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Giving back in gratitude and stewardship

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E for Eagle Eye!

Jenna Shea is a recent graduate of UMass Amherst who double majored in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Conservation. Jenna came to Eagle Eye wanting to explore both community engagement and field work to get a better idea of her path after college. While she was at Eagle Eye, she accepted a position with TerraCorps at Wareham Land Trust as their Community Engagement and Land Stewardship Coordinator. Congratulations, Jenna!

Below is her reflection on the 2020 summer internship.

I came to Eagle Eye with worry, doubt, and uncertainty clouding my thoughts about life post-graduation, but within the first few days of being here, those thoughts quieted and were replaced with thoughts about the beauty of the site and the people that surrounded me.

Through trail stewardship, I gained skills in maintaining the land and learned tips on how to ID trees, listen for the waterfall-like call of the wood thrush, and spot little mushrooms popping up from the leaf litter (fungi eye!). In listening and watching, I learned that everyone belongs in nature and has a role, from the mosquitoes that provide a food source for bats, to the fungi that overtake trees and help them return to the earth through decomposition.

Even humans have their place and purpose in nature. Though many of us are taught to believe that this world would be better off without us, we are just as much a part of it as any other being, a part of the cycles, the coming and going, the giving and taking. We are taught that all we do is take and that we add nothing of value, but we give back in our gratitude and our stewardship of the land.

Through the work we did, I learned that I have the capability to wield a nail gun and build a deck. I discovered that I have the knowledge to design and lead a lesson and to be an effective steward of the land. I will carry this heightened sense of confidence in my abilities into whatever I do next.

Through morning meditations and silent moments waiting for the rain to pass, I learned the virtue of being present, of knowing that there are deadlines to meet and emails to send, but allowing those thoughts to pass to make room for the dancing light, the cool refreshing water, and the birdsong.

Eagle Eye provided a supportive and nurturing environment through which to grow and find clarity, and I will use the lessons I have learned here to work to make natural spaces more inclusive and to connect communities to the natural world that surrounds them.

Learning to trust myself

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Alexander Voisine is a rising sophomore at Holyoke Community College studying Environmental Science. Growing up in Belchertown, he was connected to nature from a young age, exploring the forests and natural areas around his home. Later, he passed on his love for nature to younger students in the Ecomentors program at Belchertown High School. Alec plans to continue his education at UMass Amherst, exploring his interests in the natural sciences and education.

While at Eagle Eye, Alec developed a lesson on aquatic ecology with his fellow intern Jenna Shea and took the lead on designing and constructing interpretive signs for a collaborative intern project.

Below is Alexander’s reflection on the 2020 internship program.

This opportunity taught me a lot about myself and nature, as well as how to bring the experience of nature to others. I plan to bring a lot home with me when I leave. For starters, I plan to bring home the dairy-free part of the diet. I was surprised how well my body felt after a transition to this new way of eating! While we’ve been here, we’ve acquired many new skills, as well as developed existing ones. Working on the deck for the cabin, for instance, allowed me to gain hands-on skills with tools I don’t use very often. 

There is one last thing I’ll take home with me that I’ve discovered while I’ve been here. I stepped out of my car a different person than I am today. I had an idea for my life, but no real sense of direction. As I spent time here, I began to see myself differently, thanks to Cass and my fellow interns. With the feedback they gave me, as well as taking time to reflect, I was able to discover new skills I never knew I had, and I learned to trust myself and my goals. I now plan to explore school and careers with this new confidence and these uncovered skills. 

Being out in nature for three weeks has allowed me to reflect on myself and learn to trust my skills and knowledge. I also found that teaching and the environment are both things I enjoy and plan to investigate education and careers in that direction. This internship is very valuable for college students. It can teach you new skills, hone existing ones, give you a new perspective on yourself, and provide a feeling of community.

A simple and uncomplicated happiness

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Argenis Herrera is a rising junior at Williams College studying Political Economy. He is a passionate nature lover and social justice advocate.

Argenis came to the internship with extensive leadership experience in organizations including Greening Forward, a socially conscious youth-led nonprofit focused on sustainability, the Minority Coalition at Williams College, the Committee on Diversity and Community, and the Zilkha Center, advocating for sustainable solutions on campus.

Argenis participated in Williams’ backpacking orientation program for incoming students and experienced the wonder and awe of being immersed in nature. He later became a leader in the program, mentoring other first-year students on transformative outdoor trips.

Below is Argenis’ reflection on the 2020 internship program.

I came to Eagle Eye at a weird time between two places, looking for a healthy distraction from all the chaos in the world. Simultaneously, I sought clarity on a lot of what I’d been dealing with prior to arriving.

After three weeks of living sustainably outdoors at MountainStar Forest, I have found everything I’ve been looking for. There is truly no other place like this. First, there is the committed focus on sustainability that offers a plant-based diet and food grown on-site, and asks us all to be caring stewards of the forest. It’s through this focus that I was able to dismantle previously held notions of the natural world and find comfort in the balance and simplicity of nature.

But Eagle Eye doesn’t end with that. There is also a needed focus on equity and inclusion that has encouraged and allowed for heavy but necessary conversations. Since being here I have felt completely part of a family in spite of my traditionally marginalized identities. Community at Eagle Eye is not conditional; it is extensive and meaningful. 

I will be leaving with memories of a simple and uncomplicated happiness, of a time unmarred by conflict or tension. I will be leaving with snapshots of time spent meditating in the morning sun, jamming out with guitars in the glow of Christmas lights, making dinner in the outdoor kitchen, night swims and bonfires under the moon and stars, and long conversations about life, love, grief, and the simple things. I will be leaving with lessons on mindfulness and communication, aquatic ecology and tree ID. I will be leaving a different person than when I arrived, and I am never going to forget that.

Nature as the grounding force

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Lisa Shore is a rising senior majoring in Math at Smith College. They came to our summer internship with experience working at a nature camp in Germany last summer. In addition to speaking German and Italian, Lisa is a writer and poet. While here, they developed and taught a Nature Writing workshop with fellow intern Argenis Herrera that made poetry and creative writing accessible to folks with no previous experience.

Below is Lisa’s reflection on the internship program, as well as the group poem we created by arranging words and phrases that captured the moment – looking out from the outdoor kitchen at an afternoon rainstorm.

This program gave me the opportunity to reconnect with myself, away from constant news clips and video chats. The site feels like a safe little bubble where we can focus on physical work, eating well, spending time among the trees and the birds, and connecting with others and ourselves. I’m so grateful for this time with myself and others who appreciate the outdoors as much as I do.

I will take with me the early mornings, daily meditations, intentional and healthy cooking, and all the laughter, dancing, and singing under the blue sky and the stars. The conversations I’ve had and self-reflection I’ve been given space to do have pointed me in so many new directions. I’m looking forward to exploring them, with nature always there as the grounding force.

green swaying growth

damp bark

noisy birds

shiny Mother Nature

drip drop song

trees rumble 

crisp wet rain

power glasses

fresh citronella

life in the moment

Perfect moments

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Charlie Mark is a part-time student at alternative school LightHouse Holyoke. She loves being in nature and dreams of being a writer one day. Charlie participated in Eagle Eye’s hands-on learning and stewardship programs with her school the past two years and this year, completed our week-long Teen Internship.

Our Teen Internship program gives teens an opportunity to camp for a week, disconnect from personal technology, learn hands-on outdoor skills, practice sustainable and low-impact living, and build independence and self-confidence.

Charlie worked on projects alongside our college interns, including trail stewardship, using a sawmill to make lumber, natural art, organic vegetable gardening, and plant-based camp cooking. She participated in self-reflection, journaling, and discussion around her personal experience with nature and community.

Below is her reflection on her Teen Internship experience.

I have been waiting since last year to come to this internship

Usually throughout day-to-day life I stumble upon perfect little moments, like a breath of calm or a funny joke, just something to look back on and smile. These perfect moments come about once or twice a day on good weeks and less so on bad ones. Looking back at this past week trying to figure out what to keep with me forever, I seem to only remember one or two moments a day that weren’t perfect.

It was little things, like eating together every evening, to big things like a hemlock tree that is hundreds of years old, that made this week so perfect.

That’s what I’ll be talking home with me, memories of this beautiful place. I’ll bring home this way of taking a step back from the stress of technology and just seeing the world.

Eagle Eye has let me live a few stress-free days of being in nature, for which I will always be grateful.

A renewal of our commitment

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From the Eagle Eye Institute Board and Staff

June 5th, 2020

Eagle Eye Institute was founded in 1991 by Hampshire College alum Anthony Sanchez to connect youth from underserved urban communities to the beauty of nature.

Thirty years on, people of color still experience deep-seated and systemic barriers in the outdoor and environmental sphere. There is a huge disparity in who participates in outdoor recreation and holds environmental leadership positions; frontline communities bear the burden of environmental hazards and the effects of climate change; and as we have seen time and again, it is not universally safe for Black and Brown people to access outdoor spaces as it is for most White people.

Eagle Eye has been doing its part to address these disparities and inequities with a diverse group of committed partners, many of whom understand their privilege and use it to help open doors of opportunity through a deeper connection with nature. We renew our commitment to this work now.

We will center and learn from the voices of BIPOC-led organizations and environmental leaders. We will work to dismantle racism and White supremacy in ourselves, our organization, our partnerships, and our community. We will hold nature up as a solution, a basic human right, a great connector, and our common home.

We believe everyone has a right to a healthy environment and a positive relationship with nature. That’s not possible in a system where Black and Brown people aren’t safe or respected. The movements for social justice and the protection of the environment are inextricably linked. We need nature, nature needs us, and we need each other.

In this moment, people of all backgrounds are coming together to demand change. Young people are speaking up in large numbers. This widespread mobilization and engagement is a source of inspiration and energy during this time. The momentum can go forward to create the profound and lasting change we need. We are committed to this work. We are in it with you.

Tribute to Dave Kittredge

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Dave Kelly
Dave, right, instructs on an Eagle Eye Learn About Forests program in the early 90’s.

By Bill Labich, Eagle Eye Foundation Team

On March 13th, David Brayton Kittredge, Jr., a wonderful friend of Eagle Eye Institute and the youth he championed, passed away. We, and so many others who had the distinct pleasure to be and learn with him—countless students, faculty, and staff at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Harvard Forest, Coverts and Keystone Cooperators, landowners, foresters, and other citizens passionate about forests and conservation—will miss him dearly.   

A recent tribute to Dave from the Director of Harvard Forest, David R. Foster, recounts Dave’s impressive and seemingly endless professional contributions to the field of forestry through academic research, mentorship, authorship of state manuals on best practices, and his longstanding leadership of the forestry program at UMass where he taught classes in silviculture, human dimensions, timber harvesting, natural resource inventory, and land protection. 

Dave was pivotal to the growth and development of Eagle Eye Institute programs and the mission-driven work of several board members, which ripples out with myriad impacts. Dave was there at the very beginning of what would become Eagle Eye’s signature Learn About Forests™ program. Here’s how Eagle Eye co-founder MaJa Kietzke recounts it: 

Anthony and I took the Coverts Land Management course with Dave back in 1991, and one of their requests was to spread the message of land management and conservation, so we said we wanted to bring youth out to the forest. We asked David to be an instructor, and he said yes. A year later, we took him up on his commitment, and it was his idea to bring in a second instructor, so we could divide the group in two and have more one-on-one interaction. The second person he brought in was Anne Marie Loud, who later would become his wife. During David’s second year of working with us, he suggested we add in a stewardship component which was cutting small saplings and brush to release old apple trees for wildlife. The young people loved working together and learning how to use forestry tools – the stewardship component is now an essential part of our LAF (Learn About Forests) program. 

I’ve known Dave for over thirty years. Dave was an upbeat, down-to-earth, thoughtful, generous, and enthusiastic mentor, supporter, and colleague to whom I owe much in my professional life. I first met Dave at a Coverts Cooperator Training in Connecticut in 1989. I was 26, two years back from being an agroforestry extension agent in Haiti for the Peace Corps and working as a forester for CT Audubon and doubting my place in the field. He assured me that forestry was a broad enough field that could contain my particular interests. Later, I met Dave at the Eagle Eye Institute Learn About Forests™ Instructor Training in 1993. I remember being pleasantly surprised that he knew Anthony and MaJa and that he was equally excited about helping underserved urban youth of color discover their relationship to nature. Later, I got to work closely with Dave over the years helping his town planning board complete its master plan, as a fellow member of the Wildlands and Woodlands Initiative, and as a vocal supporter of the Regional Conservation Partnership Network, which I coordinate.

Dave was so supportive of Eagle Eye and collaborative conservation that I know in my heart he would be very pleased with our collaborative community conservation efforts with Kestrel Land Trust, Holyoke High School, and the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club.  

Please join me in extending Dave’s legacy, his passionate championship of young people’s connection to nature and conservation, by being even more involved in the Eagle Eye community, as we need it now more than ever. 

 

2019 Intern Reflections: Madi

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Eagle Eye’s Residential Summer Internship is a unique experience for college students to live and work outdoors for six weeks, practice sustainable living, and connect with themselves, others, and nature in a beautiful forest environment. The internship offers a dual experience to develop hands-on land management and outdoor skills and gain outdoor education and mentoring experience with youth and teens ages 8-18.

Below is a recent reflection from 2019 Residential Intern Madi McCarthy of UMass Amherst. Madi is a junior majoring in Psychology and Education.

Working with Eagle Eye this past summer was one of the most impactful experiences I have been lucky enough to have had. I gained so many life skills, underwent personal growth, and made life-long connections with very special people. This summer helped me realize that I want to pursue a career in education, especially in an urban community. Working with the youth will have a lasting impact on me, because I saw how much nature can affect youth. I was also able to hold the Champion role and lead a youth program. That was one of the most intimidating things I have done, but also such a great learning experience!

When the youth were not on site, we worked to maintain the site. [Site Manager] Scott taught me so many skills that I never had exposure to before. I leaned how to operate various tools and create a lot, including helping to finish a cabin! Doing trail stewardship daily helped me learn the skills behind land management, give back, and appreciate the land more overall.

During the internship, I was able to establish healthy routines and a healthy lifestyle. Cooking and eating good food, meditating daily, and having group check-ins and feedback with everyone during the week helped me to realize that I can apply these routines to my daily life in college. Since the internship, I have been back at UMass and the routines that I established this summer, such as daily meditation, yoga, and journaling, have all stuck with me more than ever. It has had a big impact on my well-being.

The deadline to apply for the Residential Summer Internship is Friday, April 17th, 2020, with applications reviewed on a rolling basis. Read the full internship description here and contact us to learn more!

2019 Intern Reflections: Gabby

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It’s a new year, there’s snow on the ground, and it’s time to start thinking about our 2020 summer internship. We typically start to promote the internship and recruit college students in January for a July start. Below is a recent reflection from 2019 Residential Intern Gabby Gracia of UMass Amherst. Gabby is a junior majoring in Natural Resource Conservation with a concentration in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.

Working with Eagle Eye was a breath of literal fresh air that took me away from a very fast-paced and stressed-out life. Having a routine everyday was something that made me feel secure, and I loved working on Eagle Eye’s site. The tight-knit community gave me a sense of security that I could not find outside of the site. 

Spending the day with the youth was refreshing because of the games and activities all of the interns got to lead. Leading 20 people is harder than it seems! Practicing the communication skills necessary to keep the day going smoothly was beneficial and has certainly helped me to express thoughts concisely and effectively outside of the internship. 

My favorite part of the internship was waking up and going to bed with the sun. I felt so connected to the Earth and being outside 24/7 made me realize that nature is so complex and beautiful. The youth definitely realized that as well. They asked so many thoughtful questions about our plant-based diet, the land, the program, and the stewardship work we completed. 

Overall, it is a very unique experience that creates opportunities for the youth and interns to connect with and appreciate nature in their own ways. 

We’re looking forward to working with our next group of interns! The residential summer internship is a unique experience that allows college students to reconnect with themselves, others, and nature in an immersive and intentional environment, while developing land management and youth education skills. Find out more about the summer internship here and contact us to learn more.

The Importance of Community

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Mount Tom Hike-a-thon, October 26, 2019

By Cass Pastorelle, Program Director

I can’t help but feel grateful after our Hike-a-thon at Mount Tom this past Saturday, October 26.

Eagle Eye has been holding this event for 17 years, an idea first hatched by two volunteer instructors as a way to bring the Eagle Eye community together and raise money to support our work.

For most of Eagle Eye’s history, our work took place in the Boston area and at our forest site in the Berkshires. After many years of fruitful programs and partnerships, we closed our Somerville office at the end of 2015 and moved our operations west, where we have had our site since 1991. In making this move for organizational sustainability, it was necessary to transition out of partnerships that were very dear to us. While we are still connected to our friends and partners there (and still hold an annual Hike-a-thon in Eastern Mass), the programs and partnerships have moved west.

Four years ago, we weren’t sure who our new friends and partners would be. Thanks to our network of former staff, board members, and supporters, we started to make connections in the Pioneer Valley, including Holyoke, an urban center an hour from our forest site. We began offering programs on site for Holyoke youth from Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School in 2016 and reintroduced our residential summer internship program for college students in summer 2017. We also built relationships with faculty and staff at Hampshire College, co-founder Anthony Sanchez’s alma mater, and engaged their students in outdoor learning opportunities.

When we were connected to Kestrel Land Trust in 2017, our work started to expand. Kestrel had been working with students at Dean Tech (now Holyoke High School Dean Campus) for the past year. We joined them in offering opportunities for students to get outdoors, learn about the environment, play games, connect with each other, and have fun. At the end of the 2017-18 school year, we offered two overnight Learn More About Forests programs to Dean students. The results were inspiring. The power of nature and community were evident as students reflected on their experience of transformation, internal and external. Students and staff alike left with a transformed outlook on themselves, others, and nature.

We are now in our third year of working with Dean staff and students, and are offering not only overnight camping trips, but also an outdoor after-school program that is student-directed and prioritizes connection to and stewardship of natural areas around Holyoke. In the interim, we have connected with many other local organizations and led youth programs with the Holyoke Boys & Girls Club, Homework House, Holyoke High School North Campus, Paulo Freire, and LightHouse Holyoke.

At our Hike-a-thon at Mount Tom on Saturday, I got to see a visual representation of our partnership- and relationship-building over the past four years. Representatives from Holyoke High Dean Campus, Kestrel Land Trust, UMass Amherst, as well as long-time supporters, board members, friends, and former staff, impressed upon me the importance of community in fulfilling our mission. We have never been able to accomplish everything alone, and from early on we have recognized the value of leveraging partnerships and working together towards shared goals.

But the value of community is also intangible. It is the feeling of warmth and connection as people are gathered for a common purpose. It is the feeling of being seen and known by others and being part of something larger than ourselves. I felt that on Saturday and I feel it whenever we bring people together in nature.