A Week In the Life of... - AmeriCorps~Cape Cod
Here are some descriptions of what a week in the life of an AmeriCorps is like from
a few program alumni. Katie Hodgdon and Patrick Roehrdanz were
members of the Wellfleet house and Melissa Cunningham was from the Bourne house.
Katie Hodgdon
Patrick Roehrdanz
Melissa Cunningham
Jessica Erickson
Tony Gill
Katie Hodgdon
Patrick Roehrdanz
Melissa Cunningham
Jessica Erickson
Tony Gill
A week in the life of Katie Hodgdon
It’s 8 am Monday morning. The weather is gray and overcastcould be better, but it could also be a lot worse. Luckily this winter has been pretty mild up here. Today our corps is volunteering in the town of Eastham. We are helping the Department of Natural Resources maintain and clear trails, remove invasive species, and complete the initial stages of new land management plans for several conservation properties. As always we are amazed by how much work can be done in a day when we combine our efforts. At the end of service we all share a quick highlight of the day and wrap it up. Everyone scatters for the evening, but eventually we end up back at the house to hang out and head to bed.
I get to sleep in a little Tuesday morning -- I am fortunate enough to be one of the few who can work out of Le Hac (that’s our house) once a week. Another member and I are continuing a project from last year’s corps working in conjunction with the Wellfleet Conservation Commission to write three land management plans for some of their conserved land. We’ve researched each of the sites which included a kayak trip, plant and species identification, research at the library and online, and phone calls and letters and have begun writing up plans. By the end of the day I am ready get out of the house and head down to Orleans to the gym and laundromat.
One day out of the week each of us makes the drive down to Barnstable to our AmeriCorps offices. Wednesday is my Flex Day at the office, along with 3 other members from the Wellfleet house and 4 from the Bourne house. We have the opportunity to use this day to plan larger corps-wide projects and community events, as well as follow our own individual interests. Flex Day was new to the program this year, so we’ve been adapting it as we go. So far we’ve planned a successful community wide day of service for Martin Luther King Day and started in on a variety of new projects. We stop by the gym to get some exercise after being in the office all day, and then back at Le Hac we have a house dinner and meeting where we all gather to eat and update each other on all the latest news.
Thursday I head back down Eastham, but this time to the Health Department at the Town Hall. I am working on a 10-Year Well Water study that is monitoring the quality of drinking water in Eastham. We’ve gathered together the nitrate and property data, mapped out the parcels using GIS and GPS, and soon will go to the county lab to do some tests on the water samples. The day winds down around 4-o-clock when everyone at the office takes off and I get ready to go swimming in the oceanbrr!
Ahh, Friday we start the day off with a house cleaning and then grab our hip waders and big blue plastic gloves and drive up to Provincetown. We meet our service partner out on the flats to help with her shellfish study. Up here on the Cape shellfishing is an integral part of life. Because of the increasing human population and mass influx of summer tourists on the Cape, a huge strain has been placed on the shellfish industry with many populations already depleted. Along with over-fishing, disease has also been a widespread problem. AmeriCorps has helped many town Shellfish Departments, as well as the Marine Biological Labs, to distribute oyster and quahog seed, monitor disease studies, relocate aquaculture gear, and complete numerous other tasks to help repopulate certain areas. We work fast out on the flats because we are competing with the tide.
Whether you have plans to go into Boston or somewhere else off-Cape, or if you just spend time wandering the beaches and exploring the quiet New England towns, the weekends are definitely fun. Watching the sunset over the harbor, hiking nature trails, playing soccer with the locals, going out for drinks, watching free movies in P’town, or just curling up by the fire with a good book are always good ways to pass the day. As members in this residential program, we work and live together, but even though we see each other all the time, we still choose to hang out together too. We turn a few heads when we show up to places in a pack, but its great to have made so many good friends and to have the opportunity to live with so many unique people. As always the weekends go by quickly, and before you know it, that alarm clock is going off and its Monday morning again.
It’s 8 am Monday morning. The weather is gray and overcastcould be better, but it could also be a lot worse. Luckily this winter has been pretty mild up here. Today our corps is volunteering in the town of Eastham. We are helping the Department of Natural Resources maintain and clear trails, remove invasive species, and complete the initial stages of new land management plans for several conservation properties. As always we are amazed by how much work can be done in a day when we combine our efforts. At the end of service we all share a quick highlight of the day and wrap it up. Everyone scatters for the evening, but eventually we end up back at the house to hang out and head to bed.
I get to sleep in a little Tuesday morning -- I am fortunate enough to be one of the few who can work out of Le Hac (that’s our house) once a week. Another member and I are continuing a project from last year’s corps working in conjunction with the Wellfleet Conservation Commission to write three land management plans for some of their conserved land. We’ve researched each of the sites which included a kayak trip, plant and species identification, research at the library and online, and phone calls and letters and have begun writing up plans. By the end of the day I am ready get out of the house and head down to Orleans to the gym and laundromat.
One day out of the week each of us makes the drive down to Barnstable to our AmeriCorps offices. Wednesday is my Flex Day at the office, along with 3 other members from the Wellfleet house and 4 from the Bourne house. We have the opportunity to use this day to plan larger corps-wide projects and community events, as well as follow our own individual interests. Flex Day was new to the program this year, so we’ve been adapting it as we go. So far we’ve planned a successful community wide day of service for Martin Luther King Day and started in on a variety of new projects. We stop by the gym to get some exercise after being in the office all day, and then back at Le Hac we have a house dinner and meeting where we all gather to eat and update each other on all the latest news.
Thursday I head back down Eastham, but this time to the Health Department at the Town Hall. I am working on a 10-Year Well Water study that is monitoring the quality of drinking water in Eastham. We’ve gathered together the nitrate and property data, mapped out the parcels using GIS and GPS, and soon will go to the county lab to do some tests on the water samples. The day winds down around 4-o-clock when everyone at the office takes off and I get ready to go swimming in the oceanbrr!
Ahh, Friday we start the day off with a house cleaning and then grab our hip waders and big blue plastic gloves and drive up to Provincetown. We meet our service partner out on the flats to help with her shellfish study. Up here on the Cape shellfishing is an integral part of life. Because of the increasing human population and mass influx of summer tourists on the Cape, a huge strain has been placed on the shellfish industry with many populations already depleted. Along with over-fishing, disease has also been a widespread problem. AmeriCorps has helped many town Shellfish Departments, as well as the Marine Biological Labs, to distribute oyster and quahog seed, monitor disease studies, relocate aquaculture gear, and complete numerous other tasks to help repopulate certain areas. We work fast out on the flats because we are competing with the tide.
Whether you have plans to go into Boston or somewhere else off-Cape, or if you just spend time wandering the beaches and exploring the quiet New England towns, the weekends are definitely fun. Watching the sunset over the harbor, hiking nature trails, playing soccer with the locals, going out for drinks, watching free movies in P’town, or just curling up by the fire with a good book are always good ways to pass the day. As members in this residential program, we work and live together, but even though we see each other all the time, we still choose to hang out together too. We turn a few heads when we show up to places in a pack, but its great to have made so many good friends and to have the opportunity to live with so many unique people. As always the weekends go by quickly, and before you know it, that alarm clock is going off and its Monday morning again.
A week in the life of Patrick Roehrdanz
Sunday Overnight winter weather treated the Wellfleet House to spectacular morning of sparkling sunlight and a snow-adorned forest. The prospect of snow on the beach provided the motivation for a four-wheel drive trek to the Bayside Beach of Cape Cod National Seashore. Snow on sand proved picture worthy, the seashore breeze nipped and stung faces, the snow packed easily into snowballs, riding a garbage can lid down the dune faces proved unsuccessful. A soft couch and a fire carried the rest of the day.
Monday Martin Luther King Day. The day started early and cold with the hour-long drive from Wellfleet to Hyannis. After a month and a half of concerted planning and organization, AmeriCorps was hosting a volunteer Day On of service in honor and remembrance of the influential civil rights leader. The task at hand was to help restore the shelters owned operated by the Housing Assistance Corporation. AmeriCorps members and staff combined efforts with more than 40 volunteers, some coming from as far away as Boston and Provincetown. Yours truly spent the morning throwing three fresh coats of paint on a neglected kitchen door and the afternoon carefully painting the ceiling above a resident who inexplicably saw that moment as an opportune time to take an extended nap. The day was an inspiring infusion of community involvement and demonstrated to members and volunteers alike the positive impact AmeriCorps can have on the Cape, even outside our environmental realm of expertise.
Tuesday Tuesday is the day for my individual placement at the Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters at Marconi Station. Normally I would bike the six-mile stretch of highway from the house to headquarters, but I have just acquired a new car and have an appointment in the afternoon. I succumb to the temptations of fuel consumption and make the trip in 15 minutes. At CCNS I work with the park planner, Lauren McKean, on the planning and policy end of a variety of park projects. The project I spend most of my time on is a new facility name the Highlands Center. The Highlands Center project will convert an abandoned military base atop the Highland cliffs into a vibrant, sustainable community of non-profit organizations, artists, and scientists. The project is still very much in the embryonic stage and tangible evidence for the work that I put in is still at least 2-3 years off. However, the opportunity to be involved with such a visionary project is immensely rewarding. Today I finished the new edition of the Highlands Center newsletter, assessed the levels of disrepair in the housing units on the Highlands campus, and continued planning for the installation of a new overlook on the dramatic Highland sea cliffs.
Wednesday As member leader of the Wellfleet house, Wednesdays are largely devoted to the logistics of group projects and residential life. Generally, I meet with Melissa, the member leader of the other house, and the program staff to touch base and plan for upcoming AmeriCorps group projects. This morning three of us met with the town of Yarmouth DNR to visit a Herring run that will be the site of an all-corps group project next Monday. Among the detritus that filled the channel were a shopping cart, four cinder blocks, a wiffle ball bat, and a plastic snowman lawn ornament. I devoted the rest of the day to solidifying future group projects, and took some dull moments to work on this.
Thursday - My second Highlands Center day. In preparation for a presentation she has to give next week, Lauren took me on a grand tour of Cape Cod National Seashore reclaimed properties, houses that have been abandoned and turned over to the park. All of the properties offered phenomenal views of the seashore and a chance to trapse through the backcountry of Cape Cod. Returning to the office, I prepared a cultural resource assessment to determine if the new overlook will impinge on or destroy any existing resources.
Friday The Wellfleet house got up early to complete the weekly chores, loaded the cars with waterproof clothes, and drove to the town of Harwich Harbor Master building. The task for the day is to clean out a Herring rundifferent from the one I visited on Wednesday. We met with ice floes, proliferate poison ivy, and organic muck, but left with a sense of accomplishment as water flowed freely from pond to salt marsh. The evening brought a break from the Cape as eight of us made the drive up to Boston to take in a benefit concert for the Boston folk radio station WUMB. Among the performers were Greg Brown, Garnet Rogers and The Nields. The good mood lasted through a stop at the brew pub, the "T" ride out of Boston and the long drive back to Cape Cod.
Saturday Laziness resultant of no schedule. Rising late, lounging, moving slowly. A stroll around the Cranberry bog. The drive back to Wellfleet. A jog at sunset and comfortable couches.
Sunday Overnight winter weather treated the Wellfleet House to spectacular morning of sparkling sunlight and a snow-adorned forest. The prospect of snow on the beach provided the motivation for a four-wheel drive trek to the Bayside Beach of Cape Cod National Seashore. Snow on sand proved picture worthy, the seashore breeze nipped and stung faces, the snow packed easily into snowballs, riding a garbage can lid down the dune faces proved unsuccessful. A soft couch and a fire carried the rest of the day.
Monday Martin Luther King Day. The day started early and cold with the hour-long drive from Wellfleet to Hyannis. After a month and a half of concerted planning and organization, AmeriCorps was hosting a volunteer Day On of service in honor and remembrance of the influential civil rights leader. The task at hand was to help restore the shelters owned operated by the Housing Assistance Corporation. AmeriCorps members and staff combined efforts with more than 40 volunteers, some coming from as far away as Boston and Provincetown. Yours truly spent the morning throwing three fresh coats of paint on a neglected kitchen door and the afternoon carefully painting the ceiling above a resident who inexplicably saw that moment as an opportune time to take an extended nap. The day was an inspiring infusion of community involvement and demonstrated to members and volunteers alike the positive impact AmeriCorps can have on the Cape, even outside our environmental realm of expertise.
Tuesday Tuesday is the day for my individual placement at the Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters at Marconi Station. Normally I would bike the six-mile stretch of highway from the house to headquarters, but I have just acquired a new car and have an appointment in the afternoon. I succumb to the temptations of fuel consumption and make the trip in 15 minutes. At CCNS I work with the park planner, Lauren McKean, on the planning and policy end of a variety of park projects. The project I spend most of my time on is a new facility name the Highlands Center. The Highlands Center project will convert an abandoned military base atop the Highland cliffs into a vibrant, sustainable community of non-profit organizations, artists, and scientists. The project is still very much in the embryonic stage and tangible evidence for the work that I put in is still at least 2-3 years off. However, the opportunity to be involved with such a visionary project is immensely rewarding. Today I finished the new edition of the Highlands Center newsletter, assessed the levels of disrepair in the housing units on the Highlands campus, and continued planning for the installation of a new overlook on the dramatic Highland sea cliffs.
Wednesday As member leader of the Wellfleet house, Wednesdays are largely devoted to the logistics of group projects and residential life. Generally, I meet with Melissa, the member leader of the other house, and the program staff to touch base and plan for upcoming AmeriCorps group projects. This morning three of us met with the town of Yarmouth DNR to visit a Herring run that will be the site of an all-corps group project next Monday. Among the detritus that filled the channel were a shopping cart, four cinder blocks, a wiffle ball bat, and a plastic snowman lawn ornament. I devoted the rest of the day to solidifying future group projects, and took some dull moments to work on this.
Thursday - My second Highlands Center day. In preparation for a presentation she has to give next week, Lauren took me on a grand tour of Cape Cod National Seashore reclaimed properties, houses that have been abandoned and turned over to the park. All of the properties offered phenomenal views of the seashore and a chance to trapse through the backcountry of Cape Cod. Returning to the office, I prepared a cultural resource assessment to determine if the new overlook will impinge on or destroy any existing resources.
Friday The Wellfleet house got up early to complete the weekly chores, loaded the cars with waterproof clothes, and drove to the town of Harwich Harbor Master building. The task for the day is to clean out a Herring rundifferent from the one I visited on Wednesday. We met with ice floes, proliferate poison ivy, and organic muck, but left with a sense of accomplishment as water flowed freely from pond to salt marsh. The evening brought a break from the Cape as eight of us made the drive up to Boston to take in a benefit concert for the Boston folk radio station WUMB. Among the performers were Greg Brown, Garnet Rogers and The Nields. The good mood lasted through a stop at the brew pub, the "T" ride out of Boston and the long drive back to Cape Cod.
Saturday Laziness resultant of no schedule. Rising late, lounging, moving slowly. A stroll around the Cranberry bog. The drive back to Wellfleet. A jog at sunset and comfortable couches.
A week in the life of Melissa Cunningham
Monday, the busiest day of the week! I am usually the first one up, so that I can enjoy the rare quiet of our usual lively house. After throwing a lunch together, it’s time to start on weekly chores. Monday mornings are house cleaning time! So we awake a half hour early and make our house spotless! Rushing around to finish our chores and fighting for the vacuum cleaner, we head out the door. On a good day, I have already loaded the proper tools into the car. If not, I am running around the parking lot trying to keep track of what I have been tossing into the back of Chris’s truck. It is a quick drive to Perry Ave in Buzzard’s Bay. The day is full of pulling bittersweet and cutting down dying trees to beautify the cluttered path blocking a breathtaking view of the Cape Cod Canal. The morning sugar rush is a necessity for dealing with the scrapes and scratches that the thorny branches inflict as we tug at them. Props to Mike, our supervisor, for supplying donuts! By the end of the day we are pretty pooped from dragging heavy trees and our muscles are sore from spending most of the time on our butts because it is impossible to remain on our feet while working on a slope. But days like this are so rewarding, for your body reminds you of how hard you worked. After a tool count and great reflection we head out. It amazes me to look back and see all that we can accomplish in one day. But my day does not end there! After a quick dinner it is off to SCUBA class! Too jazzed up to sleep, bedtime is delayed, which makes for a tiring Tuesday!
Tuesdays I get to spend in Woods Hole for my individual placement. Jessica and I work in the Aquarium and with NMFS. Today we are working on redoing all the signs throughout the aquarium. We search for new pictures, laminate them and hang them up so that all the tanks can be labeled for our visitors to enjoy! In the afternoon we head out with Fred, our NMFS service partner, and help him with a seal count. We counted over 300 seals! I never knew there were that many on the Cape. After a great day in Falmouth, it is time to head to the gym for a tough workout. Tuesdays are interval-training days! I have to keep up with the training or I will never be able to finish 26.2 miles.
Ah, should have stretched after my workout last night! Always wake up with sore muscles on Wednesday. Today is my flex day. I head to the office in Barnstable, a quiet early drive. I catch up with Cindy, since it has been a week since I have seen her. I start out by finishing up my lingering group project summaries from Monday and Friday. After a long informative staff meeting I begin searching for fun future group projects. In the afternoon I head out for a site visit to survey the area and determine what tools we need and issues and hazards that might be present. It is a quick trip to the gym today! I have to make it back for the weekly house meeting and dinner! I love Wednesdays because we get to enjoy a crafty meal made by a housemate who has labored over the stove so that we can gorge ourselves in a free meal! Our stomachs growl as we listen to Mike update us on group projects, happenings and issues. When the dishes are clean, a few of us go to Captain Kidd’s in Woods Hole for open mike night. It is an entertaining night, not just from the performers, but also from the characters that frequent the Kidd on Wednesday nights.
On Thursday, it’s back to Woods Hole for my individual placement. Jessica and I write a letter to a little boy from Chicago who wanted information on our aquarium. We spend the afternoon at the Shore Lab and help the Stranding Network perform a necropsy on a baby pilot whale. Despite being a baby it was still eight feet long! They hope to find the cause and reason for the stranding of the baby. It is an interesting and informative day. Thursdays are my favorite day to go the gym. While I run I watch Friends and before I know it I have ran four miles.
Thank goodness for a beautiful sunny today, for today we are working with the Mashpee shellfish warden. Rick is a huge supporter of AmeriCorps and he always provides a day full of laughter and entertainment! Our day is spent on the water pulling up nets full of millions of scallops and quahogs. We measure them and disperse them throughout the bay in hopes they will flourish and grow. After my run I shower in hopes I will find the energy to go out, but alas, exhaustion has hit me and it is a date with the t.v. But I am not alone!
The weekend is a great time to explore and do all the things you tried to do during the week. I catch up on my reading, food shop and head to Boston or some other fun place to meet up with friends and hang out. Saturdays give me the time I need to go on my long run. Sunday I attempt to sleep in, never with much success, and go off to work at Utterly Delightful where I scoop ice cream for the day. And before I know it, Monday is here again.
Monday, the busiest day of the week! I am usually the first one up, so that I can enjoy the rare quiet of our usual lively house. After throwing a lunch together, it’s time to start on weekly chores. Monday mornings are house cleaning time! So we awake a half hour early and make our house spotless! Rushing around to finish our chores and fighting for the vacuum cleaner, we head out the door. On a good day, I have already loaded the proper tools into the car. If not, I am running around the parking lot trying to keep track of what I have been tossing into the back of Chris’s truck. It is a quick drive to Perry Ave in Buzzard’s Bay. The day is full of pulling bittersweet and cutting down dying trees to beautify the cluttered path blocking a breathtaking view of the Cape Cod Canal. The morning sugar rush is a necessity for dealing with the scrapes and scratches that the thorny branches inflict as we tug at them. Props to Mike, our supervisor, for supplying donuts! By the end of the day we are pretty pooped from dragging heavy trees and our muscles are sore from spending most of the time on our butts because it is impossible to remain on our feet while working on a slope. But days like this are so rewarding, for your body reminds you of how hard you worked. After a tool count and great reflection we head out. It amazes me to look back and see all that we can accomplish in one day. But my day does not end there! After a quick dinner it is off to SCUBA class! Too jazzed up to sleep, bedtime is delayed, which makes for a tiring Tuesday!
Tuesdays I get to spend in Woods Hole for my individual placement. Jessica and I work in the Aquarium and with NMFS. Today we are working on redoing all the signs throughout the aquarium. We search for new pictures, laminate them and hang them up so that all the tanks can be labeled for our visitors to enjoy! In the afternoon we head out with Fred, our NMFS service partner, and help him with a seal count. We counted over 300 seals! I never knew there were that many on the Cape. After a great day in Falmouth, it is time to head to the gym for a tough workout. Tuesdays are interval-training days! I have to keep up with the training or I will never be able to finish 26.2 miles.
Ah, should have stretched after my workout last night! Always wake up with sore muscles on Wednesday. Today is my flex day. I head to the office in Barnstable, a quiet early drive. I catch up with Cindy, since it has been a week since I have seen her. I start out by finishing up my lingering group project summaries from Monday and Friday. After a long informative staff meeting I begin searching for fun future group projects. In the afternoon I head out for a site visit to survey the area and determine what tools we need and issues and hazards that might be present. It is a quick trip to the gym today! I have to make it back for the weekly house meeting and dinner! I love Wednesdays because we get to enjoy a crafty meal made by a housemate who has labored over the stove so that we can gorge ourselves in a free meal! Our stomachs growl as we listen to Mike update us on group projects, happenings and issues. When the dishes are clean, a few of us go to Captain Kidd’s in Woods Hole for open mike night. It is an entertaining night, not just from the performers, but also from the characters that frequent the Kidd on Wednesday nights.
On Thursday, it’s back to Woods Hole for my individual placement. Jessica and I write a letter to a little boy from Chicago who wanted information on our aquarium. We spend the afternoon at the Shore Lab and help the Stranding Network perform a necropsy on a baby pilot whale. Despite being a baby it was still eight feet long! They hope to find the cause and reason for the stranding of the baby. It is an interesting and informative day. Thursdays are my favorite day to go the gym. While I run I watch Friends and before I know it I have ran four miles.
Thank goodness for a beautiful sunny today, for today we are working with the Mashpee shellfish warden. Rick is a huge supporter of AmeriCorps and he always provides a day full of laughter and entertainment! Our day is spent on the water pulling up nets full of millions of scallops and quahogs. We measure them and disperse them throughout the bay in hopes they will flourish and grow. After my run I shower in hopes I will find the energy to go out, but alas, exhaustion has hit me and it is a date with the t.v. But I am not alone!
The weekend is a great time to explore and do all the things you tried to do during the week. I catch up on my reading, food shop and head to Boston or some other fun place to meet up with friends and hang out. Saturdays give me the time I need to go on my long run. Sunday I attempt to sleep in, never with much success, and go off to work at Utterly Delightful where I scoop ice cream for the day. And before I know it, Monday is here again.
A week in the life of Jessica Erickson
Sunday:
What a beautiful day! I usually spend Sundays going to the grocery store, doing laundry, exercising, and basically getting all of my errands done to get ready for the week. Because the weather was so nice I took a nice long run down Ocean View Drive in Wellfleet and stopped at all four beaches on that road. I ran into some fellow AmeriCorps members at the last beach who were trying to find decent waves to surf. Afterward, I spent much of the afternoon relaxing and visiting with housemates back at the house. In the evening 11 of us drove up to a theatre in Provincetown to watch a series of one act plays . . .we had lots of laughs!
Monday:
This morning we had our house cleaning as a group and then loaded up all of our gear and lunches for our group service day at Monomoy Wildlife Preserve. After a half hour boat ride from Chatham we arrived at South Monomoy Island where we were to post signs closing off fragile piping plover nesting areas. On the boat ride back to the mainland we passed by about 12 grey seals that were basking in the sun. We slowed down to take a few photographs. We are planning to return to Monomoy at some point for additional projects and I can't wait! After cooking dinner and hanging out with housemates in the community room, I took a walk because it was such a clear night, and this is a great area for stargazing!
Tuesday:
I spend every Tuesday at my individual placement with the Wellfleet Shellfish Department. My housemate Mary and I serve there together and we were both proud to finish construction of a display case we designed to house information for both commercial and recreational shellfisherman. We are also working on a history project that involves photographing the different points of harbor to document changes in the area. This is great for me because I love photography! We also worked on compiling all the catch data for shellfish in the last 20 years. We will present this data at the next Wellfleet Shellfish Advisory board meeting. After service I go back to Ocean View Drive for a run . . . then decided to lay on the beach for a while before heading home to cook dinner and spend the evening chatting with housemates.
Wednesday:
Ahh, flex day. I always look forward to Wednesdays because it is a great change of pace. On flex day I work out of the Barnstable office with 3 other members from my house and 4 members from the Bourne house. We are working collaboratively on organizing a community volunteer event focused on cleaning up the Cape Cod Canal. Additionally, I am working with one other member to organize a Nature Photography Contest for high school students on Cape Cod. It is in the development and planning phases now. Wednesday evenings we eat dinner together. Two people cook for the entire group and we enjoy a family style dinner followed by a house meeting where we discuss upcoming projects as well as residential and service issues. After the meeting we sometimes have a house activity . . . this week it is pin the tail on the donkey!
Thursday:
I woke up at 5 a.m. for the low tide and headed out to the Wellfleet Harbor in my chest waders to do some additional work on my research project for the Wellfleet Shellfish Department. The research involves oysters and measuring predation from oyster drills. Today we were getting all of the oyster racks in place so they can be easily monitored throughout the spring and summer. By 8 a.m. I am back home and gearing up to head to Harwich for my individual placement with the Harwich Conservation Trust. I am compiling an open space atlas for the Harwich Conservation Trust's properties. In the last few months I have been collecting legal documents for each property and am starting to photograph each property and do flora and fauna surveys.
Friday:
This is a group service day, and today we are splitting up into two groups. Six of us are assigned to clean a herring run in the Herring River in Harwich. With chain saws, loppers, handsaws, and waders we walk down the river clearing debris from storm damage. The other half of our house went to Barnstable to work with the Bourne house on a project that involved protecting piping plover nests on the beach. Most of us are tired after service and cook dinner at home and watch a movie together in the community room.
Saturday:
About once a month we have Saturday service projects and today happens to be the Canal Clean-up, which is the community event my flex day organized. My job for the day is to ride my bicycle on the path along the canal to check in with volunteer groups and help them pick up trash for a while and make sure they have enough supplies. I am happy to get the exercise and enjoy visiting with all of the volunteers. The lunch was donated by local businesses and it was so yummy! Saturday evening I go up to Provincetown to see a movie with a friend. It has been a great week and after getting so much done I decide to treat myself and plan a day trip to Boston for Sunday with some other members.
Sunday:
What a beautiful day! I usually spend Sundays going to the grocery store, doing laundry, exercising, and basically getting all of my errands done to get ready for the week. Because the weather was so nice I took a nice long run down Ocean View Drive in Wellfleet and stopped at all four beaches on that road. I ran into some fellow AmeriCorps members at the last beach who were trying to find decent waves to surf. Afterward, I spent much of the afternoon relaxing and visiting with housemates back at the house. In the evening 11 of us drove up to a theatre in Provincetown to watch a series of one act plays . . .we had lots of laughs!
Monday:
This morning we had our house cleaning as a group and then loaded up all of our gear and lunches for our group service day at Monomoy Wildlife Preserve. After a half hour boat ride from Chatham we arrived at South Monomoy Island where we were to post signs closing off fragile piping plover nesting areas. On the boat ride back to the mainland we passed by about 12 grey seals that were basking in the sun. We slowed down to take a few photographs. We are planning to return to Monomoy at some point for additional projects and I can't wait! After cooking dinner and hanging out with housemates in the community room, I took a walk because it was such a clear night, and this is a great area for stargazing!
Tuesday:
I spend every Tuesday at my individual placement with the Wellfleet Shellfish Department. My housemate Mary and I serve there together and we were both proud to finish construction of a display case we designed to house information for both commercial and recreational shellfisherman. We are also working on a history project that involves photographing the different points of harbor to document changes in the area. This is great for me because I love photography! We also worked on compiling all the catch data for shellfish in the last 20 years. We will present this data at the next Wellfleet Shellfish Advisory board meeting. After service I go back to Ocean View Drive for a run . . . then decided to lay on the beach for a while before heading home to cook dinner and spend the evening chatting with housemates.
Wednesday:
Ahh, flex day. I always look forward to Wednesdays because it is a great change of pace. On flex day I work out of the Barnstable office with 3 other members from my house and 4 members from the Bourne house. We are working collaboratively on organizing a community volunteer event focused on cleaning up the Cape Cod Canal. Additionally, I am working with one other member to organize a Nature Photography Contest for high school students on Cape Cod. It is in the development and planning phases now. Wednesday evenings we eat dinner together. Two people cook for the entire group and we enjoy a family style dinner followed by a house meeting where we discuss upcoming projects as well as residential and service issues. After the meeting we sometimes have a house activity . . . this week it is pin the tail on the donkey!
Thursday:
I woke up at 5 a.m. for the low tide and headed out to the Wellfleet Harbor in my chest waders to do some additional work on my research project for the Wellfleet Shellfish Department. The research involves oysters and measuring predation from oyster drills. Today we were getting all of the oyster racks in place so they can be easily monitored throughout the spring and summer. By 8 a.m. I am back home and gearing up to head to Harwich for my individual placement with the Harwich Conservation Trust. I am compiling an open space atlas for the Harwich Conservation Trust's properties. In the last few months I have been collecting legal documents for each property and am starting to photograph each property and do flora and fauna surveys.
Friday:
This is a group service day, and today we are splitting up into two groups. Six of us are assigned to clean a herring run in the Herring River in Harwich. With chain saws, loppers, handsaws, and waders we walk down the river clearing debris from storm damage. The other half of our house went to Barnstable to work with the Bourne house on a project that involved protecting piping plover nests on the beach. Most of us are tired after service and cook dinner at home and watch a movie together in the community room.
Saturday:
About once a month we have Saturday service projects and today happens to be the Canal Clean-up, which is the community event my flex day organized. My job for the day is to ride my bicycle on the path along the canal to check in with volunteer groups and help them pick up trash for a while and make sure they have enough supplies. I am happy to get the exercise and enjoy visiting with all of the volunteers. The lunch was donated by local businesses and it was so yummy! Saturday evening I go up to Provincetown to see a movie with a friend. It has been a great week and after getting so much done I decide to treat myself and plan a day trip to Boston for Sunday with some other members.
A week in the life of Tony Gill
Monday:
AHHH . . . Monday. A time for rest and relaxation. But that's not usually the case. Patriot's Day was Monday and I spent it in Boston cheering on the runners of the Boston Marathon. Then it was up to the North End for some Italian food. What a great way to spend a Monday. I'm filing a formal request for more Mondays like this.
Tuesday:
This is my "Community Outreach" day. The five other members and I had our monthly meeting to discuss projects we worked on the past month and future projects to plan and look forward to. I am on the committee for Earth Celebration, an event we hold each year at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds with food, booths, games, and guest lecturers. After the meeting I made a few stops around Hyannis to pick up some gift certificates from local grocery stores. Krystal, another Bourne house member, and I are in charge of the food for the event, so donations are important. I also worked on designing the Waypoint, the AmeriCorps Newsletter. At the end of the day I went to the gym, came home, ate dinner, read and went sleep.
Wednesday:
Today and tomorrow I go to my individual placement at the Mass Maritime Academy with the Southeast Mass Aquaculture Center (SEMAC), a center established to assist the aquaculture industry within southeastern Massachusetts. I am currently working on a survey of private shellfishing permit holders across the Cape for the 2001 year. It is a scientific survey to try and determine the value of shellfish permits to recreational shellfishermen. It is conducted in cooperation with the Barnstable County Cooperative Extension Office and the University of Mass. It has been a long process, but we'll be wrapping it up soon. I am also updating the S.E.M.A.C. library information guides on Aquaculture. This is a huge undertaking with hundreds of scientific reports that need to be copied, filed and sent to all the libraries on Cape Cod and many off-Cape sites as well. Tonight we have our house meeting and dinner. Katie Battaglia is cooking some sort of marinara spaghetti dinner which will be sure to please. Our house meetings usually last an hour but who can tell with all the issues, counter-issues, rebuttals, recommendations, updates, debates, personal opinions, two-cents, advice-giving, ideas brought forth and resolutions made ad infinitum. After the event some of us usually have a strong urge to go out for a while.
Thursday:
Today at my individual placement we were up bright and early to catch the tide and dig for razor clams for research! Being from the Midwest, this was a new experience for me and I loved it. Razor clams are one of the most under-appreciated of the edible bivalves on the Cape. They are great for clam chowder and something S.E.M.A.C. has recently been trying to raise from brood stock. Razor clams are a new frontier, so not much is known about breeding and rearing them. It is great to be a part of ground-breaking scientific research.
Friday:
A day of manual labor. This was an entire Corps event. We went to Sandy Neck beach in Barnstable and were divided up in two groups. One group put up fencing to protect the endangered Piping Plovers and their beach nests from the public and predators. The other half unearthed a handicap beach access ramp from the clutches of ever-shifting sand dunes. The sand had completely covered the walk, and in some places it covered the three-foot rails. It was an all day event that ended in an estimated 15 tons of sand displacement with a margin of error plus or minus the entire estimate. At the end of the day I went home tired and wind burnt but feeling a great sense of accomplishment. I fell asleep looking forward to a great day of Saturday service.
Saturday:
Canal Clean-Up! This is the AmeriCorps annual trash clean-up of the Cape Cod Canal. I registered community volunteers and other organizations for the day's events and was in charge of the raffle. We raised funds to raffle off seven pounds of chocolate, a few gift certificates to restaurants and a few smaller items. The food provided was excellent--I only hope Earth Celebration has such fine cuisine. The day was a bit nippy and I was pleasantly surprised to see a good turn-out of community volunteers.
Sunday:
Easter. The few of us who didn't have family close enough to visit gathered around and enjoyed our A.S.S.E.S. or A Spring Solstice Easter Supper if you're not into the whole brevity thing. I made roast leg of lamb with a yogurt mint stuffing. There was a honey-glazed ham, basted to perfection, mashed potatoes by Michelle and Cathy, Tina's very own deviled eggs, Krystal's "old family recipe" green bean casserole, Dena Garden Salad Blickstien's Hicima Salad with homemade dressing, Tracie's sinful chocolate pie with fresh whipped cream and Katie's Easter Bunny Cake, which was quickly devoured. We all passed out on various couches and beds shortly after.
Monday:
AHHH . . . Monday. A time for rest and relaxation. But that's not usually the case. Patriot's Day was Monday and I spent it in Boston cheering on the runners of the Boston Marathon. Then it was up to the North End for some Italian food. What a great way to spend a Monday. I'm filing a formal request for more Mondays like this.
Tuesday:
This is my "Community Outreach" day. The five other members and I had our monthly meeting to discuss projects we worked on the past month and future projects to plan and look forward to. I am on the committee for Earth Celebration, an event we hold each year at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds with food, booths, games, and guest lecturers. After the meeting I made a few stops around Hyannis to pick up some gift certificates from local grocery stores. Krystal, another Bourne house member, and I are in charge of the food for the event, so donations are important. I also worked on designing the Waypoint, the AmeriCorps Newsletter. At the end of the day I went to the gym, came home, ate dinner, read and went sleep.
Wednesday:
Today and tomorrow I go to my individual placement at the Mass Maritime Academy with the Southeast Mass Aquaculture Center (SEMAC), a center established to assist the aquaculture industry within southeastern Massachusetts. I am currently working on a survey of private shellfishing permit holders across the Cape for the 2001 year. It is a scientific survey to try and determine the value of shellfish permits to recreational shellfishermen. It is conducted in cooperation with the Barnstable County Cooperative Extension Office and the University of Mass. It has been a long process, but we'll be wrapping it up soon. I am also updating the S.E.M.A.C. library information guides on Aquaculture. This is a huge undertaking with hundreds of scientific reports that need to be copied, filed and sent to all the libraries on Cape Cod and many off-Cape sites as well. Tonight we have our house meeting and dinner. Katie Battaglia is cooking some sort of marinara spaghetti dinner which will be sure to please. Our house meetings usually last an hour but who can tell with all the issues, counter-issues, rebuttals, recommendations, updates, debates, personal opinions, two-cents, advice-giving, ideas brought forth and resolutions made ad infinitum. After the event some of us usually have a strong urge to go out for a while.
Thursday:
Today at my individual placement we were up bright and early to catch the tide and dig for razor clams for research! Being from the Midwest, this was a new experience for me and I loved it. Razor clams are one of the most under-appreciated of the edible bivalves on the Cape. They are great for clam chowder and something S.E.M.A.C. has recently been trying to raise from brood stock. Razor clams are a new frontier, so not much is known about breeding and rearing them. It is great to be a part of ground-breaking scientific research.
Friday:
A day of manual labor. This was an entire Corps event. We went to Sandy Neck beach in Barnstable and were divided up in two groups. One group put up fencing to protect the endangered Piping Plovers and their beach nests from the public and predators. The other half unearthed a handicap beach access ramp from the clutches of ever-shifting sand dunes. The sand had completely covered the walk, and in some places it covered the three-foot rails. It was an all day event that ended in an estimated 15 tons of sand displacement with a margin of error plus or minus the entire estimate. At the end of the day I went home tired and wind burnt but feeling a great sense of accomplishment. I fell asleep looking forward to a great day of Saturday service.
Saturday:
Canal Clean-Up! This is the AmeriCorps annual trash clean-up of the Cape Cod Canal. I registered community volunteers and other organizations for the day's events and was in charge of the raffle. We raised funds to raffle off seven pounds of chocolate, a few gift certificates to restaurants and a few smaller items. The food provided was excellent--I only hope Earth Celebration has such fine cuisine. The day was a bit nippy and I was pleasantly surprised to see a good turn-out of community volunteers.
Sunday:
Easter. The few of us who didn't have family close enough to visit gathered around and enjoyed our A.S.S.E.S. or A Spring Solstice Easter Supper if you're not into the whole brevity thing. I made roast leg of lamb with a yogurt mint stuffing. There was a honey-glazed ham, basted to perfection, mashed potatoes by Michelle and Cathy, Tina's very own deviled eggs, Krystal's "old family recipe" green bean casserole, Dena Garden Salad Blickstien's Hicima Salad with homemade dressing, Tracie's sinful chocolate pie with fresh whipped cream and Katie's Easter Bunny Cake, which was quickly devoured. We all passed out on various couches and beds shortly after.
