Forestry Institute Crew
ABOUT
GPI’s environmental mentorship program offers a paid hands-on training with its forestry crew. The enrollees will work mainly with GPI’s Forestry Institute and be based out of the Darrington Ranger Station. The primary work location will be Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest lands. Forestry Institute work will include pruning trees, seed collecting, planting, transplanting, trail maintenance, fertilizing, weeding, bird box assembly, grounds keeping, brush clearing, mending fences, digging and clearing ditches, installing signs and more. The use of hand tools for digging, cutting, pruning, sweeping, and carpentry will be required.
About our 2021 season
In 2021, we provided over 60 full days of fieldwork opportunities for youth and young adults through the National Forest Foundation and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Youth crews and young adult crews maintained over 20 miles of trail at the Green Mountain Lookout, Goat Lake, White Chuck Bench, Circle Peak and Crystal Lake Trails. These crews worked hard with guidance from the Forest Service. Behind the scenes, the youth pruned over 750 trees (six acres)at the Suiattle Seed Orchard. These trees are being monitored for production and viability in the face of diseases and climate change for their seeds to be used in replanting after timber harvest or large natural disasters. We split puncheon, treated picnic tables with linseed oil, and painted doors for the restoration of a ranger station. Additionally, the crew created a brochure detailing the native plants planted outside of the Darrington Ranger Station, laser printing 20 signs to display by each plant mentioned in the brochure. Be sure to swing by the Ranger Station to check out their hard work!
“Our youth had the opportunity to be leaders and make a measurable impact on the land that their community benefits from,” says Patrick Brown, the 2021 forestry crew lead. “Having an infrastructure that empowered them to make their own decisions and valued their individual visions enabled them to grow and develop a deep appreciation for the work they were doing.”
As a result of this program, several crew members have expressed continued interest recreationally, academically, and professionally in forestry and natural sciences, and it’s made a lasting impression on them to be active stewards of the environment. It’s a beautiful thing to know that our youth contributed to the continuing legacy of protecting and preserving outdoor access and the environment.
Impact
Shayla served on our 2019 Forestry Crew! Here she shares her story and the positive impact GPI has had on her life.
