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发表于 2006-11-8 22:53:02
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Summary report( Sep.)
This month continue EarthCorps’ regular activities and education days. Now, I found that it is already half of time that three months was gone. Just three months left. How time flies! But this month is normal. I try to find out some new things to share with you. Please follow me:
Work:
Except work, this month have many education days that pretty good. I found that I can learn many special knowledge during the education days. For example, measurement. The people from EarthCorps, project manager teach us how to use campus, how to set the point, how to use the tape and map paper to draw the map. Then we go in the field to practice. In the next month, we must use the map that we draw to decide what kind of trees we need plant and how to plant these trees. During this two week, we learn the ecological monitoring, which include the stream monitoring and vegetation monitoring. EarthCorps invite the professor from another organization and teach us most or the monitoring methods and give us practical practice.
plant test. I found that most challenge thing in here is plant test. Because from now on, whatever invasive plant control or planting plan, we must know which plant is invasive and which plant need wetland or dry area. So on Sep. 1, we have a plant test. During the day time we need work and just 45 minutes lunch time we can finish lunch quickly and go to identify the different kinds of plants. Just 4 days, we need remember 40 plants name. then we need identify the plants and the most important part is we must write down the Latin name of plants in plant test. During that 4 days, It almost make me crazy everyday. But very fortunately, I got the full mark.
The world night already finish. 15 countries show their culture. That is wonderful. I like different countries’ food very much.
EarthCorps have a group of visitor from Russia last week. And very luck that last Monday I day off but I chose to go to office to help office manager. So I met the Russian team and we have a good communication. The Russian team come to Seattle and visited EarthCorps which is paid by USA government. It is a cooperation project. The Russian team named GBT already have ten years cooperation with EarthCorps. The GBT have similar international project that also need international volunteer. GreenSOS can send volunteers to Russia to help them finish their work. The project in GBT just one month, I think our volunteer can go to Russia during the summer vacation. That is a attractive point to volunteers.
Last Monday, I worked in the EarthCorps office to help office manager and finance manager to do some work. What I know is most of work for them are regular. Everyday they just check the work schedule and see what kind of things need to finish today. The schedule make half of year before. The work crew( like me )need arrive office on time, but the office staff can come to office any time they want. They just need to count that every day they have 8 hours work and that is all.
This Wednesday EarthCorps have mid-season retreat. During retreat, we will have some team building and evaluation about everybody.
I did a presentation about China environmental issue and my organization introduction. The whole process is one hour. The feedback from other people is good and the evaluation about me presentation is almost perfect. People really enjoy in it. I use the flash and video to show China’s environmental issue.
EarthCorps make a new website about homestay and volunteer. And my picture and some of other people’s pictures send on the website. Songxi from Beijing earth village want to apply this project. he send me email and contact with me. I think if people want to apply this project in China, they must know GreenSOS and want to contact with me. It is a good beginning to announce GreenSOS.
Home:
This month we have many thing happen in the house, most of things is good.
organic food. Every weekend, my homestay drive me to the farmer market to buy organic food. Because farmer market just open every Saturday morning. So most of our neighborhood will choose that day to go to shopping. the food from the farmer market is organic. But some of them have certification and some of them do not have certification. Here people all trust farmers. Some of our neighborhood eat organic food every day. Because the farmer can driver the food to the house and sell in the house. It depend how rich you are.
my homestay drive me to the zoo and some fair. I found that the zoo in Seattle have more education materials and the animal also in the cafe. The difference is the cafe is bigger than Chendu’s zoo. It looks like Jintang wild life park. And the fair just in some period, it don’t like China that you can go to the fair anytime you want. All the rides in fair is so stimulating that the old people can not ride it any longer.
at the end of last month is my homestay’s birthday party. They are Jewish. They have some special ceremony during the birthday party. Many Jewish people get together to celebrate the birthday party. That was fun. On that day, I met many Chinese girl. Some are Jewish family adopted from China(very common). Some are live in Jewish families’ house.
my home isn’t normal American family. Because I need wash their plate almost everyday. Other volunteer’s house always the volunteer wash themselves dish. But in my house they ask me to wash their dish. The reason is the child need study after dinner and the mother work so hard during the daytime. Oh, I don’t like this point. Everyday almost use me half hour to wash the whole day dish.
we had a international dinner party last night. That is pretty good. 8 international volunteers came over and cooked their countries’ food. My homestay invited many her friends came here to taste the food from all over the world.
Some informations that GreenSOS can use:
I got global leader training materials from GBT training. I think it is a very useful information. It can use in our teamwork training. Now I just mention some important point:
leader doesn’t mean that he or she have power, it just mean he or she need build a platform to other people to perform. And make sure everybody do their work.
During the training that we can ask some questions that need everybody’s answer one by one, not just some active students answer questions. It can make everybody involve in it.
Every new creation is welcome.
Whatever the project or volunteer management can not move so fast. The quickly project or fast project just one person project. If the project need the team work, it can not move so fast or it need the people have similar experience and have stable project pattern. Otherwise volunteers will have pressure and they will leave project very easily.
After work, the appreciation is very important. It can maintain the volunteers. At the meantime, the manager can know everything how is going.
www.thesca.org is a organization that similar EarthCorps. This organization also have international position. And EarthCorps project manager work for SCA for ten years. When she introduce the SCA, I feel it more close to GreenSOS’s work compare with EarthCorps.
the meeting is very necessary. Every week have a project manager meeting. even sometimes very short, but it is useful and necessary. The pattern of the meeting is:
project
project update
tools
vehicles
other
schedule
action items
cry for help
check in
At the beginning of our project, we need make a form about the volunteer’s available time. And we can read the form to make our training or project schedule.
if we have some teamwork building or capacity building training, it is good that we go to their university. It is cheap than we pay everybody come to Sichuan university. And at the same time, they need pay. Not so much, just let them know they need involve in the training.
EarthCorps finance situation: 44% foundation; 19% cooperation; 37% individual. That is mean write the project to apply the money is important, but the relationship between the director and individual is also very important. Although the environment between China and USA is totally different, but we need train the students have a good relationship with stockholder. EC individual part always the director go to some party and met some rich people. And they donate the money, include international stipend and all the fee.
EarthCorps also do many work. Such as: help people design the garden, flowers maintenance, tutoring, guide nature hike, bike tuning…….many things, that is why EarthCorps have many reasons to apply the money.
the office stuff all have a list. Whatever people borrow something or donate something, they will register by themselves. Some office manager just need to check the information one time every week. That is all and it decrease many repeat work.
What will I do next month?
I almost finish the plan last month and next month we have a long vacation and I will go to travel. So I probably can not do much work. Something as follow:
* try to contact with other NGOs.
* meet project manager and international manager. |
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