New Adventures!

Hello!

And, we're back! As I'm about to embark on new adventures in my life, I've decided to reactivate this blog. While I was on the farm, and in India, it was great to have a way of keeping in touch, or getting back in touch, with people and sharing a little bit of my life with those near and far.

In the last year, however, I've been a little bit distracted from my writing. It's been a great time, however little I've been in touch. Since my last update on this blog, I've returned to Canada and finished my last year of undergrad. I also finished my thesis, which talked about some of the work I did with the herbarium at Puvidham – more on that later.

But, to the point: new adventures! At the end of July, I'll be leaving with the Falls Brook Centre for an eight-month internship. I'll be working for a portion of that time at the Falls Brook Centre itself, in Knowlesville, New Brunswick, on their environmental education activities. I'll also be learning about the centre and its philosophy. Following two or three months of that, I'll be sent to work with a partner in Central America – I'll find out which partner after a month or so on the job, though potential destinations include Honduras, Costa Rica, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic!

The work that I will be doing will be a part of Falls Brook Centre's role in the International Analog Forestry Network. Analog Forestry is a kind of forest management that attempts to fit economic activities, such as farming and the harvest of forest products, into a system that mimics the natural forest. Ideally, this would preserve biodiversity as well as creating economic opportunities. That, at least, is my own understanding – I'm sure I'll write more on this at a later date.

Since being hired in March, I've been learning a lot about the kind of work I'll be doing. More than anything, however, I've found out just how much there is to learn. Luckily, I've had some time to get into the forest here in Ontario before leaving for New Brunswick. I just spent a week on the Niagara Escarpment helping with a biodiversity survey, and I'm leaving tomorrow for the Petawawa Research Forest, north of Ottawa, where I'll be working on a forestry project. In addition to getting me out of the city and into the forest, an enjoyable feat in itself, I've been able to learn a great deal about the kind of work that goes on here in Canada in the biodiversity biz. Perhaps this information will be useful in New Brunswick and beyond?

Anyway, that's me! I apologize, this post has been kind of boring, kind of like those conversations that you have with people you haven't seen for a long time, where you have to catch up all the things that have happened in your lives since you last talked. The next entries will be far more exciting, I promise. I should warn you, though, that 'exciting' in this context probably means 'filled with details of life among the plants'. Be warned!

See you next time!

P.S. Has it really been over a year since the last post? Wild.
P.P.S. Speaking of adventures, I'm posting this on the train to North Bay (which is neat to ride on, especially since it might be sold off soon!) on my way to work on the forestry project in Petawawa. More on that soon!