From the wetlands to the cauliflower fields...summer in Madison, Wisconsin

Hallo Alles ~

...which means "hello everyone" in german. Because I have my computer settings on german I get to navigate google Blogs and check my email in the german language.. it's loads of fun, trust me ;)

I am so excited to finally write on our blog. I guess it all started with the theme "Green Jobs" so I thought I would start by explaining the title of my post (or "titel" as my german Blog setting states).

I have recently moved to Madison, Wisconsin from upstate (Adirondacks) New York. Why move from such beautiful mountains and wilderness to a city in the flat midwest you might ask? Well, I will try my best to answer.

First off, I was getting a little lonely...yes, even though I was enjoying my love affair with the woods, streams, and dare I say wild animals (not literally of course) I was getting an itch for city life. At least of the small-ish kind of city. I yearned for bike lanes, walks to the coffee shop where anti-Iraq war meetings were going on, eccentric people walking down the sidewalk, late night live music at a cafe, and all hopefully in an environmentally conscious place nontheless - Madison came into view.

Second, I am interested in University of Wisconsin, Madison. Mostly for it's conservation biology and landscape/community ecology programs. I am considering applying to grad school for next fall. I had a job for the summer monitoring the nesting behaviors of swamp sparrows in wetlands just north of Madison. Three times a week I would travel in a NRCS (National Resources Conservation Service) vehicle with a few other research assistants to monitor the birds in 6 different natural and restored wetlands.

Third, I wanted to live in a small city AND work on an organic farm for a season. Madison was the best of both worlds due to its high density of organic farms with CSA members (some of which are only a 20 min drive from downtown) and an abundance of farmers markets all throughout the area. Thus, the second part of my post's title has to do with the fields (and hoophouses) that I have been pouring my heart and sweat into since June. The fruits of our labor have been many though and I have been able to freeze, can, and enjoy SO much fresh food - veggies, fruit, and pasture-fed chickens and turkeys.

So...in response to the title of our blog I would say that a "green job" means many things to me. First and foremost it means "feeling green" - feeling good about your everyday interactions with your surroundings (the people you meet, the animals you protect, the water you drink, the type of transportation you use, etc. - the list goes on and on) But, by living in a place where you can come as close as possible to "feeling green" well then you're probably going to be able to find yourself in a "green job" situation. I like jobs that connect me to the earth more fully (or at least to some sector of the earth that I enjoy helping or learning more about). I love being around children - I hope to be teaching again this fall. I love studying plants and animals in their natural habitat. I love growing, harvesting, and storing my own food. I hope that I can continue to have jobs that keep me "feeling green" throughout my entire life. Wow...I think I wrote too much, but that's what happens when I wait to long to make a post. Ha!

Take care everyone...until next time.

~Nadia