September 7, 2009

Here goes!
by Cori Stanek

Landscape & Livelihood is officially underway! It’s been a jam-packed week of orientation and excitement at the homestead as everyone gets settled in and the semester get rolling. This year’s students hail from Montana, Vermont, Wisconsin, Texas, Iowa, the Carolinas, even Nova Scotia. After arriving late last week the students have enthusiastically hit the ground running.

To help everyone get acquainted with this place, the students spent time with Claire Emery, a woodblock printer and field illustrator from Missoula, this week to work on field journaling. Each student started their own biogeography journal that they will keep throughout the semester, chronicling the unique natural history of the Swan Valley and their experiences here on the landscape throughout the next two months.

Claire Emery in the field.	Asha, Sam, Tyler, and Celeste share their journals while out with Claire on Tuesday.

This week also brought the beginning of Wilderness First Aid training for the L&Lers. Dave McEvoy from Aerie Backcountry Medicine started WFA training here at the homestead earlier this week—a primer for many teaching-scenarios to come while in the backcountry.

Students work with Dave McEvoy and learn how to construct a hypothermia wrap on the first day of WFA training.

Left to right: Steve Lamar, Will Bennington, Emily Gamm, Leah Swartz, Asha Bienkowski, Colleen Ferris, Brooke Stallings, Celeste Mascari, Tyler Lavenburg, Pate Barnes, Amelia O’Connor, Sam Berry, Zach Wallace, Dan Murphy, and Cori Stanek.

Just as they get here, we leave again! On Thursday morning we headed for the hills as the students embarked on their 10-day backpacking trip in the Swan Range and Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. It was a stellar first three days hiking up to Condon Basin and over Smith Creek Pass.  Its “get to know you” in fast forward and everyone is enjoying soaking up the sunshine and scenery of the Swans while being in class. It’s hard to beat geology lessons with mountainous visual aids, and first aid scenarios in actual wilderness.

It’s been a great first week!

Students begin plant identification while on trail.	Andrea Stevens leads a briefing on the geological history of the Swan Range and Smith Creek Pass.