October 25, 2010

Coming To An End Way Too Soon
by Ashton Fink

The students have been hard at work on their final projects as the semester is coming to an end way too soon! Each of the students are currently preparing an independent project relating to conservation and the Swan Valley community that they will be presenting tomorrow in the Condon Community Hall! As the semester is coming to a screeching halt, this is what the students have to say about their time here at Landscape and Livelihood:

	Alissa Anderson "I will miss being surrounded by passionate people and spending 2 months living a busy educational lifestyle while feeling content and not stressed out. I will take away with me the woodchips in my pockets from getting wood with Tom and Gordon."
	Jillian Brown "I enjoyed learning to spend 16 hours a day with the whole group and loving most of it; I will miss daily hugs and encouragement from nine other people. I learned that each community has their own dynamic and these are very important to understand to learn to work with each other.  People skills are crucial!"
	Sean Donovan "I enjoyed the sessions in the megamid, Brian's singing. I will take away a greater appreciation for the art of walking in waders."
	Erik Elison "I enjoyed being outside every day of the semester and having the warmth of the barn floor under my feet. I am happy to have attained the new skill of making a twig bundle and starting a fire even when it’s completely wet outside."
	Kaitlyn Farrar "I learned that not all loggers and big bad men that want to kill the forest and that everyone has a reason for the things that they do and just because you don't understand or may think it bad, you should really try to see it from their point of view because every single person has value and their perspectives matter. I am going to miss the MT landscape, and the inspiration and hope that this community holds."
	Brian Fauver "I am going to miss singing, playing and dancing. I really enjoyed the meaningful eye contact and I will return home with a greater appreciation for the importance of immersion learning for my education."
	Michael Harrhy "I will take away a higher set of standards for my education. I am going to miss Tom's stories (and that type of thang) and I really enjoyed the five stages of group development."
	Krista Kaarre "I enjoyed tromping around in the woods for hours, trying to find something that grows that Adam doesn’t know the name of and morning meetings at 8:00am and I am going to miss having 11 people squished around a small dinner table. I am taking away from the semester the concept that there is another perspective to every issue, a new understanding of collaboration, and open-mindedness."
	Catherine Kana "I will take away from this experience how wonderful it is to know a place so deeply.  I am going to miss being a part of a tight knit community and one thing I enjoyed about the semester are all the inside jokes we have after the multitude of amazing experiences we have shared."
	Cassie March "I am going to miss the log sofa with the moving mattress, and I really enjoyed the opportunity we had to speak and interact with the guest speakers and members of the community. I will return home with the knowledge of how to field dress a grouse and gut a fish."

Here's a Poem Collaboratively Created by the students:

Hot Drinks!
Marianne's Carrot Cake, woodchips in my pants, sawdust in my pockets,
Wet socks,
Fire extinguisher lesson in the night under the light,
Vacuuming flies,
Golden Larches, The Great Mullen Massacre, Ben from RBM,
Hello Kitty Lunch Box, Happy Feet Dance,
Mega mid party, walloping in waders, cuddling in the wall tent,
Horse bells jingling in the night, five to a bench elbows tucked,
Cold feet warm stomach,
Kittens named Alfredo, Zippy Pasta Sauce,
Predacious diving beetles to liquefy your proteins,
Honey mushroom wish we were slumbering party,
One more time,
Find as frog's hair, risk management …and that type of thang.