Hi!
I don’t know where the summer went, but I’m back with my second (and final) blog post.
Last time I left off explaining that Jenna and Stenette travelled to Beaver First Nation! Now that we’ve hit September and school has started up, they’re already home, but today I’ll give a little recap of the work I did remotely while they were in Beaver.
Like I mentioned before, early in the summer I spent most of my time researching grants for community projects, and this was a good way to help out remotely, especially when communication was difficult online.
Once Stenette, my fellow Lands intern, travelled to Beaver, the pace of work really picked up, and I found myself jumping between lots of different projects! Stenette and I were able to talk regularly, and she would give me guidance on where I could help out the most.
Unexpectedly, I found myself writing a lot this summer! I love writing. In the past few years, most of my writing has been for school, and sometimes I take time for creative writing. This summer I got to practice writing more professionally by helping out with a grant application, and taking a crack at a business plan! Although it wasn’t exactly the outdoors-y Lands experience I initially expected, it was a wonderful way to build my skills and contribute to lasting projects in Beaver First Nation.
The business plan, in particular, was a huge opportunity to put forward my ideas for a big project. It was nice to start with a blank slate and brainstorm as many possibilities as I could, then consolidate those ideas into a partial first draft. It is both daunting and exciting that these ideas might be carried forward to establishing a business.
A smaller project I put together this summer was an edible landscape plan, accompanied by a gardening book. I’m hoping these will be useful next spring when it’s time to plant. My favourite part of making the gardening book was drawing little fruits and veggies, some of which I've included throughout this post.
So that’s a little taste of what I did this summer! Given all the ups and downs of this year, I feel so lucky to have been part of Engage North. I think flexibility is pretty central to Engage North’s mission, and that’s become really essential this year. While I wish I could have known community members better, it’s really special to know that you can, in fact, provide genuine help from 700 km away.
P.S. Pictured to the left is Nala, my constant work-from-home companion. She loves to be close by, so making space for her on my desk kept her happy while I worked.
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