This story was originally shared with us during out Story Contest by Kalani, who is currently serving as a Community Volunteer Ambassador at War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam. The contest has ended, but you can still share your stories with us for possible publication on The Field Guide! Please email your stories (and any accompanying photos!) to communications@conservationlegacy.org. 

Working for a conservation nonprofit during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown me how much we are like water.

Like water, our society has had to adapt to fill the container we put ourselves in. We are in the midst of a pandemic, so we adapt by changing how we work, and changing how we view work too. We have adopted better systems for showing up, doing what we can with the resources we have, and changing plans to keep ourselves and our volunteers safe.
Kalani along with NPS staff and volunteers on Memorial Day.
Like water, my expectations for myself in this position and in these times have had to be fluid. They have changed throughout the pandemic because like water, people are precious, and not a renewable resource. I have had to cancel large volunteer events after pouring my heart into their planning, in order to keep my volunteers safe.
A volunteer work day at War in the Pacific National Historical Park.
In the face of a changing climate, I am reminded that the work I do is just a drop in an ocean of people working to form waves to mitigate the effects of a warming planet. Waves of cleanup efforts, of anti-racism trainings, of climate-friendly programs, of social justice allyship in National Parks. Waves of learning—learning that being better stewards for the environment means being better stewards for each other. Because this learning never stops. Whenever I feel like things are too much and I’m going under, I reminded myself it is ok to just tread water, breathe, and rest. 
 
I liken waves to what we do because waves are endless cycles, and for as long as the clock keeps ticking, there will be new people beginning positions like mine and learning and building upon our work, just as we will keep learning and building upon what others have done before us, in an endless, connected cycle, like a wave in an ocean of conservation. That is what working in Conservation Legacy’s Stewards program as a Community Volunteer Ambassador has felt like to me during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Kalani (she/her) is a Chamorro woman from the island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, which is a Commonwealth of the US. She is currently a senior undergraduate biology student living on Guam and attending school at the University to pursue her deep interest in studying the connectivity of the coral reefs of her home islands. Drawing inspiration from great women pioneers such as the “Shark Lady” Eugenie Clark and CNMI Refaluwasch Senator Felicidad Ogumoro, she has always wanted to set a good example for young girls like her, who didn’t grow up seeing strong women in environmental science positions.