THIS IS ONLY A TEST

     I have an undying passion for any and all things that have to do with Yosemite National Park.  When this semester began in January, my classmates and I were told to begin our senior projects with no further instructions than to delve into our passions and present what we learn to our classmates.  These projects are meant to help us get a jump start in our fields of interest and connect us with people that have real world experience and can give us advice. 

     With no real guidelines, there were multiple traditional learning projects that I could have taken on such as a research paper, a presentation, or a documentary.  All of these options would benefit me and my learning experience, but when presented to my classmates, a project like this would seem boring and lack the mindfulness that I would like it have on my peers.  In order to have a lasting impact on my classmates and to help them fully understand my passion I'm taking them to the root of its beginning.

     In just a few short months I will be in college studying civil engineering with a concentration on sustainability and environmental protection.  Rather than bore my class with a presentation on sustainable engineering projects, I am going to take them to the place where this very idea originated and try to inspire them to do their part in protecting our planet and preserving natural resources.

     For my senior project I am planning a class trip to Yosemite National Park that will be hosted by a program called Nature Bridge.  My hope is to inspire my classmates to take action in protecting our environment and of course work for the preservation of our national parks.  I have recruited 26 students to join me on this adventure in hopes that this trip will help them understand my passion and truly learn what I'm intending to teach them.  Rather than talk about the park in a traditional classroom environment, the park will become our classroom.  Rather than looking at pictures of the beauty, we will be a part of it.  We will be able to smell the incense cedar and breathe in the fresh mountain air.  We will be able to push ourselves up rugged terrain, and we will be able to feel nature's presence all around us as we squint into the sun searching for the top of a giant sequoia tree.   I'm hoping that my classmates will leave the park feeling refreshed and inspired with a desire to make a change.

     There are multiple posts throughout this blog updating my progress on this project.  See my Benchmark post for links to the earlier phases of this project.