The Chronicles of John Trammell

The past fourteen months have been among one of the most challenging yet rewarding chapters in my life.  A rollercoaster of emotions filled with hope, fear, exhaustion, stress, sense of community, success, burnout, loneliness, and everything in between.  This wild ride began in February 2020, when I returned to school to earn a Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) from the University of Redlands.  The choice to return to school was two fold.  The first was to learn and overflow my toolbox with skills to be a stronger leader that will positively increase my leadership at The Wildlands Conservancy, the California 4-H Youth Development Program, and beyond.  The second was that it was the right time in my life to return to school.  I was financially sound with no debt, currently single with no family, and qualified for some financial assistance through work to help pay for the program.  As I stepped on campus for the first time for the program orientation in mid-February,

         This morning, Jane and I went up to Oak Glen Preserve to hike the loop.  It was a perfect spring day.  I wish everyday (or most) were as nice as this.  Throw in with a few rainy days and life would be perfect.  While on the preserve, I shared with Jane that Naturalists and Rangers have implemented my idea to relocate Pacific Tree Frog and Western Toad tadpoles from the preserve's Duck Pond spillway.  On Friday, during my lunch break, I observed the water level had dropped an inch or so, but it seemed there was still plenty of time to get more tadpoles relocated.  As Jane and I visited the spillway, we were shocked to see that most of the water was gone.  All remaining tadpoles where is very small shallow areas or were beached on piles of wet sediment that would most likely become dry the next day.  I wanted to save them all.  Jane and I decided to finish hiking the loop, then return with equipment to relocate as many tadpoles as time would allow.      As we returned t

      2016 was a great year.  It was filled with adventure, life milestones, hard work, and possibilities for 2017.  Since I have not written on my blog for the year, I wanted to reflect on some of the changes that have happened.       As 2015 was coming to an end, I had learned that Executive Headquarters at The Wildlands Conservancy, which happens to be located next to our Oak Glen Preserve office where I was working as a Naturalist, had a position open for an Administrative Assistant.  I love working for Wildlands, and I would jump at anything to have a career working for Wildlands.  I applied.  We had an interview, and I thought I nailed it.  A few days later, our Executive Director paid me a visit at the Oak Glen Preserve office.  He had told me that they chose to go with a different person for the position.  Immediately, I became very upset (internally) that I did not get the position.  Before I had a chance to say anything, Dave said they had a different position for me.  Beca

Growing up was not always easy for me.  Throughout my childhood, I experienced multiple periods of bullying by different individuals.  These periods of time imprinted emotional scars that continue to influence my actions today.  Overcoming these scars have proved to be one of the most challenging personal battles I have ever faced.  My experiences with bullying peaked in late middle school to early high school; a time when many are discovering more of who they are.  To avoid providing more fuel to the fire, I tucked away certain thoughts, feelings, actions, and more deep inside.  Parts of who I am turned into a secret, in which was kept hidden from everyone (except for one person).  Words can never express the amount of emotional stress that followed to keeping a secret like this.  I went through many episodes of confusion, anger, sadness, loneliness, and hopelessness.  These episodes lasted all the way to college.  For help, I turned to the internet.  I began meeting people who were

      First Patrol as Ranger   Memorial Day weekend was my first shift as Ranger at Bluff Lake Reserve south of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forest.  I met my new boss, Doug, at Oak Glen Preserve, on Saturday, May 23, 2015.  We loaded up one of the Ranger trucks (a Toyota Tecoma), gave me the keys, and we caravanned up to Bluff Lake.  When we arrived, he showed me the trailer, the tools, supplies, the restroom at the camp next door, and showed me a few different items of paper work I need while up there.  While showing me the ropes, Doug realized he left the ranger cell phone and important keys I need back in Oak Glen.  He left to go back down to get those items.  With him gone, it would just me me and nature for the first time.  I went into the trailer, grabbed my hat, knife, and bear deterrent spray and I went on my first patrol as Ranger.       As I walk the .8 miles around the lake, I take in the beauty of the landscape.  I made the stupid mistake of leaving m

     All good things must come to an end.  I hate that truth in life.  Why do they have to end?  Rather we like it or not, we don't have a choice.  It is just a hard cold fact of life.  Today is my official end date for working as a Naturalist at The Wildlands Conservancy, Oak Glen Preserve.  Working as a Naturalist has been one of the best professional experiences in my life.  I spent on average 4 days a week taking youth (grades 3-6) out on the upper trails of the preserve teaching hands-on science based programs; concentrated in natural and cultural sciences.  I also assisted in running free public events (e.g. night walks and art programs), worked weekends to enforce the preserve and interact with the public, helped with service learning projects, and helped with preserve projects (e.g. invasive weed removal & planting native plants).        From September till today, working on averages, I personally got to teach an estimate of 3,000 students.  Hopefully, I was able to g