Parks Conservancy - Visit Six

Scott Little

Parks Conservancy

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On our sixth visit, Henry and I volunteered in the Presidio of San Francisco where multiple invasive species had taken over an area near a construction site. Our job was to dig up and remove these invasive plants, including radishes, nettles, thistles, and other weeds. The reason these plants are so dangerous is because when the majority of them came from Europe in the 1700s, they were and still are not affected by the diseases and predators of the Americas. Thus, they are allowed free reign to grow and outcompete native plants by not giving them any room to grow. In order to restore the area to its natural state, we used pickaxes and our hands to dig up and pull out the weeds, and then planted native species in their place.

This painstaking process went on for hours as we worked our way down the site. But while the work was hard, it was incredibly gratifying to see the progress we had made. What had been large patches of prickly weeds were now neatly planted plots of native species. And also after six visits, I began to make bonds with some of the members that I had encountered multiple times. We talked at our break time about our love for nature, and even were lucky enough to get a lecture from one of the volunteer leaders. He taught us about asters such as sunflowers, which are actually hundreds of tiny flowers that come together to form one larger “flower.” We were then able to look at examples of asters in a nearby garden, and this learning experience to me really made me realize why the work I was doing was worthwhile. We were helping to preserve the natural beauty of our local world, one day at a time.

Parks Conservancy - Visit Three

Scott Little

Parks Conservancy

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I have always been fascinated by nature, and so for my PACT project I immediately thought of going outdoors and helping the environment. This lead me to finding the organization Parks Conservancy. The primary goal of this organization is to restore local areas to their natural state by removing invasive species and planting local species, thus preserving the national parks for generations to come. Henry Fortenbaugh and I contributed to this on our third visit by volunteering at Milagra Ridge in San Mateo County. Here, we began by removing pine tree saplings, as the the pine is not native to Milagra Ridge. This involved de-rooting the smallest ones, and using hand saws to cut the slightly larger ones. It was really important to get rid of the pines because as they grow, they release nettles that cover the surrounding ground and prevent other species from growing. So not only do they take up space and out compete other plants, they also prevent the growth of native species by other means.

Next, we started removing the mustard plants, who are another invasive species that prevent native species from growing by taking up available space. We removed these using small pickaxes to loosen the roots, and then pulling the plants out of the ground. At the end of the volunteering event, I was able to learn more about the plants that are native to the area that I live in, and also was educated on how dangerous invasive species can be to our fragile ecosystem. Helping to restore the area I live in to its natural state gave me a sense of pride because I was helping make the environment a better place for not just me, but for many others to enjoy.

Sixth Visit to Glide Memorial

Mia Vandermeer

24 August 2016

Glide Memorial in San Francisco

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As I was driving up to Glide today, I was listening to a talk on NPR about people’s success in life and how it is achieved. The speaker was explaining that the reason why some succeed in life and others do not is purely attributed to luck; people’s hard work can only get them so far, and most often than not, those that succeeded were those who were lucky, those that were in the right place at the right time, if you will. This talk became increasingly relevant on my sixth visit.

Today I was assigned to scoop grits onto the food trays. This assignment made me extremely nervous as it was my first time working in the actual kitchen with the food. Teahrly, a volunteer whose job was to replace the empty grit vats with full ones, explained that I had to be scooping one tray every two seconds in order to keep up with the flow of the crowds; we were expecting to serve more than 775 breakfasts this morning. I pre-scooped about ten trays five minutes before the doors opened. After I loaded the grits, I slid the trays to Isaac and Bob, two volunteers who then put eggs and toast on the trays. Prior to the doors opening, I attempted to calm my nerves by talking with Isaac and Bob. I soon discovered that they were roommates in a halfway house; Isaac had just gotten out of prison and Bob has been recovering from a drug addiction. The conversation was cut short when the doors opened. As I began scooping rapidly in order to maintain the flow of the food lines, I realized the validity of the talk I had heard earlier that morning. The people that I was volunteering with were not much different than those we were aiding. Isaac and Bob admitted to me that they had caught a lucky break which placed them on the opposite side of the meal counter than the homeless. Even my position in the kitchen was attributed to luck. It wasn’t my hard work that allowed me to be a grits-scooper in Glide, but rather the luck that placed me in my particular family that gave me the opportunities I have received. Ultimately, I realized that the people on the other side of the glass pane in the kitchen were no different than me. Not only did this make me grateful for the blessings I have received but it inspired me to continue volunteering at Glide because I am not only able to do so, but I am lucky enough to be able to do so.

Third Visit to Glide Memorial

Mia Vandermeer

26 July 2016

Glide Memorial in San Francisco

James ?

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Today, I volunteered in the kitchen at Glide Memorial in San Francisco. Glide Memorial is an organization that provides an abundance of aid to the less fortunate of San Francisco. Not only does it offer child day-care, group therapy sessions and community events, but it also provides three free meals to the homeless 364 days a year. I have chosen to work in the kitchen at Glide because to me the idea of going through a day without a full stomach is unimaginable.

As I walked into the kitchen today at 6:45am, I passed the long line of people waiting for the kitchen doors to open. For breakfast, the doors first open at 7:30 to the senior citizens. James, the operations manager, jokes that the elderly are just the warmup of the morning and that the real marathon starts at 8:00 when the doors open to the public. All my experiences so far have concluded that he is right.

My job today, just like my last two visits, was to bust the tables of the “cafeteria”, a room about the size of two Menlo classrooms put together. I make sure each table is spick and span for the next people who come to sit at it by wiping down the tables and making sure the juice and milk pitchers are constantly ¾ full. When I was first assigned this job, I was instantly filled with gratitude. The fact that Glide was assigning volunteers to ensure that the quality of the breakfast experience was high proved that the organization not only wants to help people get their daily nutrients and vitamins, but also be treated well and respected as individuals.

Jun Ru - Second PACT Reflection

Jun Ru Anderson

August 15th, 2016

Jun Ru/Ishani Organization

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Today, we went to Project Read to show Joahan, a student in the Redwood City Public School System, the game I made, that teaches repeated addition. What he had to do was tie ropes of different lengths together and then find the length of the piece of rope he ended up with. He said it was cool, though I suspect he found it somewhat juvenile, because he also suggested we show it to his younger brother, who is in third grade. I expected this - the game is having him do something he already knew how to do.

But despite that, I think he learned something from it. He realized what it means to add, and got a feel for why the various properties work. For example, by tying the same segments of rope in different orders, he got a feel for the commutative property. By tying the same ropes differently (tying ropes one and four, then two and three, then tying those two together), he saw that however you group numbers when you add, you get the same result. This is the associative property. He still can’t name either property, but he can use them, and I am going to declare that a victory for everyone involved.

I had been really worried that this game wasn’t going to matter, that it was just going to teach kids how to do something they already knew how to do. I was worried that it was a waste of time. However, by seeing how this game enhanced Joahan’s understanding of basic properties of addition, I realized that it was helping. That even though I might have thought it was dumb, and he might have thought it was dumb, it was boosting his understanding of math in a way that would help him as he moved on to harder stuff. I’m still getting that urge to introduce new content and to keep pushing forwards, but this experience has shown me that sometimes it can be worthwhile to go back instead. And not just for a child like Joahan, who is, I’d guess, at least three grades behind in math, but also for anyone who doesn’t understand something. I sincerely hope that, when I am confused in a class in this coming year, that I remember this experience and, rather than keep going blindly, I’ll stop, go back, and fix the problem at its roots.

Jun Ru - First PACT Reflection

Jun Ru Anderson

March 3rd, 2016

Jun Ru/Ishani Organization

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By this point, Ishani and I have been working on our games for three weeks, and have met to discuss our progress each week. I, like Ishani, have been lucky enough to recieve an exceptional education, and I naturally wished to pass this on to the kids we were going to share our game with. However, by week three, I have realized that this is an unreasonable goal.

In addition to working on my game, I continued to tutor Joahan, a child I’ve tutored since ninth grade, each week. Officially, I am tutoring him only in English, but sometimes, when time permits, we take a look at his math homework as well. So, when his homework aligned reasonably well with the content of the game I was working on, I’d ask him a few questions about the topic, like, “Why do we need common denominators?” or “Why does the commutative property work?” His answer was always along the lines of, “Because my teacher told me so.”

And this made me realize that his math foundations were about as solid as melted butter.

    Which in turn forced me to scale back the goal of the game I was making. By a lot. The game I was working on relied on an understanding of the basic operations, something I take for granted. I just assumed that kids who struggle with fractions are only missing the last piece, the concept of a number that’s not a whole number. But I learned that even the concept of addition is not something every child is taught properly. So while Ishani continued her work on a game that taught how to multiply and divide fractions, I started making a game that taught kids how to add.

    And, I freely admit, this frustrated the hell out of me. I mean, if a kid is three, four grades behind, I’m inclined to want to introduce new content, to try to catch them up. I didn’t want to turn around and go even farther back. By making this game that showed kids how to do things they already knew how to do, at least mechanically, I didn’t feel like I was helping anybody. However, I know that this game will strengthen critical foundations, which will, in turn, allow kids to move on to more advanced math and hopefully catch up to their grade level.

Last Three Visits to Lifemoves Homeless Shelter

As we continued to work with Lifemoves Homeless Shelter the kids became more attached to us and got excited every time we would show up. During the first three visits we felt that the kids were shy and were getting to know us but when we showed up the last three visits the kids ran up to us and asked if we could play the games we played the last time. What we found the most interesting was how happy these kids were when we would show up because they knew that they could have fun and play around with older kids. Many people would expect these kids to be depressed and not want to play at all, however, it is quite the opposite. These kids love having fun and are actually very smart. One girl Mia was always reading and would never put down her book. She had way more enthusiasm about reading than most of us at Menlo have and that was really great to see from our perspective. 

Ben and I certainly learned a lot about ourselves through this project. We not expecting to be so attached to these kids when we first started, yet every time we would leave the parking lot one of us would turn to the other and say “I really hope these kids can escape the cycle of homelessness,” We felt a deep connection to these kids. We certainly want these kids to be successful in school and whatever they are interested in and we really hope that we made a true impact on these kids lives because these kids made a huge impact in our lives. While we were playing basketball we would ask the kids about school and push the fact that school is unbelievably important and we can only hope the kids listened. But if we made a difference in one or two of these kids lives then I would be extremely happy.