Life at the Farmhouse

View of Farmhouse from Trail

March 18, 2011, that’s when we departed Vinton, Iowa and headed to Cincinnati, Ohio for our first project. We drove 10 long hours to get to Cincinnati. When we arrived at Gorman Heritage Farm in Evendale we were introduced to everyone. Staff welcomed us to their farm and their farmhouse, where we would be living for the next 6 weeks. They showed us around the house then afterwards we had dinner with them. They are some nice people. German Heritage Farm staff gave us an orientation of what we are going to be working on. During the orientation Maple 4 introduced ourselves to the staff and told them where we are from. After the orientation, they showed us around the farm to see the different animals.

One of the many roosters on the farm.

Our first week here at the farmhouse, everybody seemed to get along even though we had little personal space. Everybody is taking good care of the farmhouse. It is a real nice place. The house is 175 years old. It has four bedrooms and one bathroom for the 10 people on our team. They have rain barrels outside to catch the rain as well. The types of animals they have are horses, chickens, roosters, ducks, and cows. Soon they will be getting more animals like pigs and stuff like that.

Cow named 'Salt'

We are going on two weeks staying at the farmhouse and it is going great!

~Andrew

Mud, Sweat and Accomplishment

Hi, my name is Diana and if you've seen the previous posts you'll know that I'm a member or AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps' Team Maple 4. First things first, if you haven't been in a fifteen passenger van with nine other people and all the things that they and you need for the next six weeks, you really DON'T know what it’s like, and if your 18-24 I'd suggest joining to find out.

Okay, on to the real news: I got covered in mud. I'm writing this less than an hour after finishing work for the day, and I got covered in mud. I wasn't even to the worksite this morning before it happened either. We had tools that we needed to get to the part of the trail that we were going to work on, and were using a golf cart to get them up the trail when it happened. The golf cart got stuck. We being the awesome people we are helped push it out, then it happened again and we pushed it out again, and that's when it happened. The wheels of the golf cart were spinning so fast that mud splattered up and I was covered.

Like I said earlier, I'm writing this less then one hour after finishing our first day of work, and I feel tired and exhilarated at the same time, as odd as that may sound. Tired because we were building trails, which is a very physical activity full of pulling stumps, cutting down invasive species (die honeysuckle, die), benching (making trails level enough to actually walk on) and in general making trails more accessible to the general public. I feel exhilarated in part because I helped make a difference for Gorman Heritage Farm in its mission to help educate people about nature, and also because the work I did had very visible results. It's rather amazing how seeing the results of the hard work you've done makes you feel.


That trail I worked on? It feels like it's my trail, like every person who will walk it will be affected by me on a personal level, in a positive way, and that makes me feel amazing.

~Diana

Maple 4 Dinosaurs!

Hello World from Maple 4!

From back left: Gaby, Darcy, Sam, Greg, Phil; From front left: Drew, Brad, Christina, Hillary, Diana

We all arrived in Vinton, Iowa, headquarters for the North Central Region of AmeriCorps NCCC, on February 15 and were placed in temporary teams. For the first few days it was all logistical. We were sized for uniforms, boots, and other safety equipment that would be needed for future projects. Our training over the next few days were slow starts as many of us came here knowing no one and being surrounded by strangers from several different states and cities. On February 21, every NCCC member followed a clue based scavenger hunt to find our permanent teams.

That's when we met our team leader Darcy and our lives changed forever. Maple 4 is a team composed of a largely diverse group of individuals from different backgrounds (you read about us in the last post!). It was challenging when joining with a whole new group of people. This team cooks, cleans, and attends all trainings together. We are with each other for ten hours straight some days. As a result of this, we have been a team for only 3 weeks, yet we have bonded deeply.

Darcy has been very enthusiastic from the beginning. She has consistently encouraged us to be excited about everything, even trainings. Her pep has boosted team morale and has everyone looking forward to being together for nine months. As a team, we've created many chants and cheers, and we even have a mascot and a logo.

Maurice and his Dinosaur children

Now that you know a little about us, here is what we will be doing for the next six weeks:

This Thursday, March 17 – St. Patrick's Day we will be heading to Evendale, Ohio to begin our first project. Evendale is a suburb of Cincinnati. We are all excited to be near such a large city where we can experience many different entertainment options and independent service opportunities. We will be working at Gorman Heritage Farm which is a 120-acre working and educational farm. We will be building and fixing trails that surround the property. There are all sorts of animals and fun activities to do there (http://www.gormanfarm.org/).

We are excited to have this blog for the next 9 months!! If you love reading about us, please subscribe or host our blog widget on your website.

We hope you will keep reading and if you have any questions about what we are doing feel free to comment.

Maple 4 Team Introduction

Welcome to Maple 4’s Team Blog!

We are an AmeriCorps NCCC team based out of the North Region Campus in Vinton, Iowa. We are 10 members from all over the United States who are serving together for the next 10 months. We have provided brief introductions of each of us in this posting so you can get to know Maple 4 members. We hope you enjoy our adventures this year as we travel and serve throughout the North Central United States.

Team Leader
Name: Darcy
Hometown: New Egypt, NJ
Fun fact: I like to tap dance for fun and my favorite movie is 'Spaceballs.'
Why: I joined AmeriCorps NCCC because I saw it as a great way to give back to the country and develop leadership skills. I also look forward to the experience of traveling to different states within our region and meeting new people.

Name: Greg
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Fun fact: One of my favorite things to do is cut hair. I plan on going to school after AmeriCorps to become a barber.
Why: I joined AmeriCorps NCCC because I wanted to help people. I want to use the Eli Segal Educational Award that we receive upon completion of the program to pay for college. I love to travel.

Name: Diana
Hometown: Sunnyvale, CA
Fun fact: I have never broken a bone. Ever.
Why: I joined AmeriCorps NCCC after attending some college. I wanted to find a way to grow in character and leadership skills outside of a classroom

Name: Brad
Hometown: Hudsonville, MI
Fun fact: In my one semester of college, a friend of mine and I filmed several trick shots on a basketball court and posted the cut video on YouTube. The video has over 230,000 views. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utHYn0XU1-Y)
Why: I decided to join AmeriCorps NCCC for a chance to break free from my comfort zone. I also saw it as a great opportunity to travel and embark on new adventures.

Name: Hillary
Hometown: Sisters, OR
Fun fact: I climbed Middle Sisters Mountain (10, 047 ft, the fifth highest peak in Oregon). I can make a 4 leaf clover with my tongue.
Why: I decided to join AmeriCorps NCCC after working with Central Oregon Youth Conservation Corps and heard wonderful things about NCCC. It sounded liked a good time to meet people, continue volunteering and traveling.

Name: Andrew
Hometown: Miami, FL
Fun fact: I can bench press 330 pounds. I also want to go to the University of Miami in order to join the NFL.
Why: I joined AmeriCorps NCCC to help out the community and have more interaction with people form different races and religions. I see it as a good chance to help out those in low income situations.

Name: Gaby
Hometown: Miami, FL
Fun fact: I spent two months in Zambia, Africa and bungee jumped 350 feet of Victoria Falls.
Why: I joined AmeriCorps NCCC right after graduating with a degree in Anthropology and not being sure what to next. My sister told me about AmeriCorps NCCC from her experience in 2009.

Name: Sam
Hometown: Sheboygan, WI
Fun fact: I changed my last name when I arrived to the states from Liberia. I also like playing soccer and traveling.
Why: I decided to join AmeriCorps NCCC to reach out to people. I also saw it as a good chance to learn new skills like construction or trail building.

Name: Christina
Hometown: Merrimack, NH
Fun fact: When I was in high school, I interned for 'Obama for America.' I got to meet Barack & Michelle Obama and shook Oprah Winfrey's hand. I also love West Virginia University.
Why: I decided to join AmeriCorps NCCC because I wasn’t sure what to study in college and decided to take a year off to help others.

Name: Phil
Hometown: St Louis, MO
Fun fact: I dented my ribcage just two weeks before coming to AmeriCorps sledding on ice.
Why: I joined AmeriCorps NCCC in order to travel the country and perform my civic duty.

North Central Region's Maple 4 Team Blog Teaser Trailer