What is the most rewarding part of your job:
Megan: Learning so many new and valuable skills to support camp and the earth.
Lara: Witnessing. More precisely: witnessing transformation and growth, knowing that the outcome is never the “final” outcome. While the continued inability to check a box as “completed” on a to-do list would aggravate most people, I understand that every single thing has a process & that completing a stage in a project isn’t the same as listening to the earth & seeing people as they are. I love seeing growth: in projects, in structures, in people, & in the land itself. To witness the transformation of a building is just as beautiful as the years spent within them — knowing all of the bare feet on the floors, all the laughter in the walls, all the deep conversations the ceiling holds… all the lives transformed as they walk in & out of the threshold, screen door slamming behind them. Still, understanding that that building will age, will wear, will be influenced by the environment around it. To be still, quiet, & observant — to hear the land and know what it needs; to work with the DNR so closely, continually learning situationally how to best respond versus react, having an informed perspective and instinct to know what’s best in follow through – when the invasives are slowly dying back after years of addressing them and the native wildflowers are reappearing in pockets; when our Great Horned Owl population returned to the Savanna on the northwest side of the property because of our efforts in naturalizing versus clear-cutting; the ability to thank a tree that hasn’t produced leaves in a decade for providing a home for so many animals, lichen, and fungi because we chose to not cut down dead timber if it wasn’t in the radius of a structure: witnessing those spaces become. To witness the many people of all ages and walks of life returning to Camp, or those experiencing Camp for the first time – to hear the stories they speak and see the ones they don’t; to learn from each individual in small & great ways; to grow alongside them. It isn’t about the completed basketball court, the bucked tree revealing a usable trail, or a flourishing Oak Savanna – it’s the wonder, awe, & settling spirit I find watching life return — witnessing the soil soften under native roots again, when campers see their own reflections in a still lake and realize something sacred about themselves, when the work I’ve quietly tended breathes on its own.
I hold a role that bridges stewardship and story – project management, land management/restoration/conservation, and security of all aspects of Camp are the framework, but the reward is seeing everything – and everyone present – grow. Witnessing Camp, in every aspect, will forever be the most rewarding part of my job.
Carolyn: I love watching people realize they are in a safe space and can reveal their most authentic self as they are surrounded by creation. The laughter, tears, and trying new things is so rewarding.