Description:
The Environmental Education Coordinator will be primarily responsible for the development and implementation of interpretive and educational programs that focus on the Galena Creek vicinity, Mount Rose corridor and the Great Basin. The two predominant areas of environmental education at the Visitor Center include: 1. On-site and school-based environmental curriculum for elementary through high school age school groups and 2. Great Basin Naturalists, an outdoor summer youth nature camp based in Galena Creek Recreation Area and Regional park.

This position will serve as an AmeriCorps member with the Great Basin Institute and will work collaboratively with the US Forest Service and Washoe County Regional Parks & Open Space. This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience in environmental and cultural interpretation, curriculum development and  visitor center operations while serving at one of the regions premiere visitor destinations.

Compensation:
This is an AmeriCorps position, and candidates will receive a living stipend of $14,000 for the season. This is not an hourly wage or a salary and is paid to members bi-monthly throughout the entire season. Upon completion of AmeriCorps service, members shall receive an additional education award in the amount of $5,350 that can be used for paying off student loans, or paying tuition for a Title IV accredited college. Health insurance and shared on-site housing available.

Timeline: October 2010 through October 2011.

Duties:
- Develop a survey for Washoe County teachers to gain knowledge about their curriculum needs and where we can best meet their requirements;
- Develop and deliver curriculum-based interpretive programming about the natural, geological and cultural history of the vicinity for on-site and school-based programs for K– high school groups;
- Create a promotional piece for educational programs and assist with their promotion throughout the Washoe County School District;
- Research methods for helping to integrate and implement field-based studies into the existing curriculum at local schools.
- Coordinate the Great Basin Naturalists summer camp, develop weekly curriculum, prepare materials, assist with hiring counselors and ensure the success and safety of the 2011 summer camp;
- Coordinate science-based teacher workshops that provide local educators with resources and techniques for integrating field studies and inquiry-based learning into the classroom at all levels;
- Help facilitate and coordinate our involvement with environmental community events (such as Galena Fest) and provide environmental activities for the public;
- Coordinate with GBI staff and local agencies on the development of a Galena Creek Youth Corps;
- Staff the information desk at the Galena Creek Visitor Center to answer phone and in-person inquiries, open and close the visitor center, daily center upkeep, and provide a high level of customer service to visitors;
- Staff the Galena Creek Store, which includes a monthly inventory, operating a cash register, and answering questions about merchandise;
- This position will require working on weekends and most holidays.

Qualifications:
- Experience developing and implementing environmental-based curriculum required.
- Experience interacting with children of all ages and the public in a customer service capacity; park and/or visitor center experience is desirable;
- Knowledge of the natural history of the Reno-Lake Tahoe area highly desirable;
- Minimum of two years’ experience with environmental program development, nature-based field instruction, and community outreach.
- Bachelor’s Degree in biology, resources management, or environmental disciplines, Advanced degree preferred.
- Experience implementing education and outreach programs, desirable but not required;
- Motivated, self-starter who is detail oriented;
- Flexibility to handle competing and changing priorities;
- Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse public in a variety of forums;
- Ability to speak English conversationally;  conversational ability in a second language desirable but not required;
- Ability to work in harsh and rapidly changing environments;
- Possess clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license.

AmeriCorps Qualifications:
To qualify, you must: (1) U.S. citizenship or legal resident alien status, (2) eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award, and (3) pass National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) and federal criminal background check.

To Apply:
Step 1: Register at the AmeriCorps website by clicking here: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=38249 and click “Apply”.
Step 2: Once registered login and complete the application.
Step 3: Click the “Search Listings” link and search for ‘Environment’ and ‘NV’.
Step 4: Click on the appropriate position and finally hit the “Apply Now” button at the bottom of the listing.

Please direct all questions regarding the application process to Bridget Walden at bwalden@GBInstitute.org or 775-674-5496

These AmeriCorps positions are made possible by a generous grant from Nevada Volunteers. This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, disability, age, or sex. Person with disabilities are encouraged to apply. NCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Description:
The Community Interpretive Outreach Coordinator will assist with establishing the new Galena Creek Visitor Center in Galena Creek Recreation Area as a community center for nature and history programming.  This will include developing and implementing free and fee-based environmental and cultural programming for all ages, providing support for and promoting the Friends of Galena Creek volunteer program and coordinating with community partners on special events.  Programs may include hikes, talks, demonstrations, hands-on kids activities, Friday Night Campfire programs and other special events. This position will serve as an AmeriCorps member with the Great Basin Institute and will work collaboratively with the US Forest Service and Washoe County Regional Parks & Open Space. This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience in environmental and cultural interpretation and  visitor center operations while serving at one of the regions premiere visitor destinations.

Compensation:
This is an AmeriCorps position, and candidates will receive a living stipend of $14,000 for the season. This is not an hourly wage or a salary and is paid to members bi-monthly throughout the entire season. Upon completion of meriCorps service, members shall receive an additional education award in the amount of $5,350 that can be used for paying off student loans, or paying tuition for a Title IV accredited college. Health insurance and shared on-site housing available.

Timeline: October 2010 through October 2011.

Duties:
- Create and implement an online survey to gain knowledge about the expectations of the local community with regards to programming and events;
- Research, develop and implement free and fee-based environmental and cultural programming for the public of all ages that utilize both the Visitor Center and GCRA as an outdoor classroom;
- Promote the Friends of Galena Creek Volunteer program; recruit, train and schedule volunteers and help coordinate volunteer activities and appreciation events;
- Assist with the scheduling and promotion of events using a variety of methods;
- Facilitate and coordinate our involvement with environmental community events (such as Galena Fest);
- Staff the information desk at the Galena Creek Visitor Center to answer phone and in-person inquiries, open and close the visitor center, daily center upkeep, and provide a high level of customer service to visitors;
- Staff the Galena Creek Store, which includes a monthly inventory, operating a cash register, and answering questions about merchandise;
- Conduct informal roving interpretation to the public on foot.
- This position will require working on weekends and most holidays.

Qualifications:
- Experience interacting with the public in a customer service capacity; park and/or visitor center experience is desirable;
- Knowledge of the natural history Reno-Lake Tahoe area highly desirable;
- Minimum of two years’ experience with environmental program development, nature-based field instruction, and community outreach.
- Bachelor’s Degree in biology, resources management, or environmental disciplines, Advanced degree preferred.
- Experience implementing education and outreach programs, desirable but not required;
- Motivated, self-starter who is detail oriented;
- Flexibility to handle competing and changing priorities;
- Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse public in a variety of forums;
- Ability to speak English conversationally;  conversational ability in a second language desirable but not required;
- Coordinate weekly trips into Reno for two international volunteers who will also work at the center;
- Ability to work in harsh and rapidly changing environments;
- Possess clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license.

AmeriCorps Qualifications:
To qualify, you must: (1) U.S. citizenship or legal resident alien status, (2) eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award, and (3) pass National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) and federal criminal background check.

To Apply:
Step 1: Register at the AmeriCorps website by clicking here: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=38248 and click “Apply”.
Step 2: Once registered login and complete the application.
Step 3: Click the “Search Listings” link and search for ‘Environment’ and ‘NV’.
Step 4: Click on the appropriate position and finally hit the “Apply Now” button at the bottom of the listing.

Please direct all questions regarding the application process to Bridget Walden at bwalden@GBInstitute.org or 775-674-5496.

These AmeriCorps positions are made possible by a generous grant from Nevada Voluteers. This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, disability, age, or sex. Person with disabilities are encouraged to apply. NCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

He dug and pushed his arm further down, trying to reach the frozen ground of the lower Bristlecone Trail at Mount Charleston.

He never reached his destination.

“That shows how much accumulation we’ve gotten,” the U.S. Forest Service field naturalist said on a recent February afternoon.

Covey then shook off his snowy hand and pointed out fresh deer tracks nearby.

“They don’t have snowshoes so they sink right in,” he said. “They’re basically on stilts.”

Covey’s quips aren’t just observations, they’re a segment of interpretive snowshoe hikes offered by the U.S. Forest Service through a partnership with the Great Basin Institute.

A field naturalist outfits participants with modern snowshoes and leads them on a trip through the snow-covered forest.

The walks are provided free of charge and conducted on weekends all winter for individuals and groups of up to 30 people.

“Don’t be afraid,” Covey said gingerly of the hike. “You’re not out of shape — it’s just the air.”

At elevations of between 8,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level, Covey, 25, leads groups on hikes of varying lengths and skill levels. He weaves in information about how animals and nature adapt to winter’s chill.

Animal tracks — deer, horse, chipmunk, fox — are imprinted alongside boot indents and snowshoe tracks. Covey tried to identify each he passed.

In between one set of stops, Covey encountered a fellow snowshoe hiker coming down the trail.

The man, Hal Street, was finishing up a solo three-mile hike, and the Las Vegan told Covey he knows several of the trails of the Spring Mountains well. “This is my second home,” Street said. “I don’t think I could live in Vegas without it.”

He skis or snowshoes two or three times a week, often never encountering fellow snow adventurers.

“A lot of the time, I am the only one,” he said. “It’s a good feeling — you’re it.”

Covey has led two snowshoe hikes so far this winter — “I just love any reason to get out,” he said — with adults and children.

He challenges youngsters to foot races to see who can top a snowy hill faster in boots versus snowshoes. He shows how humans conduct body heat with jackets, like animals use fur.

He fields questions along the way and, no, there are no bears, he says.

“It’s the wildlife that people are most curious about, and that’s maybe because they aren’t aware of everything up here,” he said.

The snowshoe hikes are a workout, but Covey accommodates for the speed and skill level of the group, he said. He also totes around a radio, a first-aid kit and supplies for emergency situations. Hikes are canceled if inclement weather is in the forecast.

Participants should wear clothing that protects their heads, hands and feet from the elements.

“It’s pretty basic,” Covey said. “If they show up, we have the shoes.”

Walks and other programs are provided year-round by the U.S. Forest Service.

For more information about reservations, call the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area Education Department visitors center at 872-5486.

- By Maggie Lillis, View Staff Writer for Centennial View

View the original article by clicking here.

Craig L. Moran/ViewRichard Covey, right, a U.S. Forest Service field naturalist, leads the way during a snowshoe tour on Mount Charleston, Feb. 3. Covey leads groups on hikes of varying lengths and skill levels.

Craig L. Moran/ViewU.S. Forest Service field naturalist Richard Covey displays casts of mountain lion footprints.

Craig L. Moran/ViewRichard Covey, right, stops to chat with snowshoe hiker Hal Street during a snowshoe tour.

Craig L. Moran/ViewU.S. Forest Service field naturalist Richard Covey holds up pinon nuts as he guides a snowshoe tour through the lower Bristlecone Trail at Mount Charleston, Feb. 3.

Full position description.

Summer 2009 REU Article.

At the table they hosted, GBI AmeriCorps members Allie Henson and Shannon Henke showed kids how to use recycled paper to make origami pygmy rabbits, an activity that could be translated into a simple educational message. Making the origami rabbits proved very popular with the target audience. This fun activity created an opportunity to discuss the importance of conserving habitat for sensitive species, such as the pygmy rabbit. Allie and Shannon also presented an informative poster, aimed at education outreach.

In addition to hosting their own table, Allie and Shannon also worked with the BLM’s Fire Mitigation and Education Specialist, Carmen Thomason, for the event. Carmen’s activity involved a message of fire safety, and kids learned the proper way to build and put out a camp fire.

After enjoying various activities and a free spaghetti lunch, the participants were ready to volunteer at different service projects for the rest of the afternoon. Overall, the MLK Day Cultural Fair was a great success. It created a forum for engaging the community through education and service on this important national holiday.

- Shannon Henke

The Day of the Dead, or “All Souls’ Day,” celebrations originated in Latin America, where for two days people honor deceased loved ones by constructing elaborate altars decorated with flowers, candles, food, and photographs. Across Mexico and the United States, people celebrate this tradition in similar ways, integrating themes and experiences common to their region. SNAP and federal agency law enforcement officers chose to remember the sixteen people who, in 2009, committed suicide on southern Nevada’s public lands. Emily, Laura, and Virginia took on the project of constructing an altar. Emily says, “We were given this theme, and complete freedom to express it.”

The three Research Associates bring their expertise as environmental educators to school fairs, career days, Earth Day festivals and other community events, such as this one. Emily explains, “Working with Lake Mead and SNAP, our goal is to educate the public about Southern Nevada’s diverse natural environment. We focus on how human activity, for better and worse, affects the desert environment. Our aim is to inspire groups of all ages to get outdoors and get involved.”

To honor the sixteen individuals, whose identities were kept anonymous, SNAP decided to build an altar, or “ofrenda,” that integrated four sites located on public lands in Southern Nevada: Red Rock Canyon, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the Spring Mountains, and Desert National Wildlife Refuge. The team also assembled a collage from photos of Southern Nevada’s public lands that served as a stunning backdrop for the ofrenda. “We had about 5 days to put it all together,” Emily recalls. “The GBI RAs, as well as Laura’s husband and SNAP volunteer, Jim, worked literally day and night to put the altar together. The process was exhilarating. Nobody knew exactly what the outcome would look like, so we took it day by day, hour by hour. Jim was instrumental in the ofrenda’s construction, because he wasn’t afraid to bust out the duct tape.”

The group embraced the spirit of the event, carefully attending to every detail of the altar’s construction, even tracking down traditional ofrenda items. Sixteen white candles commemorated each suicide, and marigold flowers, paper mache flowers, and “Pan de Muerto,” (Bread of the Dead) adorned the completed ofrenda. Emily made the bread herself. She explains, “The bread recipe I used originated with Frida Kahlo, which made it authentic and significant to me from the start. When I went to buy the ingredients, a baker at one of the Hispanic groceries gave me practical advice and encouraged me. Many people commented on how rare it is to make your own bread. That time of year, every Hispanic bakery has pan de muerto coming out of the oven seven times an hour!”

By participating in this Day of the Dead celebration, SNAP hopes to raise community awareness about the prevalence of suicide on public lands, and to send the message that Southern Nevada’s public land managers care about this issue. The personalized altar makes the point that, statistics aside, suicide involves real people. The event also gave SNAP the opportunity to meet informally with members of the community, many of whom they encounter in the course of managing public lands. “A few people had direct experience with suicide on public lands—finding someone while camping, or encountering someone climbing up a mountain with a loaded gun—and were happy to share,” Emily says. “Other people were moved by the directness of our topic and commented that these suicides often go overlooked.”

During the Day of the Dead celebration, SNAP shared its message with over 10,000 people. “We also let them know who we are and what we do,” Emily adds. “Because our ofrenda was a mock-up of Southern Nevada, we could talk to people about Red Rock RCA, Desert NWA, LAME, and the Spring Mountains, and share with them ways to get involved in fun outdoor activities.”

- By Emily Montoya, with Chris Robertson

I’m not from around here.  You might not guess it from my Taft-esque moustache and brass Wild Turkey belt buckle, but if you ask me, sure, I’ll admit it: I’m from California. San Francisco even. I’m no gold miner, buckaroo or anything close to a cowboy poet. But I am a fan of interesting slices of American culture and a pretty adaptable dude. Maybe that’s why I finished college, packed up and moved to Elko, Nevada for an AmeriCorps internship with the Western Folklife Center.

I’ve only been here since August, and I’ve never even been to a Gathering, but – from the WFC to the NCPG, the poetry to the music, my coworkers to the townsfolk, and the nearby ghost towns to the all-night local karaoke dives – this place has made me into something of an Elkoholic.

I’m here thanks to the gov’ment. When the economy went south, Nevada’s Great Basin Institute harnessed some AmeriCorps coin, teamed up with the WFC and rescued me from a post-graduate life of Segway tour guiding and Awful-Awful gobbling in Reno.

Since arriving, I’ve tried on quite a few new hats. Working mostly alongside Meg and Tamara on our programming, I’ve had tasks as diverse as working on contracts and grants, organizing an Energy Symposium, selecting photos for the NCPG program book and packing saddles (well, to be shipped).  Whatever needs to be done, really.

It’s been nice acquiring new real-jobbish-type skills, as well as being around people who like to work good, long and hard every day of the week. Consequently, it’s also been nice having a bar downstairs.

Best of all so far, though, has been all the great people I’ve met here. Or at least talked to on the phone. With many of the artists, I expect no shortage of shaking hands and hearing “Ohhh! So YOU’RE that guy!” And now, after reading this, I guess you can do that, too.

For the Gathering, when it comes to education, I’m your man. If you’ve received an email about a workshop you’re attending, probably one with – to Tamara’s chagrin – a handful of exclamation points and lame jokes, it probably had my name at the bottom. And if you’re a local student yodeling with Riders in the Sky at the Cowkids Stampede or discussing songwriting with Corb Lund in your school’s band room next week, I’ll be the scrawny moustachioed dude running around making sure everything works.

In fact, I’ll probably be that dude all over town this Gathering. So if you see me, feel free to flag me down and remind me that I’m the intern and make me do something for you. Or to say hello and sneak me a quick nip of Wild Turkey. You know, whatever you prefer.

Either way, I’ll see you at the Gathering – my first, as I already can tell, of many.

– Devon Blunden, The Intern aka Programs Assistant aka AmeriCorps/GBI Volunteer

Housed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, the mission of the Paradise Professional Development School (PPDS) is to be a hub for teacher education, research, and innovative learning for pre-school through 12th grade students. Partnering with regional agencies, including nonprofits such as GBI, makes it possible for PPDS to provide access to environmental education opportunities.

As environmental educators trained in outdoor safety, Laura, Emily, Daphne, and Amalia are well equipped to manage an excited bunch of ten-and eleven-year olds on an outing like this one. After a safety lesson, the kids chose their own campsite and helped each other set up tents. Then they got down to the fun business of exploring their campground.

Later in the afternoon the group drove from Moenkopi campground to Red Springs for their first taste of hiking and rock scrambling. Afterward, Park Ranger Gina Mele met everyone at the base of the Calico Hills to introduce the students to Red Rock NCA’s geological wonders, including the Keystone Thrust Fault, as well as the surprising variety of native plants and animals that thrive in Red Rock Canyon NCA. One of three perennial springs in the Calico Basin, Red Springs feeds a grassy marshland area at the base of sandstone cliffs. Several Native American cultures have called this oasis home; Red Springs’ many petroglyphs—some etched into boulders, and others, such as a Blanket panel, carved into the cliff face—speak to the area’s cultural importance. Today, fencing protects the spring from wild burros and a boardwalk keeps people from trampling the meadow. After her talk, Gina led the group on a guided boardwalk hike for a closer look at the Rock Art.

Back at camp, Daphne showed the kids how to start a fire and taught them the importance of fire safety. Then they ate an authentic camp dinner of fire-roasted hot dogs and chips, which was of course followed by s’mores for dessert. That night everyone sat around the campfire telling ghost stories before capping off the night with a moonlight hike. The next morning everyone pitched in to make delicious breakfast burritos. After breakfast they packed up tents, sleeping bags, food, and trash before heading out to hike near Red Springs. For the next few hours the kids climbed, hiked, and scrambled up, over, and around the rocks. When it came time to leave, all the kids exclaimed, “This campout was fun!”

The four educators and their students worked together to make this trip special. Outings to places like Red Rock Canyon NCA give these budding scientists from PPDS a chance to explore the outdoors, and to shine as a group.  As Emily said, “The kids got along great and were very well-behaved.”

-Emily Montoya

- Laura Brinson

When the 2005 wildfires swept through the northeastern Mojave Desert four years ago, an unprecedented 787,414 acres of protected and grazed land burned. Many species, some threatened like the desert tortoise, some introduced like cattle and sheep, were affected by the fires. Already scarce food and cover plants vanished. Several seasons following the fires, what was the condition of plant resources for desert tortoises in the burned habitat? As part of its mandate, the BLM rehabilitates degraded lands. An effective desert recovery management plan called for systematic data collection and assessment. Enter, stage right, GBI’s vegetation research team.

Orchestrating this complex data collection project took expertise, planning, and tenacity. GPS units in hand, the team zeroed in on all 81 sample sites chosen for study in burned, unburned, grazed and ungrazed areas. Next, they pounded stakes into the bajada—ground characterized by hard-packed gravel—to mark each and every site, some just meters off the road, others a mile’s walk or more. As summer temperatures ramped up, cresting 115 degrees, already remote sites seemed, like mirages, beyond reach. Still the team persevered. Measuring tapes were unfurled into huge rectangles. Plant numbers and species within each sample site were systematically recorded. Not far from the main rectangle, an even longer tape measure was extended. At ten meter intervals along this tape sampling frames were placed over plants, which were then carefully removed, weighed, and stowed for reweighing. Shrubs were also measured and counted, and the sparse cover they provided—or, more often, didn’t—was recorded as the gap between woody plants—or their charred remains—on data sheets. Yet, after taking all of these vegetation measurements at each sample site, the crew’s work had hardly begun.

The six spent hours entering data into spreadsheets, weighing dried plant matter, labeling and processing the photographs they’d taken at each site, and identifying “mystery” plants using classification keys. Quality control

2009 vegetation sampling crew: Steve Saletta, Helen Kurkjian, Kyle Doherty (left to right in back row), Steve Paris, Sedona Maniak, Lindsey Washkoviak (left to right in front row). Photo by Alicia Styles 2009

came next: each data sheet was checked against its digital counterpart; each photograph was scrutinized; each bag of forbs was weighed, and weighed again, for accuracy. And when all these steps were completed? Restocked with supplies, the team returned to the desert. In order to capture vegetation structure data three times during the desert tortoises’ activity season—spring to fall—the team repeated each step in this rigorous sampling process not once, but twice more.

After a long summer in the Mojave, an accurate and complete data set was delivered to the BLM by a satisfied and weary field crew.

During the 2009 season, the vegetation crew spotted and photographed eight desert tortoises, repaired 24 flat tires, witnessed the destruction of three shade structures by the Mojave wind, and extracted countless cholla spines from clothing, backpacks and bare skin. The six researchers emerged otherwise unscathed from a scorching field season in the Mojave Desert, awestruck by the desert tortoise’s persistence in this challenging landscape, and hopeful that their efforts will help the tortoise endure.

By Sedona Maniak, GBI RA – Crew Coordinator, September 2009