By Lillian Cadwell, Stewardship Intern
The thing that stands out to me most from this internship is the laughter. From the jokes told fireside or the giggles when working, this summer was full of smiles and joy.
It was beautiful to see the happiness that rang through even on the hardest workday. On one occasion, while Isla and I were leading the construction of a privy with a couple of volunteers, there was a mandatory photoshoot with the toilet seat. Our whole group took turns posing in the (unused) privy, which led to a multitude of giggles. On another day, our crew spent the entire day outside in the blazing sun, building a concrete form. At the end of this hot day, we finished off by routing a few new signs for the campsite area in Swanton, Vermont. I was very excited about this after recently discovering I had a love for routing. I was working away and I looked over to my fellow intern’s sign to see that he had written “PORTAGE TARIL” instead of “Portage Trail.” We both burst out laughing. This was a summer of smiles, and I am so incredibly grateful for that.
This summer was also a time of growth and learning. Every day, I learned something new or got to work on a different skill. It was exciting to watch a whole project come together, whether it involved heavy rocks or more precise carpentry. My favorite project, however, was building an accessible privy up in the Allagash. Not only was it a chance to reunite with the other intern crew, but it was awesome to see such a large project in the backcountry come together (and of course, we added our own flair to it – including Isla’s delicately crafted moon).
I am grateful for everything this summer offered: friends, new skills and endless time and memories outside. I went into the internship unsure of what I was even getting myself into, but I left with more than I could have imagined. Thank you to the other interns, the leadership team and all the volunteers for making this summer so special!
