I have been at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge for about four months now, and I have had an amazing experience so far. Over the past few months, I have had a lot of different experiences. Working at this location has opened my eyes in so many different ways. For one, learning about the history of this refuge has been truly inspiring. The refuge was an old diary farm that went up for sale in 2012 and the community came together to try to save this land to make it a green space for the community members in the city. Valle de Oro is the first national wildlife refuge that is being built as an urban refuge and the first wildlife refuge in the country built from the ground up under the Urban Wildlife Conservation Programs standard of Excellence for urban national wildlife refuges. This refuge is still under construction and is in the process of habitat restoration. It is still open to the public, which is also not something that is very common, but it remains open to the public because after all it was the community’s idea to save this space as a green space for the urban community.

The biggest aspect I have really enjoyed with this internship is the variety of work that I have been a part of. My past jobs in the wildlife field have been more on the wildlife research and biology side. Coming into this internship, I was a little worried because I work with the visitor service team which deals a lot more with the public. Education and outreach are a major part of this position which is not something I have ever been very confident with. More specifically public speaking, which there has been a lot of recently. I am more confident when it comes to the biology side of wildlife, and I have managed to find a way to incorporate both into my position.

The first major project I was in charge of was organizing and creating the seed library which is apart of the Environmental and Economic Justice library that was recently added to the visitor center at the refuge. This seed library was created with the idea to bring the community together to preserve and protect the genetic diversity of native species and increase the extent of locally grown food, which can be done by keeping the seeds growing within the same community and creating seeds that are better adapted to our unique desert climate that supports a genetically diverse landscape. Some other projects I have been apart of so far is supporting and being on the planning committee of Environmental Justice Community Month working with a variety of partners from the community. Another major part of this position is making sure to post to social media and keeping people updated on the refuge. I am confident when it comes to the biology side of wildlife and i have found a way to be able to educate others in that way. I have worked with high schoolers to do macroinvertebrate projects to test the water quality of the wetlands at the refuge. I have gotten to help with fish releases of the endangered species the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow while educating children and their families about water conservation. Before I started this position, I used to help out with the Mexican Wolf Recovery program which is something I love getting to do and as part of my position I get to continue to help out and learn more and more. I have been able to help out with the habitat restoration, bird surveys, bird banding, and bird releases at the refuge.

Something I noticed recently was that in my previous positions I would always talk about how I wish people were more informed about wildlife, conservation, and how they could help. Even working in this field there is still so much that I didn’t know about and think how others could find this information if I even have a hard time. For example, I had no clue this wildlife refuge was so close to home, and I’ve lived in the area for almost all of my life. Just in these last four months this refuge has inspired me in so many ways.

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: FWS Regionals

Location: Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge