A reflection written by Carlyle Grundon after one year working as Program Coordinator at Southeast Conservation Corps.

I am Carlyle Grundon, a Program Coordinator at SECC. December marks my year anniversary in my current role. As we come to the end of a year, I find myself reflecting on what it has meant to me. I have made mistakes, learned, and grown a lot over the past year. It has been one of the most humbling, and rewarding job experiences I’ve had.

Admittedly, when I first started my position, my nerves were high and perhaps there was a touch of imposter syndrome I felt, maybe something we all can relate to a bit. I lived in Chattanooga for two whole days before my first day. Coming from living in rural areas my whole life, I was shocked by the amount of stop lights on my way to work, eight to be exact. Life in the “Big City” was new to me. It wasn’t until a few months into my job, I did my first site visit with a local state park, that I had my first moment where I felt like I belonged. I was standing at an overlook looking down at North Chickamauga Gorge when I first felt a sign of relief, like I had found my place.

My experience here reminds me a lot of how I felt when I first started working in conservation. I was a Crew Lead for an ecological restoration crew, and someone saw something in me, I maybe had not seen in myself yet. Most of the job was invasive removal and planting, yet the only plant I knew how to ID was a violet, only because my friend had shown me a few in our yard in a desperate attempt to help me learn one plant before I started my job.

This was my first exposure to conservation, and it changed my life.

This work feels rebellious. So much of our world revolves around consuming, and instant gratification. But here our crews plant trees knowing it will be decades before we see an impact on our ecosystem. We spend hours (days?) corridor clearing knowing that few folks will ever know the agony of corridor clearing (I know none of y’all like it!). We work tirelessly to move one rock from the trail hoping that maybe one person will have a positive experience on the trail, and perhaps experience a connection to nature.

There are a lot of different ways to be in conservation, but what keeps me coming back everyday, after moments of stress and frustration, is the ability to be a part of others’ journey. Much like me, each person that walks through our door, has a different story, a

different background, and a different reason for being here; yet something drew each one of them here.

This work will humble you, force you to develop grit, to do hard things, and to become resilient. You will learn quickly whether this is right for you or not, and for the people that it is, it’s life changing.

And how amazing is it that we get to be a part of that? It gives me full body chills.

My favorite memory from this past year was Winter member training. I love every member training, new timid faces unsure of what to expect, the undoubted moment of ‘oh shit what did I get myself into’, bonding over the tired long days. But this was special because it was my birthday. I persuaded all four crews to Contra Dance with me (if you are unsure what contra dancing is, don’t look it up because it makes it look boring. Just know it is the most fun you will ever have). People were unsure, and confused as to what I was even asking. Almost every member joined, and a few joined after a couple minutes when they realized how fun it was. Everyone had a smile on their face, your laughter becomes uncontrollable when you’re doing the Virginia Reel. I know it sounds like this is a plug for contra dancing, but I promise you it was not. It was such a special moment that bonded people in a shared experience. A member came up to me after and said it was an experience they will never forget. I do it every training now. If you are wondering about what I am talking about you might just have to join your local Facebook contra dancing page. Okay maybe this is a plug.

I like to say that, I have never had any dreams or aspirations. It is mostly a joke but I grew up having no idea that I could do this as a career. Now I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.