Sitting in the backseat of the pickup truck cradling my bag of gardening tools on my lap, squeezed in between baskets of flowers and bags of soil, and still half asleep, I watch the familiar scenery roll by as we make our way from the farm in Wyoming, RI to Watch Hill driving the same route I had taken in the opposite direction hours earlier. I pick at the dirt still caked under my fingernails from the previous day and wonder if our morning coffee stop will be at Dunkin’ or Cumbies.
In between the hours of weeding, planting, watering, dead heading, and spreading mulch at various homes around Watch Hill, Weekapaug, and Narragansett, from my spot in the back of the truck emblazoned on the side with “Fleurs” in the landscaping company’s classic cursive font, I listen. Over the soft rock radio station, I listen to stories that tell of years of wisdom, knowledge of plants, personal hardship, love for nature and the outdoors, and the occasional tid bit of local gossip picked up from spending so much time in people’s yards. The warm summer breeze gushing through the open windows dries the mixture of sweat and dirt that has accumulated on my face as we head to the next house.
Though I pretend to have dreaded the times I worked at Fleurs- a six week stint between my spring off-term in Colombia and sophomore summer and a month after completing an internship and before my senior year- I actually found a strange sense of enjoyment in the physicality of the job, pleasure in working with my hands, and satisfaction in seeing the transformation of neglected flower beds. Most of all I loved being able to spend the entire day outside working beside inspiring, strong women who showed immense patience with me and my inability to identify different flowers and plants. Hauling 50lbs bags of soil, lifting planters, and spending the majority of the day crouched under a bush was a type of hard work I was not accustomed to, but now have so much respect for.
This year, even the most outdoorsy among us developed a newfound appreciation for nature, as many of us sought out safe ways to explore while social distancing. More than 237 million visitors, myself included, took to national parks, and even more took to trails, lakes and rivers closer to home. I am a believer that the more time spent outside, the happier we all become. However, unfortunately, this influx in traffic increased amounts of litter in parks, trash left at campsites, and the wear and tear on public lands.
I designed my van to be off-grid and completely self-containing and have been consciously trying to minimize my footprint as I travel. By practicing “Leave No Trace”, I’ve been making an effort to not just leave sites as I found them, but to leave them in better shape by spending time picking up trash left behind by previous campers. The principles of “Leave No Trace” can be extended beyond the realm of back or front-country camping. In our day to day lives, we can all strive to reduce our negative impact in exchange for leaving the places, people, and things we encounter for the better. In the end, we’re all just visitors here.
After 5 months of meandering, zig and zagging, and inching along, at the end of this week I will finally be headed to California. Officially making my way “cross country”. Since departing from Rhode Island this fall, I have visited 15 National Parks, countless National Forests, and have spent many nights on BLM land. I have developed an immense appreciation for and have been overwhelmed by the vast and extensive natural beauty of our country, while also confronted by the fact that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to preserve these spaces.
In California, I will be joining the AmeriCorps working as a crew member under the American Conservation Experience for the next 3 months. I will be learning techniques of conservation and land management, working on trail construction, forestry, and environmental restoration projects across California’s National Parks, National Forests, State Parks and BLM land. I will be backpacking with my 75 liter pack which I nicknamed “The Green Monster”, carrying tools and supplies, and camping for 8 day stretches while working on various projects. April to July is a critical time period for conservation work. We’ll be repairing any erosion that took place over the course of the winter in anticipation for summer visitors and doing what we can to prepare for wildfire season. On my off-days in between projects, I can’t wait to take van explorations and adventure around California in a more leisurely manner.
My van journey has been all about seeing where the road takes me, trusting my intuition, and being open to new challenges. I am excited, though admittedly a little intimidated, to put on my hard hat, work pants, boots and to get my hands dirty while doing my part to protect and conserve the public land and nature I have fallen in love with over the past months. After having been traveling solo for so long, I am looking forward to being a member of a crew, working alongside other people, and having a structured schedule- however demanding it may be.
Here’s to the next adventure and hoping my time as a garden girl, Geography 3, and Spauldo prepared me enough for this one.
ABLAZ 
Great post. Thanks, Tom
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