So I was helping with a series of measurements including, for example, the diameter of best height of the trees. All the trees were numbered with tags and we had a tool for assessing their heights and also we were measuring the build up of the wood material that would have an impact in case of other fire events. So we were measuring the depth of the litter, the depth of the soil, and all the material that was accumulating on the floor of the forest.

Celeste: Elisa assistance of monitoring the effect of the fire control management plan included helping with the park biodiversity of plants. With the impact of deforestation and climate change of warmer summers in the pacific northwest, with Elisa’s expertise she helped managed all the different species that were in the nursery of pruning and adding fertilizer, and watering.

Elisa Distefano: So I would like to say that I have a background in natural resource management as a degree and then I have a master's degree in biodiversity and conservation. Also, my job regards natural resource management, sustainable development, and adaptation to climate change in developing countries. So for me this opportunity, it was great because it gave me the possibility of having insight of how to manage natural resources in a park that is very extensive and where all the ecosystems like pristine and the natural environment in untouched.

Celeste: This experience exposed Elisa to difference natural elements of climate change. For example, seeing cultivation affected by floods, drought, desertification, land degradation, forest fires, overfishing. The land gave her a new perspective of both privilege and appreciation of being in its presence.

Elisa Distefano: My cultural background? Well I come from Italy and Italy has a long history of managing parks, but the difference is that parks are inhabited. There are roads, there's towns, so we are not so used to real wilderness. And so for me this made the experience even more interesting because I come from a highly populated country and population density is kind of high also in natural parks. But on the other hand, I come from a country that has high biodiversity in terms of vascular plants. So we have the highest biodiversity in Europe in terms of plants. So I have a long experience of going out with my professors and teachers collecting samples of vegetation, classifying the flora.

Celeste: Elisa admitted her gratefulness of the supportive park staff that help set her up for success with books and resources of identifying the native true grasses. Within the North Cascades, true grasses include approximately 150 species all of which are native. The impact of this species are invaluable to the ability of stabilizing stream banks and filtering sediments.

Elisa Distefano: And then they spent few days with me looking at the grasses, helping understand how to identify the grasses because the grasses look very similar and it takes a little bit of practice. So the park was very generous in terms of giving me the material to learn to do my job in the best possible way.

Celeste: Elisa’s transferable knowledge of true grasses provided guidance in her services as she assisted the expanding effort of true grasses and the positive future impact it will have to the habitat and food for numerous animals and other organisms.

Elisa Distefano: So I felt that I was there to give as much as possible, but to make their life easier. So how can I really contribute for the projects that are running? This was the question I was asking myself every day. And I really did my best to make them feel I was a support. So I think everybody that applies to this, they should come with this, I think most of the volunteers come with this mindset, but three weeks is a good amount of time to learn and then become active.

Celeste: Volunteering in another country is a great experience especially with the National Park Service. Each year, approximately 100 foreign nationals volunteer in the US national parks, gain new skills while bringing new perspectives on NPS challenges. These International VIP's come equipped with the education and experience that make them valuable additions to national park staff. Like Elisa, they travel great distance and fund their own expenses for opportunities to do work in their career fields.

Elisa Distefano: I think this international exchange has several benefits, not only in terms of how the resources are managed. So not in terms of exchange of knowledge because we had interaction on things and that was, I think, interesting for both parties. But I think the strength of the international volunteer, that's why I am so keen about it, it goes beyond that. It’s a life experience, for me, I found this is a life choice. Like working in a park is really a life choice, like you have so many benefits, but then on the other hand you have to face some challenging situations. So I really admire, so it’s about the life experience, it’s not only about bringing cultural exchange. Of course I can also bring as much as possible from my previous experiences from the national and international level. I’m used to working with people from all backgrounds. My colleagues come from all over the world and I am very local. So for once I am the international one living with locals.

Celeste: North Cascade uniqueness of uninhabited region and isolation is one of many International Volunteers In Parks program opportunities that welcomes cultural exchanges with the environment and the surrounding park community. Volunteering at a park provides unimaginable benefits of facing challenging situations and life experiences.

Elisa Distefano: This experience has changed the way I looked at my daily life. I don't know why it was so intense. I have worked in other remote areas. For example, I worked for the James Cook University on a marine conservation project on an island on the Great Barrier Reef. And there too, I had to order the food online. We were receiving the food with the plane that was bringing the post once a week. So I've been in very remote places. But this park in the US for me has been an experience that really touched my soul. I might reconsider life choices. So yeah. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.

Celeste: Elisa has since returned home to Italy with a new perspective on her daily life. Her experience has left her with an impactful reflection of remoteness in the wilderness. The National Park Service’s International Volunteer in Parks program coordinates opportunities like Elisa for nearly 100 foreign national volunteers from around the world to contribute to the US national parks. It is one of several programs that helps the NPS share its experiences with individuals from around the world.

There are many opportunities for youth and young adults 15 to 30 years old and veterans 35 years old and younger to work with the National Park Service. To learn more about these jobs, internships, and volunteering opportunities, you can go to nps.gov slash youth programs.

Thanks for listening and happy trails!

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Meet Elisa Distefano, an Environmental, Natural Resource Management and Climate Change Adaptation Specialist from Rome, Italy. She works in national parks and protected areas around the world and chose to volunteer at North Cascades National Park in 2022 helping with a lot of scientific research.

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