Reflections on the Mississippi River 2023

 

The Mississippi River Fellowship is a 10-week, paid summer internship for diverse and underrepresented young adults ages 18-25 to explore the different branches of the National Park Service including Visitor Services, Interpretation, Education, Natural & Cultural Resource Management, and the Volunteer Program.

Fellows work directly with National Park Service Rangers, Mississippi Park Connection staff, and other park partners to facilitate educational programs, habitat restoration events, and wildlife monitoring on the Mississippi River. This year Elise and Sairoong supported park programs and wrote reflections about their experiences at the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

This program is sponsored by Wells Fargo and generous Mississippi Park Connection members who are dedicated to creating pathways to careers in national parks.

Elise

“Not only did I get countless exposures to different career paths and learning experiences, but I was constantly encouraged to get my hands dirty!”

It is amazing how fast the time can fly when you are having fun! This summer has been an incredible learning opportunity and allowed me to really explore what I am interested in for my future while being in a place I truly enjoy the most - nature. 

I was so grateful that I found this fellowship for this summer. No matter how worried I was about not getting to experience this opportunity, once I had started the 10-week long journey I never wanted to look back. I have been able to grow and hone so many of my skills, especially one of my favorites, plant identification. While being exposed to all different opportunities for the wide variety of careers in the environmental field, the fellowship also catered to my passions. It gave me many opportunities to spend more time in what I was specifically interested in. After hearing about all of my stories, my dad liked to make jokes that I am paying to go to college for education and then learning more while getting paid this summer. 

Despite growing up in South Minneapolis I never had a strong connection to the Mississippi River and all of the wildlife along it. After this summer, I can truly say that I feel linked to the river in countless ways. I have connected to so many different communities and organizations, and been able to see how every individual can have an impact on our environment and river. 

Throughout the entire summer, not matter how tired I was after a day of work, I was always so excited to see what the next day would bring. This summer was something I had never expected. I never expected to learn so much as I did, nor spend so much time in the outdoors and still want to explore so much more of it. From spending days paddling on the river, hiking in the many partner parks, working in the sun at habitat restoration events, and so much more this summer has allowed impactful memories. I am grateful for all of the various resources and support I have gotten throughout the entire 10 weeks and beyond.

Through the 10 weeks, that made my summer fly by, I was able to gain so much knowledge, grow my curiosity and so much more. I have learned so much through the fellowship, and it has pushed me to want to learn even more. While I pursue more knowledge and experiences, I know I won’t forget this time while I am on that path. 

Sairoong

Spending the past summer as a Fellow with Mississippi Park Connection has taught me so much about the river and the stories of those who interact with it everyday. With a huge variety of work experiences, the fellowship pushed me to explore my interests and skills each day. I saw myself growing as an individual and as part of a community in a larger ecosystem. Many activities were ones that I never expected to find myself in, such as providing environmental interpretation or surveying for beaver herbivory along river banks. It was exciting to come to work everyday ready to learn new things, meet new people, and see the Mississippi through a new perspective. 

The most fulfilling part of the fellowship was being able to learn from, educate, and work with other community members. I gained a much deeper appreciation for the generations of care and resilience that have preserved the Mississippi’s diverse ecosystems. The work that we engaged in was drastically different each day, but consistently felt like an exciting chance to learn and observe how environmental work can support different community needs and values. Working with different community partners showed me how mutually beneficial it is to build relationships and share knowledge when doing this work. Some of my favorite experiences this summer have been working with youth around the river. By partnering with organizations such as Wilderness Inquiry, Friends of the Mississippi River, or the YMCA, we were able to support many different age groups while spending time along the river. One of the most rewarding parts of my summer included working with students to make them feel welcome and comfortable in the environment, regardless of background experience.


As I continue studying natural resources at the University of Minnesota, I am looking ahead with a much deeper understanding of how communities care for natural and cultural resources. My time with MPC exposed me to careers and fields that I previously hadn’t even known about. Beyond these many new possibilities, I am excited to explore how I can continue creating, learning, and returning my knowledge to the environment around me.

Events and Activity Highlights From the Fellowship:

  • Organized, planned, and led a BIPOC event 

  • Completed trainings in First Aid/CPR training and non-motorized water safety

  • Attended a federal resume and interviewing 101 workshop with the US Forest Service

  • Educated over 500 students over the summer about the Mississippi River

  • Engaged and networked with environmental youth groups

  • Explored the river 10 times in canoes, kayaks and a pontoon boat

  • Helped with a recreational planning project around the current usage of the lock and dams in the Twin Cities

  • Helped lead 7 habitat restoration events

  • Conducted 3 Biotech Surveys (beavers, plant ID, phenology data collection with the ASCC plots)

  • Helped create a management plan for Shingle Creek Woods using ArcGIS Field Maps that will be used by future volunteers at the site

  • Staffed the Saint Anthony Falls Visitor Center & led a tour for a group of 25 youth 

  • Supported Mississippi Park Connection communications by writing 5 blogs and sharing their experiences on social media

  • Incorporated art and creativity into public programs to enhance visitor participation 

Thank you to the following Mississippi River Fellowship partners:

  • Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa

  • Friends of the Mississippi River

  • Green team from Mississippi Watershed Management Organization

  • Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board

  • Minnesota River Valley Wildlife Refuge

  • National Park Service

  • Science Museum of Minnesota

  • Urban Roots

  • Wilderness Inquiry

  • Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi

  • WilderNest

  • YMCA camps

 
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