Day and Night 12

 June 27th of 2025

Day 12

    It was such a busy day today. We started out by eating breakfast and then got straight into the suburbans. We even had to pack clothes so we could shower right after our work. The first place we went to was to a plant nursery where we met with a very cool and fun lady.

    Her name is Gail Redberg. She is the manager at the CTUIR Plant Nursery. She got a Bachelors in Biology Education at CWU and then decided to teach for a while. She even taught Bio for a year in Canada. Gail also got her Masters in Biology at Walla Walla University. 

    Gail gave us a tour around the plant nursery and we eventually helped her do some work. A group trimmed some the plants while Jessica and I organized the plants so they could have better access to the sun. We spent about 30 minutes to an hour out there but I didn't mind! Organizing the plants was a very fun job to do! The way the pattern flows and the way the pot just slid into the metal grid! So very satisfying!!

    After we finished the whole grid, Gail gifted us some tiny trees to take home which will grow over time! We then parted ways with her and I told her that she reminded me of my grandma! I called her Grandma Gail! After we left, we got to the Umatilla Tribal Agency where we met Andrew Wildball. 

    Andrew is a Cayuse Tribal Member and got his Bachelors Degree in Fish and Wildlife Science at Michigan State University. He also grew up fishing and hunting and had worked with lamprey fish for 20 years. He gave us a presentation in a conference room about the reservation and the project that they do within their tribe. We were there for about an hour and then hud our lunches. 

    Once we finished our lunches, we headed to Umatilla Department of Wildlife where we would help band owlets! There we met with the lady we would help.

    Lindsay Chiono, who graduated from Linfield University in Environmental Science and got her PHD in Fire Ecology. She also does a variety of different jobs within her field of work.

    We drove off to all the spots where the owlets had their nests and we got to hold them, ban them, weigh them, and then release them back into their tunnels. They were so precious!!! One of the owlets that I grabbed tries to fly away but I was able to catch it on time! It scared Lis and she stepped on Corbin also scaring him in the process. I remained unfazed though. We checked 3 sights with 2 burrows each. We also took a lot of pictures with the owlets! One of them kept smiling and it was the cutest thing ever!!! Once we finished, Lindsay sent me the pictures we took and we said goodbye to the workers. We then got to an RV park and showered and finished up our blogs for the day. We also met Melissa Haeffner where we all introduced ourselves. She then explained that we would be doing interviews with her tomorrow on how our trip went these last 2 weeks!

Night 12

    When we got to our campground, as usual, dinner was getting started. I skipped out on dinner because I was making the dough for the empanadas. I really hope they come out when make them!!! Monet made bratwurst sausages for hot dogs. I didn't really see what else since I was bust with the dough. I finished a bit late while everyone else ate their dinner. I did showcase some of my music to everyone at the table and everyone seemed to enjoy them and say they sounded like Disney songs!!! After I finished the dough, I went to help Lis and Raquel with dishes and Corbin and Monet were there talking with us too! It was really fun. Afterwards, we all looked at the constellations in the sky and they were so beautiful!! I had never seen the start so brightly! And so many of them to! Raquel said it was due to there not being any light pollution! Once we finished, we all said goodnight to each other and we went back to our tents! Lis and I talked for a bit and then went to go to sleep to get ready for the second to last day of our trip!