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short work week

Bluno celebrated Thanksgiving last week.

We worked on three different projects in the span of two days. On Tuesday our group was split into two groups. One group worked in the Salvage yard with Abby (an awesome Presidio employee) and the other half of the team worked with two fantastic Forestry guys, Ben and Chris, to weed the bases of newly planted trees. The week before the groups was split up to work in the salvage yard with Abby so the group that didn't work with Abby was able to see the magnificent place known as the salvage yard. The reason for weeding the newly planted trees was to allow the irrigation system to water a larger area in order for the tree's root to expand.

On Wednesday we worked with the natural resources department. The morning was spent pulling out roots of Blackberry bushes at El Polin Springs with Brett and his intern Jason. We were able to learn about the history of the area. In the afternoon we worked at Lobos creek with Iris Clearwater. We moved sand that had been blown onto the walking path and stairway.

Eric's note

Here is quick note from Eric:

So, right now, as some of you may know, I am currently in San Francisco, working for The Presidio Trust. This is a local national park that sits right beside the Golden Gate Bridge. A little background, founded around 1776 by the Spanish this place has its history. Mainly, its purpose has stood for war, so the military has built it up over the years as a base. The 7 square miles of park was deemed no longer necessary for military use, roughly in the 90s. So the national park service took over and formed this Trust in attempts to beautify the park for; its current residents, the businesses, the wildlife, the gardens, and the visitors. This is where I come in, and my newly formed family of 10 whom I share every waking moment with. As you may figure, it can be very frustrating, trying, testing, and so forth, but ultimately it has been a blast and I look forward to many more fun adventures with these people. Back to what I'm doing for I am about to make everyone jealous. We wake up, immediately walk outside to a big red giant known as the Golden Gate Bridge, all lit up and looking pretty. We then go for a run, most mornings, for 5 minutes until we hit Crissy Field, which is a stretch of road, fields, wildlife protection areas, marsh, sand, beach, and water, all this looks out onto the San Francisco bay, which includes Angel Island, Alcatraz, and other breathtaking areas. After this lovely run, we eat our breakfast, dress ourselves, and meet up with the friendly staff of the Presidio. They then direct us to our work site, which so far has consisted of, pulling turf, and planting our own garden where the turf once stood. Check my pictures and you will find my redwood tree that I planted, if you don't believe it, come out and see it for yourself, it will be there for many, many, many, many lifetimes. As well as that, we just finished building 12x4 ft gardening boxes for residents of the Persidio where they can plant whatever their hearts desire, we also chipped that area and weeded it to make it look pretty. Weeding is a lot of what we do, I kind of enjoy it for some reason, it's kinda relaxing. Those are typical workdays, I do all this while enjoying beautiful sights of the landmarks I previously named, along with beautiful exotic foreign cars, beautiful people, and beautiful plants and wildlife. I was faced with 2 different coyotes, both within 10 feet of me. It was pretty cool. I also met Patrick Corvington, a cool dude and Obama's right hand man. These are the highlights of my life at the moment, more will come, and I will keep everyone who reads these updated. Also, a west coast sunset is almost as beautiful as an east coast sunrise. Still trying to figure out which I like more, it's a tough choice.

first couple of weeks at Presidio

Our first project started almost two weeks ago in San Francisco at the Presidio. We are doing environmental restoration throughout the park for about 6 weeks. The first few days were spent getting to know our surroundings and the Presidio as an organization. This place is pretty freaking cool. We can see the Golden Gate Bridge almost anywhere in the park. Another view that is great is at Inspiration Point with the view of Alcatraz. We have completed a good number of projects in the short amount of time.

In progress of Landscaping project

We completed a landscaping project the first week that we were here. We took out the grass that was on the area, planted new trees and shrubbery, and then we added a drip line irrigation system to keep the plants watered.

This past week we worked on a community garden.



Kobbe Community Garden



The goal of the project was to create and add 12 planter boxes to the garden. The team put together the sides of the box on the job site. Some of the team members had to attached chicken wire to the boxes so that gophers wouldn't eat up the vegetables and plants. We had to terrace the ground to put the boxes in the ground. It was quiet the project to see completed.



Finished terraced area



Adding chicken wire to the planters to keep the gophers out



Who We Are

Hello! We are Blue One, or affectionately called Bluno. We are a moderatelysized family of 11 people who have traveled across the country to join AmeriCorps NCCC. As a whole we include two vegetarians, 11 CPR Certifications, two chainsaw certifications, and two Hazwoper certifications, as well as a wide varitey of personal experience. We are excited to see what adventures this year brings!

Meet Blue One:

Lauren E. Smith

Team Leader

25 years old

Long Island, NY

Fun Fact: She has lived on a Native American Reservation.
Dream Lunch Date: Jack Johnson

Eric Alexander Sonderman

Photo Journalist & Vehicle, Safety, and Tools

23 years old
Atlanta, GA

Fun Fact: He is 6 ft. 8 in. tall.

Dream Lunch Date: Sean Connery

Katherine B. Nammacher

POL and Environmental Liaison

22 years old

White Plains, NY

Fun Fact: She recently took a road trip from Acadia, ME to New Orleans, LA.

Dream Lunch Date: Her Grandfather

Tiffany Michelle Wight

Vehicle, Safety, and Tools & Physical Trainning Coordinator

20 years old

Bartlesville, OK

Fun Fact: She took karate for a year.

Dream Lunch Date: Her Father

Chris Berry

Peer Helper

22 years old

Wenham

Fun Fact: He has been voted class flirt in both high school and college.

Dream Lunch Date: Morgan Freeman

Erin Autumn Hamilton

Service Learning Initiator

24 years old

Crane Hill, AL

Fun Fact: Her favorite games are the Merv Griffin Crossword Puzzles.

Dream Lunch Date: Kevin Costner

Danielle Nicole Pickens

POL and Media Rep

23 years old

Portland, OR

Fun Fact: She was the colorguard captain for 2 years.
Dream Lunch Date: Vladimir Lenin

Samuel Thomas Jarosz

Service Learning Initiator

19 years old

Wauwatosa, WI

Fun Fact: He has travelled the world with a marching band.

Dream Lunch Date: Walt Whitman

Noor Al-Ghanem

Peer Helper & CAPper

22 years old

Seymour, Connecticut
Fun Fact: She has had over 500 stitches.

Dream Lunch Date: Abby Wambach

Kristen Taylor

CAPper

21 years old

Minnetonka, MN

Fun Fact: She has played softball for 13 years.

Dream Lunch Date: Ghandi

Alex I. Pearce

Physical Training Coordinator

18 years old

Newton, MA

Fun Fact: He has been writing a book for 7 years.

Dream Lunch Date: Darth Vader