The Nature Conservancy of Vermont

Servathon! And my love for GPS

The National Alliance to End Homelessness

Great ceremony today... I'll expand on this soon...

Greater DC Cares

Team-building, and our goodbye to Camp Highroad

A Bonfire Celebration

So the Hard-boiled Dozen has been working hard the past few weeks on an on-going project, which involved a whole lot of invasive species (plant) removal.  We've had some workouts, we've been scraped up a bit, and enjoyed some close run-ins with Poison Ivy, all in efforts to make the roads and trails clearer and safer for the incoming camp groups.  It's satisfying seeing how much has been cleared.  However, we were able to really appreciate everything we've done on Friday night...

Throughout the past three weeks, we've been transporting all of the dead brush and invasive species to a large field, and on Friday night we were treated to a gigantic bonfire of the pile that has formed.  I have never seen a fire this large before, and it was very exciting for the team to get together to watch, roast some marshmallows and veggie burgers (extremely carefully), and watch the flames light up the field around us after it being so dark out.  It was a blast, and it was a great way to celebrate our success in clearing these trails.  Now, let the weekend begin... we're exhausted, and its time to recharge for our final week with Camp Highroad, as we transition to Perry Point, and over to DC.

Oak Lodging and Mountain Boarding

Another busy (and as you can see, fun) week with Raven 4.  We're finishing up a lot of smaller projects right now, one of them including the maintenance of Oak Lodge, where incoming school, girlscout, and boyscout groups will reside for their camping experience.  We sanded, stained, moved, assembled and bunked beds, and cleaned the overall lodge.  Morale was high Thursday afternoon when we finished our final beds and mopped.  Just a week and a half before, the lodge was filled with graffiti on beds, dirt from our boots, and plenty of powder from all of the sanding we had begun with.  Now the rooms had come together, three beds in each, and the main room was fully cleaned, furniture stained.  The camp groups would arrive in a week and they'll be fully prepared to get the best camp experience possible.

We finished up the week with a treat from the Camp Highroad staff.  The Executive Director prepared some equipment for us and taught the team how to mountain-board.  We had a great time, and it was a nice way to wrap up the week, outside in 70-degree weather, enjoying a bit of an adrenaline rush down the hills.  For most, if not all of us, this was something new, and yet another thing on the list of new experiences we've gotten to try.