Doug and I met while volunteering for a conservation corps in Santa Cruz, California. At the end of November in 2014 we were assigned to the same project, as part of a group of 15 others we were a part of a Burn Area Emergency Response team that was to help mitigate the effects of the King Fire that devastated parts of Eldorado National Forest. As destiny would have it, while I was unloading my backpack from the van my necklace was snagged on my pack and fell off somewhere between the van and where I set up camp. Doug helped me look for my necklace until it was too dark to see. After that project (2 weeks long) Doug had fulfilled his volunteer hours but decided to extend his term with Americorps as long as we were assigned to the same projects. We spent another month together planting trees in southern California. When my term was up, I canceled my plane ticket home and Doug and I planned a 10 day road trip back to the east coast. We went our separate ways, but stayed in touch, and now we're getting married.