(no subject)
So, I suppose I should talk about my new job. It's an Americorps funded program called Environmental Corps; or E-corps for short. Here's how the week has gone thus far:
Day 1 - Orientation begins. I get there at 8am, and at 8:10 was physical training, oh boy. Sits-ups, pull-ups, rock climbers, stretches, lots of back and ab oriented exercises and a host of other things I can't remember. The rest of the morning is paperwork inside and in the afternoon we went out to Westcave Preserve. The preserve was bought out by the city of Austin and is used for environmental education. The endangered golden cheeked warbler also lives here. We got a personal tour beginning with the history of the area and the native ecosystem. This land includes a creek that flows into the Pedernales river. Naturally the hill country is an oak savannah, however because of humans altering the habitat through fire suppression and overgrazing, the Ash Junipers (called Cedar in Texas) outcompete the oaks. When you walk down to the canyon (where cedars are naturally limited to in central Texas), you notice alot more green, including 1200 year old Cypress trees on the banks. Then you walk to the end of the spring fed creek into a nice cool grotto. It was cool to see how water carved out the grotto and look out some mineral deposit features. We also got to see some E-corps work which involved a flagstone trail over some muddy soil trail as well as some cedar hand rails. We got back at 5.
Day 2 - More paperwork in the morning hours, after PT. Then we went outdoors to get some training on the handtools which includes, but is not limited to, rock bars, McLeods, Picks, Pick and Axe-Mattocks, axes and some rock-carving tools. We got a tour of the building and of the tool shed. I think we had a little education on soil conservation too.
Day 3 - Paperwork in the morning, focusing on polices and procedures. In the afternoon we went out to Barton Creek Botanical Garden where, weeks earlier, E-Corps constructed an ADA-accessible trail (and a box step stair set) that could take people from the rose garden to the Japanese tea house. There was a big ceremony with a bunch of city employees talking and some media. I bet you coulda seen me on the news that night. Afterwards, we headed out to Barton Creek Greenbelt where most everyone did some trail maintainence. Me and another guy helped a peer trainer who was chainsawing some trees that had downed over the trail. We got done around 3 which gave us an hour and a half to swim in the Barton Creek. It was nice and cold, about 4 feet deep on average.
After hours, I went to a party for E-corps members. It was cool to bond with older members that I'll be serving with soon; I felt very accepted. I hear alot of cheesy things about camaraderie and whatnot but I think it's very true. If you sweat and labor with a bunch of other people doing a service to the public then I'm sure this would exist.
Day 4 - Some more boring inside junk in the morning, then the PT. Afterwards we went out to some Prop 2 land. In 1998, voters voted Yes on Proposition 2. The result was that the City of Austin bought some land that was in the recharge zone for the Edwards Aquifer. This land is managed solely to insure that water infiltrates into the Edwards limestone Formation at a reliable rate and quality. We were out there to clear downed cedar branches at least 20 feet from the road and in a fashion so that the fire would not be allowed to reach a height dangerous for the Live Oaks. So, later on city employees will come out and perform a prescribed fire to kill off the younger cedars. Cedars totally outcompete other vegetation for water. If you rid of them, you restore the natural habitat as well as increasing infiltration to the aquifer. The end of this hot hot sweaty unfun work was some karst topography exploration aka spelunking! Our crew leader drove us over to a little sunken patch of ground where a few cave openings exist. It was kinda scary for me at first because as soon as the first person entered, they exited, followed by an army of daddy long legs. Well, unlike the snakes and scorpions in the area, these pose no threat to people; still I don't like things crawling all over me. So, I waited for more people to enter when the insects would all have been scared away. Then I climbed down in. The first thing that hit me was the strong strong aroma/stench of the soil. I was amazed at this. This soil was so purely organic, no minerals or rocks whatsoever. It was dark black and very soft; almost peat-like. I walked in further to a point where I could stand up straight. And then I had to get on my knees and elbows and crawl over a hump into a further section. Overall it was about 70 feet long and the temperature was very comfortable. I saw some roots poking through, and some cave crickets. The cool thing about going here was that this land is publicly owned but very few people are allowed on the site. I get to see firsthand the services that the city provides the residents.
Day 5 - Today we finished up polices and procedures, had PT then went out to TreeFolks. TreeFolks is a nonprofit renting out land in the Hornsby Bend area. The two guys need some help doing the less important chores around their nursery. So, we came in with weedwackers and garden rakes. By hand we had to whack the 3-7 feet weeds by the stem to fall them. And afterwards we raked them into carryable bales onto a big pile. My arms were red with some reaction and my clothes and gloves were full of hitchhiker grass stickers. The guys at TreeFolks were real cool and provided us with water and fresh food. If you guys are interested in them or urban forestry check out www.treefolks.org.
Anyway, as you can see I really dig this new job and everything that comes with it. I get so many things out of this place that I haven't gotten elsewhere: education in fields I am passionate about, being outside, serving the environment, free health insurance and more. Oh yeah, and gettin' things done for America.
Day 1 - Orientation begins. I get there at 8am, and at 8:10 was physical training, oh boy. Sits-ups, pull-ups, rock climbers, stretches, lots of back and ab oriented exercises and a host of other things I can't remember. The rest of the morning is paperwork inside and in the afternoon we went out to Westcave Preserve. The preserve was bought out by the city of Austin and is used for environmental education. The endangered golden cheeked warbler also lives here. We got a personal tour beginning with the history of the area and the native ecosystem. This land includes a creek that flows into the Pedernales river. Naturally the hill country is an oak savannah, however because of humans altering the habitat through fire suppression and overgrazing, the Ash Junipers (called Cedar in Texas) outcompete the oaks. When you walk down to the canyon (where cedars are naturally limited to in central Texas), you notice alot more green, including 1200 year old Cypress trees on the banks. Then you walk to the end of the spring fed creek into a nice cool grotto. It was cool to see how water carved out the grotto and look out some mineral deposit features. We also got to see some E-corps work which involved a flagstone trail over some muddy soil trail as well as some cedar hand rails. We got back at 5.
Day 2 - More paperwork in the morning hours, after PT. Then we went outdoors to get some training on the handtools which includes, but is not limited to, rock bars, McLeods, Picks, Pick and Axe-Mattocks, axes and some rock-carving tools. We got a tour of the building and of the tool shed. I think we had a little education on soil conservation too.
Day 3 - Paperwork in the morning, focusing on polices and procedures. In the afternoon we went out to Barton Creek Botanical Garden where, weeks earlier, E-Corps constructed an ADA-accessible trail (and a box step stair set) that could take people from the rose garden to the Japanese tea house. There was a big ceremony with a bunch of city employees talking and some media. I bet you coulda seen me on the news that night. Afterwards, we headed out to Barton Creek Greenbelt where most everyone did some trail maintainence. Me and another guy helped a peer trainer who was chainsawing some trees that had downed over the trail. We got done around 3 which gave us an hour and a half to swim in the Barton Creek. It was nice and cold, about 4 feet deep on average.
After hours, I went to a party for E-corps members. It was cool to bond with older members that I'll be serving with soon; I felt very accepted. I hear alot of cheesy things about camaraderie and whatnot but I think it's very true. If you sweat and labor with a bunch of other people doing a service to the public then I'm sure this would exist.
Day 4 - Some more boring inside junk in the morning, then the PT. Afterwards we went out to some Prop 2 land. In 1998, voters voted Yes on Proposition 2. The result was that the City of Austin bought some land that was in the recharge zone for the Edwards Aquifer. This land is managed solely to insure that water infiltrates into the Edwards limestone Formation at a reliable rate and quality. We were out there to clear downed cedar branches at least 20 feet from the road and in a fashion so that the fire would not be allowed to reach a height dangerous for the Live Oaks. So, later on city employees will come out and perform a prescribed fire to kill off the younger cedars. Cedars totally outcompete other vegetation for water. If you rid of them, you restore the natural habitat as well as increasing infiltration to the aquifer. The end of this hot hot sweaty unfun work was some karst topography exploration aka spelunking! Our crew leader drove us over to a little sunken patch of ground where a few cave openings exist. It was kinda scary for me at first because as soon as the first person entered, they exited, followed by an army of daddy long legs. Well, unlike the snakes and scorpions in the area, these pose no threat to people; still I don't like things crawling all over me. So, I waited for more people to enter when the insects would all have been scared away. Then I climbed down in. The first thing that hit me was the strong strong aroma/stench of the soil. I was amazed at this. This soil was so purely organic, no minerals or rocks whatsoever. It was dark black and very soft; almost peat-like. I walked in further to a point where I could stand up straight. And then I had to get on my knees and elbows and crawl over a hump into a further section. Overall it was about 70 feet long and the temperature was very comfortable. I saw some roots poking through, and some cave crickets. The cool thing about going here was that this land is publicly owned but very few people are allowed on the site. I get to see firsthand the services that the city provides the residents.
Day 5 - Today we finished up polices and procedures, had PT then went out to TreeFolks. TreeFolks is a nonprofit renting out land in the Hornsby Bend area. The two guys need some help doing the less important chores around their nursery. So, we came in with weedwackers and garden rakes. By hand we had to whack the 3-7 feet weeds by the stem to fall them. And afterwards we raked them into carryable bales onto a big pile. My arms were red with some reaction and my clothes and gloves were full of hitchhiker grass stickers. The guys at TreeFolks were real cool and provided us with water and fresh food. If you guys are interested in them or urban forestry check out www.treefolks.org.
Anyway, as you can see I really dig this new job and everything that comes with it. I get so many things out of this place that I haven't gotten elsewhere: education in fields I am passionate about, being outside, serving the environment, free health insurance and more. Oh yeah, and gettin' things done for America.