By: Khan Tung
First and foremost, I would like to say thank you to Johnson Creek Watershed Council (JCWC) for giving me another chance to work with them and lead my community ( the Zomi community) into another nature tour event once again. In 2018, I did my first Zomi-Bilingual Nature Tour with Johnson Creek Watershed Council (JCWC) through the City of Gresham where it happened to be my internship in Natural Resources and Stormwater. In that particular event, I explained to my community the differences between native plants and invasive plants along with the Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir. And little did I know I would have this remarkable opportunity once again this year.
With that being said, when I saw this bilingual internship opportunity early this year from indeed.com, I was very keen to apply and tried my best to get the internship because I already know how much Johnson Creek Watershed Council (JCWC) has helped me and how much my community learned about plants from the previous Bilingual Event that we did. Luckly, I got the internship after having an amazing interview with Tiffany Mancillas, the Community Outreach Coordinator and then, from that moment, I thought of my goals for the internship which are most likely how I can make this year’s event better. How I can teach my community, especially the adolescents the importance of nature and environment and how developing countries take care of their surroundings. As I put those thoughts in my my head, I got other opportunities to go out and do other tasks like doing Aquatic Survey with Noah Jenkins the Riparian Program Manager and helping Melanie Klym on the big clean-up 2021.
From these two particular tasks I’ve evolved into, I learned quite a lot of things like how much people are so helpful and so willing to protect nature and the environment from danger. I noticed how people here maintain everything starting from their backyards to the rivers in order to let every species stay as they should be and creeks, rivers, and sloughs flow as where they are supposed to flow which is very hard to see in our country. Where we came from, no one cares about nature and the environment. However, I can’t blame them because there isn’t anyone who would teach us how to be a good samaritan for the environment and that’s exactly why I am so excited and so keen about this internship because through this internship I can show my young people to turn their heads more into nature and have some knowledge of the environment by teaching them as much as I can.
That was exactly what I did in my Zomi-Bilingual Nature Tour Event. I was able to pour all the thoughts that I’ve carried in my head to the Zomi adolescents plus with all the things that I learned from the aquatic survey and the creek clean up. I talked about the difference between; beavers and nutrias, Douglas fir and Western Red Cedar. I also addressed some other native plants like Snowberry, Western Sword Fern, Oregon Grapes, and other more. I gave information about how some of those native plants aren’t just pretty to look at but also so useful for assisting humans to protect the environment. I specifically talked about the Western Sword Ferns which are used as magnets to collect heavy toxic things from the bioswales and rain gardens. Everyone who came to the Event had a great time and I was pretty sure that they all went home with something useful as I will end my internship like an Eagle which got fed up with food and was ready to fly thousands and thousands of miles .
It is always my pleasure to work with such an extraordinary organization which has made so much impact into the community and around the city in a good way.
A masa in ah, hi dan in Event nuamtak in ka bawlkik theihna ding hamphat-na hong pia kik Johnson Creek Watershed(JCWC) tung ah, lungdam na ka ko nuam hi. 2018 kum in a hih leh, City of Gresham ah Natural Resources leh Stormwater pan mun ka let kawm in, Johnson Creek Watershed (JCWC) tawh kizom in a masa pen ding Zomi-Bilingual Nature Tour nuamtak in kibawl zo hi. Tua Event ka bawl na vuah, singno suangno theih ding pawlkhat kihawm sawn a, tua te lak ah Western Red Cedar leh Douglas fir kilamdan na pen kinak gen penpen hi. Tua leh, tukum in lamet loh pi in tua bang hamphatna hoih ngah kik kahi man-in ka um ngam keiphial hi.
Tua tawh kisai in, tukum bul in nasem zong in indeed.com sung ka kawi vakvak leh hih Bilingual Internship nasep kamu a, lawp tak leh thangah tak in ka hih theihtawp in ka siau pah hi. Bang hang hiam cih leh, a beisa in Johnson Creek Watershed Council (JCWC) tawh Event bawlna pan in ka Zomi pih te in natam pi sin lawh leh theih lawh cih pen teltak in ka mu khia hi. Tiffany Mancillas ( The Community Outreach Coordinator) tawh nuam tak interview ka zawh khit teh Topa thupha tawh nasep ka ngah pah hi. Tua a kipan in, ka lungsim sung ah natampi ong om a: Bang ci bang in, ka Zomi pihte in innsung, innpua pilna nei in? Bang ci bang in, Zomi khangno te in gamkhang to te dan mah in singkung, lopa, ganhing te itsiam leh kemcing thei in zuun siam thei ding leh bang ci bang in ken huh thei panpih thei ding cih dong a kipan natam pi ka lungtang sung ah ka pua hi. Tua teng ka puak kawm in, nasep dang hamphat na Johnson Creek Watershed sung mah ah ka sem a tua te in; Aquatic Survey hih in, luidung ah Noah Jenkins ( Riparian Program Manager) tawh kapai a, lungno teng ka kaih khop kawm in, Melanie Klym huh in luidung sung teng nin khawm in ka pai hi.
Hih nasep 2 ka sep na tungtawn in, na tampi tak ka sin lawh leh ka theih lawh beh a, mithu pi te in bang ci bang in innsung innpua kemcing nuam leh singkung lopate a sih loh na ding in bang ci bang in dal hiam cih zong ka muh beh lai hi. Tua bek thamlo in, kawlgam a ih zak ngeiloh leh ih muh ngeiloh a hi, mite in ah inn nung pan kipan tuipi dong limtak puah leh zuun in, nuntakna a nei ganhing te a nuntak na ding leh gunpi, luineu, tuipi te a luan ngei bang in a luan theih na ding in nakpi tak in kem mahmah cih zong ka muh beh sawnsawn lai hi. A hi zong in, tua tawh kisai in kuamah mawhsak theih leh mawhpaih theih om tuan lo hi bang hang hiam cih leh ih lam ih lei ah tua dan in ong hilh ding leh ong pantah ding kua mah omlo a hih man a hi zaw hi. Tua hang in, hih nasep ka ngah khak pen lawp mahmah leh angtang kisa mahmah ingh a hang in hih na sep na tungtawn in ka hih theih tawp leh ka siamtawp in Zomi khangno te innsung innpua pilna hilh in theisak nuam lua ka hih man bekbek a hihi.
Tua ka deihsak na tawh kizui in, Zomi-Bilingual Nature Tour Event ka neih ciang Zomi khangno naupang a kipan u ham dong, ong pai in tha hongpia bektham lo in ka thugen te leh ka deihsak nate limtak leh lungkimtak in a mau tung ah sunkhia thei ka hih man in ka lungdam hi. Tua Event ah, Beavers ganhing leh Nutrias ganhing te kilam dan na te leh Western Red Cedar leh Douglas fir kilam dan na te ka gen hi. Tua bek thamlo in, a dang gammi te singkung Snowberry, Western Sword Fern, Oregon Grapes, leh a dang nam tuamtuam te zong ka gen beh lai hi. Tua khit teh tua singkung lopa te a paak a hoihbek hilo in, kiim leh paam a ding leh mihing ta ding in bang phattuam na hong pia thei cih dong in ka gen hi. Tua phattuam na hong piathei singkung lopa te lak ah, Western Sword Ferns ka limgen pen a, tua-te in a hoihlo nin ih paih te gundung, tuipi, tuineu ah luangsuk lo in ngasa leh tuisung ganhing dang te a thah loh na ding in limtak a gamthu pi te in hawmguam leh huansung te ah tua singnam te a nak suan mahmah uh a hihi. Tua a hih man in, tua lai a hong pai mimal kiim in nuam kisa in, tua laipan in pilna khat teitei tawh innlam guan ding cih ka lam en hi, bang hang hiam cih leh kei leh kei zong hih mun pan in nasem ka khawl ciang in, Muvan lai gilvah sa bang in lungdam maitai tak leh ka mailam kal ding tampi tak te ka suan zo ding cih zong ka kilam en hi.
Hi dan in khuasung kiim leh pam a ding phat tuamna a bawl nasep na mun ah ka sep man in angtang ka kisa a, zong ka kipaak mahmah hi.