Reflections on AmeriCorps Service - Nevada Outdoor School

My name is Crystal Rodriguez and I serve as an AmeriCorps member as a Naturalist through Nevada Outdoor School. I go to local and rural schools to teach outdoor-science-based lessons to students from K-6th grade and coordinate camps in the summer. 

My service with the AmeriCorps program has been unbelievably eye-opening. This program gave me the opportunity to grow as a person in ways that make me feel so grateful. I just graduated high school and I was not the type of person who had the natural talent of public speaking or presenting projects. In my job, I am required to not only present material to an audience, but I need to teach the material to students so that when I step out of that classroom, they will be able to teach their friends something new. This program has given me the privilege to wake up everyday excited to go to work; I was never able to say “I love my job,” and actually meant it. I am able to go to 11 different schools and visit an insane amount of classrooms each month, all unique with different personalities and vibes. 

I consider my job as a Naturalist to be an important job in the education community because Nevada’s education standards does not consider science to be a priority subject to be taught. Children in the school district are on the same routine day after day to do both math and reading at least twice a day. So coming into classrooms for the 45-60 minutes it takes to teach a lesson is important, as well as exciting, to the kids and to myself. 

I love that I can make connections with the students, being that I went to school in Winnemucca, and also that I can influence the students to be excited to learn about the environment we live in. My service has removed my fear of public speaking and it has swayed me towards a career in teaching first grade. 

The AmeriCorps program has shaped me into a new and improved version of myself and has put me in a position to help the community with implementing the opportunity to teach their kids lessons about the outdoors along with adding an hour of science to their day. I am so lucky to be serving in a program that helps me accomplish personal goals and that helps the community all at the same time.

Living in Mountain Lion Habitat

A few weeks ago, my news feed was flooded with headlines suck as, “Man Fights off Mountain Lion with Bare Hands” and, “Man Survives Mountain Lion Attack by killing it with His Bare Hands.” 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/02/05/mountain-lion-mauled-trail-runner-man-fought-back-killed-it/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f83f9381d01b

The incredible story of how Travis Kaufman managed to survive a mountain lion attack seems to have many people asking themselves, “Am I going to get attacked by a mountain lion?” The Short answer: probably not. 

Travis Kaufman’s story takes place at Horsetooth Mountain, a popular recreation area outside of Fort Collins, Colorado, where I went to College. I grew up in a Mountain Town in Colorado, where we literally shared out back yard with mountain lions.  Many of our friends and neighbors lost their pets to mountain lions, mountain lions stored their kills under people’s porches or on the roof of their homes, and you could often hear them “Calling” at night. I know it sounds like the place was crawling with lions, to the point that they were almost a nuisance, but the fact of the matter is, that Mountain lions do not really want anything to do with us.  During my eighteen years of living in the mountains, I only saw one Mountain lion EVER, as it dashed in front of my car. 

NDOW

That being said, it is still important to use caution when spending time outdoors in Mountain Lion country.  One of the first things you can do to decrease your chance of a mountain Lion encounter is to get your activates in before dusk.  Mountain Lions are nocturnal animals, meaning they do most of their hunting at night, during the daytime, mountain lions are happy to spend most of their time in their den, significantly decreasing the likelihood that you will encounter one. There is safety in numbers, avoid walking or hiking alone and make noise. If the Mountain lion can hear you coming, it most likely will not stick around to see what the commotion is about.  If you are adventuring with little ones, keep them close. Unfortunately, small children (and pets) look like prey to mountain lions and are more likely to be attacked. 

If you do encounter a mountain lion, do everything you can to make yourself look bigger, and less like prey. Raise your arms/ walking stick over your head, pull your jacket open, and use a loud stern voice. Mountain lions will typically avoid confrontation, so make sure you provide them with an escape route. DO NOT RUN! If you run, or crouch, you will look like prey to the lion and they will be more likely to pounce or chase after you. 

If you spot a wild animal appreciate it from a far, never approach an animal. If you spot a mountain lion, before it notices you, it is still best to leave the area.  In the extremely unlikely event that a mountain lion attacks you, channel your inner Travis Kaufman, and fight back! 

-Happy Trails!

Reflections on AmeriCorps Service - The American Red Cross

As an AmeriCorps member, It's been a great experience and pleasure working with the American Red Cross! 

I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to get to know the volunteers who are willing to help out the community. I have been the first face to come out in the AmeriCorps, which has had a great impact on society because I have encouraged many others to be willing to help out society! 

One of our main commitments is to keep our community safe, and we ensure this by teaching many to be prepared for upcoming natural disasters that can occur anytime, along with installing free smoke alarms around the community as part of our organization! 

For instance, throughout the M.L.K day weekend, we were fortunate enough to reach out to the low-income mobile homes (Gardnerville, Carson City, and Reno, Sparks) who can't afford to purchase/install smoke alarms, so it's our pleasure of taking that role of doing so. 

Mohsina Haroon