Hello SEE Teamers -
I hope you get a chance to read through the blog now that you are home. How about this weather here in Chicago, huh? Feels refreshing, doesn't it?
I am really grateful for all of you for the hard work you did in LA. It was a fun trip and it was great to see you guys enjoying the experience, bonding with one another, jumping into the assigned work, and confirming the fact that RB students are awesome! You really should feel good about yourselves. You made me and the RBHS community proud.
Thanks! And enjoy summer!
Ms. W
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
At the airport
Hello from the New Orleans airport!
We are headed home. See ya soon!
Thanks to all of the students for working so hard and the parents for letting them attend such an awesome trip. I hope they realize what an impact they made!
-Ms. W
We are headed home. See ya soon!
Thanks to all of the students for working so hard and the parents for letting them attend such an awesome trip. I hope they realize what an impact they made!
-Ms. W
Headed home -
Good morning!
It is hard to believe that it is already Friday, our last day! We just had breakfast and are now headed off on the swamp tour!
I forgot to mention what we did for work yesterday -
We pulled out the "tallow tree," an invasive species in SE LA. The kids walked through heavy woods with loppers and cut down the trees. During the process we encountered biting ants, huge mosquitoes, and scratchy, sharp brush. We emerged from the woods with bites, scratches, and cuts, but did a great job of cutting down the harmful tree. Ask your student to see their "battle wound."
And I must give a special shout-out to "Team Algebra" for all of their fantastic work. Thanks Ally, Brian, Brittany, Carmen, and Kiley!
It is hard to believe that it is already Friday, our last day! We just had breakfast and are now headed off on the swamp tour!
I forgot to mention what we did for work yesterday -
We pulled out the "tallow tree," an invasive species in SE LA. The kids walked through heavy woods with loppers and cut down the trees. During the process we encountered biting ants, huge mosquitoes, and scratchy, sharp brush. We emerged from the woods with bites, scratches, and cuts, but did a great job of cutting down the harmful tree. Ask your student to see their "battle wound."
And I must give a special shout-out to "Team Algebra" for all of their fantastic work. Thanks Ally, Brian, Brittany, Carmen, and Kiley!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thoughts from Tuesday and Wednesday
From Brittany, Liz, Ally, Justine:
...we met with Mel, the guy who works for the program we're helping with. He told us that LA is losing a football field worth of land every 38minutes but how dunes can help prevent erosion. e then cleaned up a beach and even though it was really hot we had a lot of fun. People were being dive-bombed by birds. Then we got to swim in the Gulf of Mexico. Overall, it was a good day.
Today we went to Fifi Island and planted grass that helps to protect the land from hurricanes. Later, we got a tour of the Plant Materials Center where we were staying and learned that the grass we planted was picked from a study of 90 grasses. We worked hard today but still enjoyed ourselves. Ally fell into the water because her foot was stuck in mud.
From Kiley, Kristyn, Madison, Carmen:
It's really hot so far...everyone is bonding in the dorms and we are getting closer and learning more about each other. We are really making a difference with the work we are doing and having a great experience with everything...today we saw a totally demolished house. It impacted all of us because we saw how powerful the hurricane was.
From Jessica, Andrea, Gaby, Natalee:
...the highlight of the trash pick-up day was finding all of the animal skeletons on the beach...I think everyone on this trip is getting a lot closer. It's going to be hard spending the rest of the summer away from everyone...On Wednesday is was cool to see how quickly and hard we all worked together on the planting job...
From Kylie, Lorelei, Christine:
...We saw an assortment of debris during the beach clean-up. We saw dead baby dolphins, pillows, chicken wings, t-shirts, toothbrushes, bottles, etc. We got to swim in the Gulf and it was really warm...we have fun dance parties in the evenings....we are looking forward to the finals days to come.
From Jonathan, Ethan, Brian:
For the past 2 days we have been working on the dunes and planting marsh plants...there were a lot of fish carcasses on the beach...we planted grasses that can withstand up to 18 inches of water and these help protect LA if there are other storms in the future...
...spending time with the group has been really great...working together we have accomplished so much. We saw alligators in the canal near the dorm...I have enjoyed every minute of the trip and I wouldn't change a thing.
From Samy and Norah:
...we've been staying in a government owned research center...they studied 90 plants over 10 years to determine the best type to withstand the conditions in southern LA...
...the beach seemed cleaner this year compared to last....we started a sand/mud fight in the Gulf...
...we saw alligators near the dorm while we were taking a walk...
...we saw the island where we planted last year and it was great to see the growth of the plants...we then saw dolphins jumping around...
...all around the past 2 days have been quite the experience!
...we met with Mel, the guy who works for the program we're helping with. He told us that LA is losing a football field worth of land every 38minutes but how dunes can help prevent erosion. e then cleaned up a beach and even though it was really hot we had a lot of fun. People were being dive-bombed by birds. Then we got to swim in the Gulf of Mexico. Overall, it was a good day.
Today we went to Fifi Island and planted grass that helps to protect the land from hurricanes. Later, we got a tour of the Plant Materials Center where we were staying and learned that the grass we planted was picked from a study of 90 grasses. We worked hard today but still enjoyed ourselves. Ally fell into the water because her foot was stuck in mud.
From Kiley, Kristyn, Madison, Carmen:
It's really hot so far...everyone is bonding in the dorms and we are getting closer and learning more about each other. We are really making a difference with the work we are doing and having a great experience with everything...today we saw a totally demolished house. It impacted all of us because we saw how powerful the hurricane was.
From Jessica, Andrea, Gaby, Natalee:
...the highlight of the trash pick-up day was finding all of the animal skeletons on the beach...I think everyone on this trip is getting a lot closer. It's going to be hard spending the rest of the summer away from everyone...On Wednesday is was cool to see how quickly and hard we all worked together on the planting job...
From Kylie, Lorelei, Christine:
...We saw an assortment of debris during the beach clean-up. We saw dead baby dolphins, pillows, chicken wings, t-shirts, toothbrushes, bottles, etc. We got to swim in the Gulf and it was really warm...we have fun dance parties in the evenings....we are looking forward to the finals days to come.
From Jonathan, Ethan, Brian:
For the past 2 days we have been working on the dunes and planting marsh plants...there were a lot of fish carcasses on the beach...we planted grasses that can withstand up to 18 inches of water and these help protect LA if there are other storms in the future...
...spending time with the group has been really great...working together we have accomplished so much. We saw alligators in the canal near the dorm...I have enjoyed every minute of the trip and I wouldn't change a thing.
From Samy and Norah:
...we've been staying in a government owned research center...they studied 90 plants over 10 years to determine the best type to withstand the conditions in southern LA...
...the beach seemed cleaner this year compared to last....we started a sand/mud fight in the Gulf...
...we saw alligators near the dorm while we were taking a walk...
...we saw the island where we planted last year and it was great to see the growth of the plants...we then saw dolphins jumping around...
...all around the past 2 days have been quite the experience!
From Samy, Alex, Ben, Norah
June 8, 2009
For the past two years we have had the pleasure of traveling to New Orleans to help out with Hurricane Katrina relief. In our travels we have had the chance to explore the city, learn about the area, and help out all while having fun. We never knew that volunteering could create such great memories. Whether we were on the bus, planting, hanging out in the hotel, on the jazz boat dinner cruise, or just soaking in the culture, we enjoyed every minute spent on the trip.
Today we continued the tradition of taking a bus tour. Sadly, we have noticed that not much has changed and people still need our help. We speak for all past volunteers when we say that this truly is a life-changing experience. It has made us all realize how lucky we really are and that it is our duty to do everything in our power to aid the people and environment effected by the hurricane.
The work that we have completed and will perform this year will help to reduce future impact from storms and natural disasters. The grasses that we will plant act as the first defense against storm surge.
We have learned just how important New Orleans really is. It would be a disaster to lose an amazing city like New Orleans.
-Samy Brown, Alex Brown, Ben Cox, Norah Weber
For the past two years we have had the pleasure of traveling to New Orleans to help out with Hurricane Katrina relief. In our travels we have had the chance to explore the city, learn about the area, and help out all while having fun. We never knew that volunteering could create such great memories. Whether we were on the bus, planting, hanging out in the hotel, on the jazz boat dinner cruise, or just soaking in the culture, we enjoyed every minute spent on the trip.
Today we continued the tradition of taking a bus tour. Sadly, we have noticed that not much has changed and people still need our help. We speak for all past volunteers when we say that this truly is a life-changing experience. It has made us all realize how lucky we really are and that it is our duty to do everything in our power to aid the people and environment effected by the hurricane.
The work that we have completed and will perform this year will help to reduce future impact from storms and natural disasters. The grasses that we will plant act as the first defense against storm surge.
We have learned just how important New Orleans really is. It would be a disaster to lose an amazing city like New Orleans.
-Samy Brown, Alex Brown, Ben Cox, Norah Weber
More Pics
Day 2: Taking a boat out to Fifi Island to do our planting.
Splashing around in the Gulf.
Group photo near a washed up buoy.
Day 1: Beach clean-up along the Gulf of Mexico.
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