During the preparations for another world map and in scheduling a meeting with the local Rotary, certain truths have come to light. The most pertinent being that these activities should have been undertaken earlier, perhaps at the very beginning of my service; this is especially true with the Rotary. They have proven both receptive to my ideas and excited to offer help. Had I capitalized on this before it would have a.) given me something concrete to work towards, b.) introduced me to a wider group of motivated people, and c.) possibly provided impetus for project ideas then underway. As for the maps, seeing is believing. When people observe a project that works, or is working, they are more likely to offer their efforts towards other projects. I tried to take on too much too soon, and only realize this now. The lesson? Keep it simple. Keep it small. Keep it attainable. The successes gained through efforts meeting those criteria become the stepping stones of larger endeavors.

In keeping with this observation, I’ll be working over the Christmas weekend to ready some environmental education lessons and games for a mini-workshop. The outdoor club who previously wished to organize a camp realized how much work bringing kids to camp can be (additional factors being cost and liabilities) and have opted for plan B: bring camp to the kids. Over the next few weeks I’ll introduce EE concepts to them through teaching lessons and playing games. This, I think, is the shortest distance between two points. Though my background in EE consists of only one season the materials available to us are easy to follow, once the basics are introduced; I don’t need to be an expert to share. The group is looking to help raise environmental awareness in rural areas and provide tools for turning awareness into action – a day long “camp” session given at a school will be a flexible (and cheap!) way for them to achieve this goal. My cowboy methodology (to the teachers out there) should suffice.

Another early morning rat crunching session today. The Winter Solstice truly is the longest night.

My current reading is The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell. I find their mettle quite impressive and their locution equally enjoyable. Places and experiences surface in vivid detail rendering to the armchair experience an edge of the excitement the participants must have felt. In degrees the unknown has always tugged upon humanity; the two classes of explorers: those who go and those who read their reports by candlelight. I look forward to being on the water again, though this feeling has beginnings prior to this journal. While I may never fill in a white space on the map, at least what is seen will be new to me.