Before serving with 气候影响队, Sara Arsenault w和ered the US, heading to wherever her next gig in environmental field work took her. She tracked Gypsy Moths in Washington, fought fires in Oregon, trapped invasive beetles in Minnesota, 和 even gathered tree samples in Mexico, each time excited to see what would come next. She loved the way field work let her be close to nature, something she had always wanted out of a job ever since she was young.
Her roaming spirit led her to buy a van 和 drive it to Mexico. “I just love the Pacific Ocean 和 ended up all the way down at the tip of Baja California.” After expenses piled up, she headed back to her native Minnesota, eventually finding a position with 气候影响队 in St. 彼得, where she grew up.
完美的平衡
对莎拉来说, 气候影响队 has been a perfect blend of field work 和 office work. As an AmeriCorps member, she helps with tree identification 和 also public environmental education. She’s been able to use her deep knowledge of the field while gaining experience in an office environment. “I’d like to be the person in the office, but I don’t have office experience on my resume.” She still has her van – she just uses it these days to commute.
It wasn’t always easy living with the environmental field work lifestyle, so she’s happy to have found something that’s more predictable. “You know it is going to come to an end 和 you’re always thinking in the back of your mind, where am I gonna travel to? 我该怎么办? This feels more realistic.”
Finding a desk job in this line of work has proven to be a challenge, 虽然, 和 she almost gave up until she found her placement with 气候影响队 在圣城. 彼得. “气候影响队 put me back into the industry that I had given up on. It got me back into the field that I’m passionate about.” With the City of St. 彼得, Sara finds that she’s well-respected 和 valued for her expertise.
完整的循环
It makes sense that Sara found her way back to AmeriCorps, since she first served at the very beginning of her professional career with REAL Corps in Oregon, a program similar to Conservation Corps. Her service with REAL Corps building trails, 清理河道, 和 serving on other projects helped spark her journey in environmental field work.
Sara’s service with 气候影响队 also mirrors her past experience in another way – she’s been supporting St. 彼得’s fight against the Emerald Ash Borer beetles, the same beetles she helped trap about 10 years ago with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. These beetles feed on 和 kill Ash Trees, which are one of the most populous trees in St. 彼得. Sara is helping to track the location 和 details of local Ash Trees so that the town can work on prevention before the Emerald Ash Borer infects the trees.
Doing this meaningful service in her hometown has brought everything together for Sara. “My life’s come full circle. I’ve had this full 360 of experiences,” she said. She’s also found a new place in a community she’s known her whole life. “气候影响队 gives you a sense of purpose 和 importance in the community. That feels really good. I’m providing strength to an organization that wouldn’t be there otherwise.”
气候影响队 和 many other AmeriCorps programs are currently recruiting! To apply to serve with 气候影响队, 访问他们的网站. For all other programs, check out 我们的节目列表 和 皇冠官方APP客户端的团队 有问题吗?.
