Carrying 5 gallons of water on my back while stumbling up a hill in search of trees that had been planted in thick brush last year was not what I imagined for myself as a summer intern for the Sugar Pine Foundation. Nevertheless, I spent every Tuesday and Thursday morning of July under the sun in an hours-long scavenger hunt for saplings in burn scars around South Lake Tahoe. During this time, I became accustomed to the hunt for baby trees in various different places and the friendly chatter of the team as we worked repetitively to implement the summer waterings that are so vital to the survival of saplings during the hottest, driest months of the year.
I came to South Lake Tahoe this summer to work a forestry internship and develop hands-on skills while taking a break from being a student of Environmental Sciences at UC Berkeley. My time with the nonprofit was incredibly valuable, as I gained work experience in my field of study and spent countless hours exploring the Sierra Nevadas.
The first order of business for me as an intern was to become well-versed in plant identification. Under Maria’s mentorship, I expanded my knowledge of tree species significantly, and learned how to recognize local species by their pinecones, bark, and number of needles in a fascicle. The swathes of wildflowers carpeting Tahoe offered me the bonus opportunity to learn to distinguish them, and it felt rewarding in a way I had never experienced in previous visits to be able to recall the names of so many plants while on a walk.
In addition to technical skills, I gained insight into the management ideology of the Sugar Pine Foundation, which has added to my perspective of what effective forestry looks like and made me reflect on what I learned in college classes. Specifically, it is the proactive approach towards stewarding nature that I admire. In a world of unprecedented changes due to anthropogenic global warming, the people I worked with believed strongly in actively responding to megafires by planting trees, thus accelerating the process of natural succession rather than allowing brush fields to replace burnt forestland. The foundation’s process of planting trees, selecting for specific species, and promoting forest thinning aligned with the intersubjective approach of natural resource management that I learned about in one of my environmental policy classes. An intersubjective relationship with nature is an adaptive strategy for humans to coexist with the landscape without relying on complete control of the ecosystem, yet still exercising flexible means of influencing the environment in order to achieve the desired result of equitably distributed natural resources to be used in modes of production.
Debate over how natural resources should be managed is healthy due to the long shadow in history that decisions in this realm tend to leave. Just as we are affected by our ancestors' decisions to log, prevent fire, or increase the levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, future generations will be shaped by the manner in which we interact with our environment now. During my work, I felt impacted by the thought that I am supporting a forest reformation movement whose greatest effects will not be seen by me, but rather future generations.
My stay in South Lake Tahoe immersed me in a welcoming culture, and I appreciated the care that many community members take for the nature that is so integral to local identity. In my hometown in the East Bay, I feel that I have to specifically seek out wilderness by driving to open spaces or parks. Whereas this summer I was blessed by spending plentiful free time outdoors in an area that is the embodiment of a society within nature.
