Schmeekle Reserve

For my service learning project I did some volunteer work at Schmeekle Reserve. I thought this would be a good place to do the project because I am a natural resources major. The main purpose of my project was to help make Schmeekle Reserve a better place for visitors, learn more about it for myself, and to learn more about animals.
Looking back on the project I think it went pretty good. When I first started working there I was unsure about how it was going to go because I was unsure about what type of work I was going to be doing. Alex, the person who helped me get started, said he would make a list of things for me to do and leave it there for me. The first thing I did when I was there was help make signs in the shop. This is helpful to the people that are at Schmeekle because the signs inform visitors about the rules and they also mark the trails and help you know where you are while you are walking them. When I was there I also walked the trails and looked for muddy spots. I marked the spots on a map and then they were filled in with wood chips. This really benefits the visitors there so they don’t get muddy or have to walk off the trail. While I was doing this I really learned my way around Schmeekle because I have never walked around the whole thing before. I was also able to look for animals and identify them while I was doing this. This really benefited me because it was related to the class. Some of the animals I seemed to notice the most were: Red winged blackbirds, crows, mallards, and robins. I also saw quite a few deer. One thing I noticed about the deer is how tame they are. I was able to come about 15 or 20 yards from them and they didn’t even move. I probably could have got even closer but I just kept walking on the trail. I also helped them build a frame for a boardwalk they are putting in over a wet spot. This was fun because I like to build things and it was nice to work with other UWSP students that work there year round. It was also nice to help build something that I know many people will use for a long time while they are walking the trails.
My project was pretty much what I expected. What I wanted to get out of this project is a better understanding about what goes on at Schmeekle and I wanted to learn more about it. I think I fulfilled these expectations by working hand in hand with members of their staff. I also learned more about the reserve by just exploring it for myself.