A requirement for the completion of an Ogallala Commons internship is 10 hours of community service. I did a variety of projects throughout the ten hours. The one I spent the most time on was moving hay for a local petting zoo. A picture of some kids that helped me is pictured below. The petting zoo is none profit and they take in a myriad of animals, mainly ones who are in need. Everything from donkeys to yaks and more can be found there. It is a very exciting place for kids to visit and I was glad to be able to be a part of it. Going into it, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I thought it would be hard to move all of the hay to the farm because there were over small 200 bales with only a few people to move them. What was shocking about it was that what seemed like a massive amount of hay to me only lasts them a few weeks. The day that I helped out was a typical, very warm day in Southeastern Colorado. We started around five in the evening and went to the field where we moved about 60 of the bales onto the trailer. We then drove to the farm where all the animals are kept, after which we unloaded and stacked it. This process was repeated two more times. We didn’t finish until past 5P.M. that night. It was a long 5 hours! Despite the sweat, bruises, and hay filled clothes, it was a very worthwhile experience. Another opportunity I had was to volunteer for a neighboring community’s sheriffs department on the Fourth of July. They needed help for their float in the parade. As I helped with that, my sense of community and sense of place was strengthened. Pictured below is a picture of after the parade where I and some of the other volunteers had been sprayed with water.
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