Birds Can’t Fart and Other Things I Learned as an Intern at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center

• by Andy Hess, Environmental Education Intern

All throughout my time at Penn State, I found myself drawn to Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center. Whenever I was stressed, needed a place to study, or just wanted to discover something new, I came to these woods. During my senior year, I took a leap of faith to set aside my classes for a whole week and spent my time as a counselor with 4th- through 6th-grade students at Shaver’s Creek’s overnight science camp, Outdoor School. We collected acorns to create a forest in their school yard, invented imaginary friends to ward off homesickness, and jumped in the stream looking for water bugs. And as I was crying and waving goodbye to my campers, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. But I didn’t know where to start.

And truthfully, after graduating, I wasn’t really ready to be an adult quite yet either. The transition was too big and terrifying in my head. So I did what I’ve always done and I turned to Penn State’s environmental center. That summer, I was offered the position as an environmental education intern, where not only would I gain experience on how to engage with students of ALL ages but also how to be a good person as I enter the unknown of what being an adult means.

Here is a very short list of what I’ve learned over the last 10 months:

A beaver swimming in the water
Beavers are truly remarkable creatures
Matilda the Black Vulture standing on her perch
So are vultures
A group of birders look through binoculars as they search the sky for hawks
And sunburns feel better when you were out hawk watching the day before
A group of people in canoes enjoy the stillness of the outdoors
Genuine awe at the sight of leaves on trees
Two people holding orange newts
All newts are salamanders but not all salamanders are newts (say it louder for the people in the back!)
Tall trees
Trees sound like little trumpets when they rub together
Two people stand still in the cold near bird feeders, trying to get birds to come near
A love and appreciation for winter—not just for the holidays, but for being outside when you think you should be inside, bundling up in about 7 layers of shirts, and realizing you could be standing there for HOURS admiring the relief of the cold
The author stands over a steaming batch of maple sap that is being boiled into maple syrup
Sugar Maple buds look like rocket ships, and once you find the perfect tree you can tap it—and with a whole, whole, whole, whole lot of patience you can make delicious syrup (…if you remember to thoroughly clean the pan first)
A Tufted Titmouse sitting on a thin branch as snow falls
Tufted Titmice love to cache birdseed and there’s at least one out there named Kevin
A group of people walking on a frozen lake
The feeling of walking on the ice of a frozen lake and the jolting moment when you hear the sound of cracking followed by relieved giggling back on shore
A person with a monarch butterfly perched on their glasses
If you hike to work everyday, you’ll get excited for the insects when they return to the meadow
Tree frog on a branch
Memorizing the song of spring peepers and toads and crickets
A small stream with young saplings planted along it
People need to love the land to feel a need to protect it
Closeup of a young barn owl perched on a gloved hand while getting checked and banded
A love of the land and a need to protect it
The words, "I love Shaver's Creek interns" and "We love Doug" are written in the snow
Kindness and help are all around you if you choose to look for it
A group of interns hold the author up outside the entrance of the Shaver's Creek visitor center
Life is going to be okay—even if it’s adulting—because I can always come back to walk the woods and greet these people and feel peace

Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center has meant so much to me throughout my college career and the year coming out of it. I’ve tried a lot of new things and did things I never thought I would be given the opportunity to experience. I cannot express how grateful I am for this community. Thank you all for everything.

If you’re ever in town, please stop by. Walk the trails. Come visit the herps and birds. Say hi to the people behind the desk. They’re the kindest people I know.

2 Comments

2 thoughts on “Birds Can’t Fart and Other Things I Learned as an Intern at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center”

  1. So cool! So proud of what you and your crew have accomplished— you’re gonna rock teaching!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *