Slow and steady

Spring has arrived on Cape (finally!) and I have less and less free time.... but here we go. Interesting projects of late!

Yesterday a few Bourne members went to the outer cape to help out the Wellfleet house at the Highlands Center in Truro. It's an old airforce base acquired by the National Seashore about 10 years ago. Eventually, the goal is for this to become housing for AmeriCorps, and it's also being used as a science and art center for the community. We did a general cleanup, collecting trash and planting native species to spruce it up a bit.


Last weekend was the second of our three big volunteer events for the year - Canal Cleanup! The whole Corps gathered just across the bridge to lead 300 volunteers in picking up trash along the Canal. There were educational booths, music, food, and kids activities and the whole thing went amazingly smoothly. We collected about 700 pounds of trash, more than half of which were recycled.

A few weeks ago we went out to the Falmouth Service Center, a local food bank with a really nice community garden that supports the Center's clients. Back in the fall, we helped close up their garden beds for winter, and this month we helped wake them back up - weeding, mulching, tilling, and generally cleaning up. It was great to be back now that it's spring! And we found a family of baby bunnies (saved from a close shave with a rototiller)


We also had our last projects with the National Seashore Fire Crew - I spent a day in Eastham clearing a historic stone wall of all sorts of delightful prickly things.

This past monday we went to South Cape Beach in Mashpee, where we painted gates protecting trails and parking areas for the State Conservation agency. The Friday before that, we were with our most frequent shellfishing partner in Mashpee, doing oyster propagation. It's a lot more fun with the weather this nice....

Last weekend one of my housemates, my friend Rachel from Bard, and I went to the zoo in Providence! It was the first hot day of the year (almost 90 qualifies as hot... I've been out of the south too long) and it was a beautiful day to be there, even if the animals were all a little sleepy.

Not much else new. I've finally gotten going on videotaping and am working on multiple projects for the program and myself. I acquired a bocce ball set and have been playing with my housemates almost constantly! We've been able to have a few good beach days, though I know it's only a taste of the next few months.