CAS Reflection #5

Susie still has not contacted me back so I have not been able to do much as of late. I am going to try to contact her once more and will see if she responds. If Susie does not contact me back, I will struggle with knowing the help that the GVAS needs. I may be able to do some manual labor at Connected Lakes which I know can be done. I also may consider altering my project slightly so that it is more independent, as I mentioned earlier. One of the ideas that I came up with would involve building bird houses and posting them across the Grand Valley. This could tie into my work with the GVAS as it has an obvious focus on nature and deals with issues of biodiversity. This would also work well for me because I could do it on my own time and would not rely on other people to find time for me. It would be at my house and I could work on it on a daily basis. I am not sure if this will work, but I am going to mention this to Susie in my next email in order to see if this could tie in, in some way. Hopefully, I will be able to resolve this issue of communication and get my kick started again.

CAS Reflection #4

These past few weeks have really gotten away from me as I have had a busy schedule with school and all of my other activities. Communication has also been an issue for me because, Susie, the lady who has been overseeing my project and aiding me throughout the course of it, has cancer and has been experiencing several health issues. I have contacted her via email and text but she has not responded. She is experiencing a very hard time in her life and I do not want to force an issue if she is not able to help me. I will await further information and may try to contact other members of the GVAS board to see if they may help me. However, Susie may be hard to replace for my project as she had an incredible drive and was very interest in helping me when no one else at the organization would. I am also going to consider ideas for which I can alter my project slightly so that it does not place such a  high demand on Susie. This would make the project more independent so that I am able to work on my own and would not require Susie to oversee everything that I do.

CAS Reflection #3

I have been in contact with Susan Rittenhouse and we have narrowed down the projects which I will be able to pursue throughout the course of the project.

Area's of work and study could include:

1.  How to clean/restore/recondition the kiosks. 

2.  How to clean/restore/recondition the viewing blinds 

3.  Rake up tumbleweed and kochia. Research and decide what to do next spring to stop them from coming up again.

4.  Where did all the dead fall trees come from?  There are a lot of accumulated dead trees and  small branches in a wide area of the property on the north side of Dike Rd.

5.  Wire fencing needs to be placed around cottonwood trees to prevent beaver impact.  Learn about this and do it.  Likewise, it you notice that a tree has the wire tightly around it, learn what to do at this point.

6.  With a hard-timed rake work on the new parking and shed area.  Fill in  the low areas.  Smooth out the sides.

These areas are volunteer opportunities which I can get started with in the near future. The property at Connected Lakes needs a lot of work and has a lot of potential to be turned into something better than it already is. I am excited to get started!