A finished trail and an update

On the second to last weekend in Bonners Ferry, it is time for an update on the service work that the team has been doing. This past week Bluno finished the trail building that we started at the beginning of the project. The team has been working side by side a trail crew. We have been removing duff (the top soil of the trail), tilling the path, removing roots and rocks, and then smoothing out the trail. Our site supervisor, Gary, has been great. Working alongside him and the rest of the trail crew has been fun.

To mix things up so that we are not doing the same thing everyday. Our project sponsor has given us some smaller projects to complete. A lot of these projects are hiking behind the trail crew as they chainsaw trees and limbs that are in the way of a trail. When hiking behind the trail crew their jobs would be to remove the limbs as they fall down. Some of the team member have hiked as much as ten miles in one day or more. Other projects have included bucking limbs, splitting wood, and organizing a space what our sponsors call the Bone Yard. One project that Erin and Danielle worked on was changing the flow of a creek to flow into a river. They dug a ditch for the water to flow through. The two teammates moved dirt and rocks to stop the water from flowing in a certain direction.

One of the perks of working with the Forest Service is that we were able to attend their local annual meeting. The whole team piled into Darla (our van) because there were too many of us and we took up too much room in their rented bus. We drove almost two hours to Couer d'Alene. We sat in an auditorium most of the day listening to lectures about the history of the forestry work that has been done in the Idaho Panhandle. We learned about many people who have influence the work of the Forest Service and also the Fire of 1910 that caused a number of problems. It was a great day where we learned a lot and it was nice to see others who work in the forest service.

Bonners Ferry is small but the team has found many things to do around the area. One of the activities that keeps some of the team busy is doing Independent Service Projects (aka volunteer). The team has volunteered at Thriftstore where the proceeds go to the efforts of working and caring for animals. Another place that the team has volunteered for is the Bonners Ferry Historical Museum. The team members who volunteer have been putting newspaper articles about Bonners Ferry into chronological order.

Here is the the last full week here in Bonners Ferry, Idaho

First Full Week

BLUNO has made it to the last round of AmeriCorps NCCC!!

The team completed their first full week of work last week. We are working four days a week with 10 hours days. With our site supervisors, Gary and Eric, we started out the week at Robinson Lake. The team was split into two teams to tackle on trail. Each team started at one end of the trail and we worked our way to the middle. We tilled up the soil along the path and took out the weeds and unnecessary rocks that were in the way of the path. The next two days, the team spent time at Brush Lake. We stayed with our teams and did the same thing with another trail but this time it took two days because the path was longer.

Thursday was a day of RAIN! The team was split into two different teams again. This time around we actually worked on two different projects. One half of the team worked at a nearby campground. They bucked and hauled wood into a trailer. Members of the team also lopped and cut shrubbery to make room for cars on the road. The other half of the team planted native trees at Snyder Ranger Station. During lunch our wonderful sponsors invited camp hosts and the team to a great lunch. We got to meet the camp hosts and enjoy a home cooked meal as well as warm up from being in the rain all morning.  After lunch the team went to an area that had been in logged and there were left over trees that we bucked and carried to a trailer. These logs are going to be made into a fence that the Forest Service is going to make.

A blog post from teammate, Eric

Here is a note from Eric's facebook:

Pomona, CA/Vashon Island/Sacramento, CA

So it has been quite a while since I have given you guys a full update of what is going on out here in California on my AmeriCorps adventure. Things have gotten hectic in the last few rounds and have wrapped me up in things to where I haven't had much time for the outside world. So here is the run down.

Our last project was in Pomona, CA just outside of Los Angeles. We were living in the basement of the YMCA, working on/in the YMCA and working in the surrounding elementary schools. This was a very unstructured project which we ended up getting pulled from three weeks in. I saw many emotions go through all of my team. They did not want to leave the kids that they had developed slight attachments to. Some of us knew a small piece of the inner workings and why we needed to be pulled. The basement was moldy, damp, and flooding, and there was asbestos in the ceiling. This was making the team very sick, and causing various problems. The structure within the YMCA was horrible as well and needed some serious revision.

Luckily they have sent out a team to rectify the situation this round and hopefully they will get the YMCA up and running as it needs to be. After Pomona we were sent to Vashon Island, Washington, which is about 15 min off the coast of Tacoma, and 30 min off the coast of Seattle. This is where the fun began on the project. Sam, Lauren, and I got to run chainsaws from 9a.m. until 4p.m. I gained a nice piece of experience in running a chainsaw and learned many things I did not know. As you can see from my pictures I got to see my first bald eagle, sea/river otters, and my first Orca whale sightings. We also were able to canoe the Pudget Sound, and I learned what happens when two people from my team flip a canoe into 40 degree water. They get very, very cold. Also, look up what a Sound is, it is a body of water that is not a river, lake, ocean, or sea, it is its very own entity which I was not aware existed. Learning new pieces of geography every day!

Seattle was very beautiful and I advise everyone to go visit it whenever they get the chance. Now we are back in Sacramento working in elementary schools in hopes to get a fresh start and see how an education project is really supposed to work. We started our first day today and I found that I will be working with 4th and 6th graders. They are pretty good kids so far. I've been introduced to new learning/teaching strategies, new games, and all kinds of walks of life. My comfort level is not at its peak in working with little ones but I expect to be highly comfortable with the wee ones by the time we are done. Also, over transition me and three friends drove down to Napa Valley, which is very beautiful especially in the starts of spring. We tasted many different wines, got a tour of a castle and the winery, and got to see the small towns nightlife and shops. A wonderful vacation spot for those newly-weds who want to get away and a great place for retired couples. I should have more fun updates soon on my travels since I will be on campus this entire round.

A blog post from teammate, Danielle

Here is a blog entry that was written on Danielle's Blog:

Round 2, Take 2

Wow, there has been a number of changes in this AmeriWorld. I am not typing this blog in Pomona! Can you take a guess as to where Bluno is now? The team and I are now staying in Vashon Island, WA. Our Pomona project was pulled during the Mid-Site Evaluation from our AMAZING unit leader, Meg. There were a number of things that caused the project to get pulled. The reasons are not really important but let me just say that the higher ups in AmeriCorps NCCC have our backs and they are looking out for us.
The team left Pomona exactly a week ago today. We traveled back to campus in Sacramento and stayed a couple of days to get ready for our next project at Camp Sealth. On Wednesday we drove from Sacramento all the way to Crescent Lake, Oregon. On our next day of travel we drove through Eugene and Portland up to Tacoma and took a ferry to the Island.
We spent Thursday evening getting acclimated to our new surroundings of Camp Sealth and the Pudget Sound. Man this place is gorgeous. It feels nice to be back in the Northwest. Our first day of training  was yesterday and it was relaxed and fun. Our site supervisor, Martin, took us on a hike around the camp and we were able to see some of our work sites as well as some work that other teams have done in the camp. Fun fact about this project is that Blue 1 from last year had this as a project and now Blue 1 from this year is at the same spot. After the hike we got into Darla, the van, and drove around the Island to the downtown area. It is quaint and cute. I am a little sad that we are only here for three weeks but I think that it will be a good time.

New City, New Project!

A post by: Kristen

Hi friends! I know it has been a while since Bluno has updated the blog, but we have had some busy times the last few weeks. We headed back to Sacramento for our transition and then everybody headed home for a much needed winter break. We had two weeks at home before coming back to Sacramento to do our debrief and head off to our next project!

Our project for this (second) round is located in Pomona, CA, 45 minutes outside of LA. We are living in the basement of the YMCA. We are all sharing a room to sleep in that is divided by a curtain for a girls side and boys side. We are sleeping on cots this round, and though they aren't the most comfortable thing to sleep on...they've panned out to be alright! We are also sharing a common room that houses an arcade game, a pool table, a couch, our eating table; and our kitchen that consists of a fridge, microwave, hot plate, and a skillet. There have definitely been some challenges adjusting to the new living arrangements, but we have learned to be creative and work together as a team. I feel as though we have already grown in the short time that we have been here!  Below are a few pictures of where we are staying.

The Pomona YMCA that we are staying at.

 The Man Cave! aka the boys side.

 The girls side.

 Our kitchen area.

 The common room with the pool table, arcade game, and eating table.

We are working in partner with the YMCA at different Elementary schools within Pomona. Seven of us corps members (Alex, Kristen, Danielle, Tiffany, Chris, Erin, Katherine) are working at the grade schools individually. Each corps member works with the Pre-Kindergarten/ Head start programs in the morning, and are playground pals during recess time for the 1st-6th graders. In the afternoon we work with a teacher from the YMCA to facilitate P.E. in the school districts After School Education & Safety (ASES) program. The remaining three corps members stay behind at the YMCA to help out the staff there. Noor helps with the YMCA's website development & maintenance, and office work as needed. Sam helps out with any maintenance that needs to be done, as well as office work when needed. Eric is the sports coordinator and helps in the office. Our Team Leader (TL) Lauren visits us at our schools weekly to help us with the programs we are working in as well as helps out at the YMCA. We all work Tuesday through Friday at our specific Elementary Schools; and on Saturday we all get to stay at the YMCA and help with anything they need done. So far we have organized one of their storage closets, helped paint the girl's locker room, and built a sand box at one of their pre-schools. On Saturdays we will also be planning and hosting community days. We get Sunday and Monday off and have already used our free time to venture into LA, only a short bus ride away. We are so excited to be here in Pomona and are anxious to see what kind of impact we can make here; not only in the elementary schools, but throughout the community as well.

Chris and Erin off to school!

We are going to be updating the blog a lot more frequently now. We are assigning a week to each team member to update the blog on the work that we have been doing. That way you will get a taste of what we are doing, told from the perspective of each member. We hope that you are enjoying the blog thus far and continue reading as we embark on the many adventures to come. We are AmeriCorps and we "get things done!"

Kristen

Blue One's First Project: The Presidio

Here is a video of Bluno's time at The Presidio.
The video was put together by Alex and Chris.... Great Job guys!

Dogs

Some say that dogs and their owns have similiar charactistics. Some members of Bluno decided to compare looks and personality traits of our teammates with dogs. Here are the results:

Noor: Black Chow
Kristen: Golden Retreiver
Sam: Newfoundland
Eric: Greyhound
Tiffany: Komondor
Danielle: Bull/Pug
Katherine: Afghan Hound
Erin: Collie
Alex: Doberman
Chris: Golden Chow-Chow
Lauren: Weimaraner