By: Cassidy Attanasio
Serving with the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center
My time so far serving as an AFNHA AmeriCorps with the USDA Forest Service has provided me with many more opportunities than I could have expected. My service focuses on interpretation at the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center, a place where visitors flock from miles and miles through windy country roads to learn more about what makes this area so unique, and to enjoy their public lands. After receiving my bachelor’s degree in biology, I realized that at the very center of conservation is advocacy for it. Interpretation is responsible for sparking that passion in children, students, adults, locals, neighbors, anyone, to care.
During the center’s open season, we did our best to provide for the public even if we couldn’t let them inside the building. I was able to interact with hundreds of visitors, providing information, while learning information and gaining perspective from them as well. I have also been providing virtual interpretation through social media, like the Monongahela National Forest Facebook page and the U.S. Forest Service Instagram, where my posts about the Mon are featured. Anticipating the spring and summer seasons when SRDC staff will be out in the warm fresh air, I have been developing programs related to my own interests on insects and nocturnal animals, as well as how Seneca Rocks came to be. In May, I will be fortunate enough to be participating in certified interpretive guide training where I will learn the ins and outs of capturing an audience. From there I can further develop my programs and make new ones that will be used for years to come.
For the future of interpretation at the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center, I am working on organizing the 2021 Discover Nature Day in a way that everyone can enjoy on June 5th. I am glad that my service comes with elements and opportunities to get outside. I have been spearheading a pollinator garden project that was started by my predecessor Caitlin. In October, with the help of my fellow AmeriCorps members, I was able to have a fall planting of 29 flowering native species that I can’t wait to see pop up this spring! While looking after the garden, I will be developing interpretive signage to inspire visitors to plant a garden of their own. Through that opportunity, I was able to partner with WVU and the MASBio Project to install biochar into the garden, giving visitors an opportunity to learn about a different soil practice that could also benefit the ecosystem.
Separate from my site service, I have been given amazing opportunities through my other AmeriCorps peers to participate in tree plantings, trail maintenance, animal shelter events, and other community service activities outside my scope of service that have given me new skills and experiences to bring to my career. I’m thankful for the opportunity to come to West Virginia and set outside my comfort zone and challenge myself to acquire new skills every day.
