Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Sophia Grande, and I am thrilled to be back with the Latino Heritage Internship Program for another exciting year. This summer, I’m a Digital Communications Intern for the WASO Office of Communications in Washington, D.C.. Before we get...
We are starting to see fall colors in the park! It is estimated that peak fall colors will be here by next weekend and I am very excited to see it. The busy season is definitely starting too. These past days have been very busy...
Fall is now upon us here at Shenandoah National Park! Lovely Morning Fog Foggy Morning Hike Fall time is my favorite time of the year, and I am so excited to be in a new place to experience it. I love the cooler weather, foggy mornings,...
A picture at the "Heart of the Sunken Forest" Experiencing my first professional internship as an intern for the National Park Service and Environment for the Americas as part of the Latino Heritage Internship Program has been an amazing learning experience that has introduced me...
If you ask me what I like most about my internship in the NPS Office of Communications (OCOM), I cannot pick just one favorite part. The reality is all of the things that I experienced and that I accomplished are special in different ways. A screenshot...
We went to Saugus Iron Works' nature side of the national park to met up with William Fuchs and to interview him about how he was introduced to the park service. During our discussion, we were presented with an opportunity to treat invasive species since...
I love my internship so far. I love living at the park, working here and even spending some free time here. It’s beautiful and it honestly even feels like an escape from reality. But there is something that is missing… diversity.Having been in the environmental realm...
Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP) and Mosaics in Science interns at Big Sur (I am second from the left). A major reason why I wanted to participate in LHIP was to meet people like myself who form the current and the next generation of environmental stewards...
How did the time go by so fast? Two months ago, I arrived in the city of Frederick, in Maryland, alone and full of doubt. Today, I feel none of those things. As my journey has passed, my mind has been exploring new...
Over the past few weeks, I have been continuing my work on two of my mapping projects for my internship. The first, which I’ve written about in previous blogs, has been my cartographical work in the San Gabriel Valley. Centered around Campsite 61, doing this research...
When I look back to this past month and a half, I find myself admiring my hard work. Since I left home and arrived at my site, I have been gaining nothing but knowledge. When I found out that I was selected for...
In my previous blog post, I shared a photo of myself working on something for Latino Conservation Week (LCW), a yearly celebration to highlight the role of the Latino community in environmental stewardship. Continuing the tradition, the main goal of my internship is to plan...
Working at a national park has been amazing so far! I’ve been here for almost two months and everyday continues to be a new adventure. Being in a different part of the country has definitely been an eye opening experience. I’ve loved getting to know...
Latino Conservation Week is an initiative of the Hispanic Access Foundation, created to support the Latinx community in getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources. For Latino Conservation Week this year, my park is highlighting the Latino community in...
My task over the past few weeks working on the Anza trail? Making movement meaningful. That’s the big picture view of trail work—working to build, plan, and design through trailwork means thinking about what traversing different built and imagined pathways can do. Whether that looks...
What comes to your mind when you hear the term invasive species? Alteration of habitats, reduction of biodiversity, destruction of native food sources? Well, the truth is, invasive species do all that and more. According to the National Park Service, “invasive species are...
This week was the first time I got to present my project to some people! Unlike others in the program who may be working on more tangible research projects with set variables and such, mine is a bit different. I got to choose my topic,...
As I previously have written about on this blog, community partnerships at a national trail–especially the Anza trail–look different from the typical model of “outreach” at many NPS sites. For, rather than bringing something–managed, protected, and interpreted by us–to different communities, building trails inherently requires...
Quick explanation for the title—my initials “DC” are the same as the abbreviation for the District of Columbia! The first few weeks of my internship have been a thrill! During my walk to and from the Main Interior Building (MIB) each morning, I reflect on how...
The sunset after our first big rain Monsoon season has started. We were greeted by our first rain on June 18th. I was out of town, planning to hike in the mountains of Pine, AZ. Thunderstorms get nasty out here, and when I stepped out of my...