In the month of May I was able to solidify my two main projects that I want to focus on for the completion of my internship. I have been struggling with being a part of both interpretation and education within CPW. I want to give my all to both groups and I was struggling with finding a balance between both. This month I was able to zone in on two projects for each side of this internship and I am feeling confident that I will be able to finish these projects by the end of June with the help of my wonderful mentors and colleagues. 

I started this month working with the education crew on a virtual room that they have been developing from the ground up. This room is giving us the capability to develop virtual lesson plans for schools that we cannot travel to, and we can also use the room to film fun reels for our Instagram page. I was able to create a migratory birds video that was later posted on Instagram. I have an idea for another video to post on Instagram as a career corner with a fish hatchery I have been working with. I am also working with another intern from the Aquatic Nuisance Species section to come up with a program centered around Don’t Let It Loose. Our goal is to create a program outline and short video to be used as educational materials around Colorado. This will be my main project for the education side of my internship. 

I also had the opportunity to travel to the Bellvue Watson Hatchery in Fort Collins Colorado for a tour and it gave me the opportunity to pitch an idea that I have been working on with the interpretation crew. I am learning how to navigate the application called Agents of Discovery that has been utilized throughout many of Colorado State Parks. Our goal is to start using this app in hatcheries around Colorado too and my role is to create a pilot program based out of Bellvue Watson to help get this idea started throughout Colorado. I have been struggling with working within the app and I hope that I can use this last month to feel more comfortable with the final program for the hatcheries. This is the main project I am trying to complete for the interpretation side of my internship.  

Throughout the month I was able to travel to Ruby Mountain for a field trip and I ran a program called Oh Deer with 4th grade students back to back for 2 days. I am starting to feel more comfortable leading programs with students and working with larger groups about important topics like essentials in an ecosystem and limiting factors. I also was able to get certified in Wilderness First Aid after a 2 day course with NOLS. This has been a goal of mine for some time and I am very grateful that this internship has given me the opportunity to feel more comfortable with providing first aid when I am in the outdoors. 

I ended this month with another training at Joyful Journeys Hot Springs in Moffat Colorado for the Interpretive Naturalist Training which is an extension to my Certified Interpretive Guide Training that I received in April. This was an excellent wrap up to my interpretation training that gave me some excellent tools on Behavior Change when creating future programs. I also had the opportunity to meet with other CPW staff members who are stationed around different parks in Colorado and are learning how to develop programs for specific parks and participants in their area. This training was an excellent opportunity to network with individuals who are not stationed at the Denver office and who I have worked with at field trips or trainings but never exchanged information. I was able to get the contact information from some lovely individuals and I hope to stay in touch with them after the internship is over. One of my main goals for my last month is to continue networking within CPW and also within the Hispanic Access Foundations community. I am looking forward to becoming an alumni and I plan to take advantage of the opportunities from the MANO Project as I move forward with my career.