March 15, 2012

AmeriCorps Week - 4

The 'I Am Water Pollution' campaign at the 2011 Paddle for Clean Water.  Photo by Jason Scott.


It is AmeriCorps week!  I figure that the best way to show my support is to shed a little light on my very own AmeriCorps journey by posting photos throughout the week that mean a lot to me.

I live in a house surrounded by tiny evergreen trees.  Turkeys visit me by the dozens.  Once a pig ate my Halloween pumpkin on the front porch.  Every heron that lands in the oversized puddle in the backyard gets a name. Sometimes I have to stop at the end of my driveway because my ten year old neighbor is out walking her miniature white pony.
I work in a big town hall with a museum.  I often wear big rubber waders and hang out with the fishies in Turkey Creek.  I write and make music for raps about benthic macroinvertebrates.  At a moments notice I can become a Jurassic ambassador for recycling, an evil water pollution creeper, or a unicorn earth warrior.
That said, life and work here in the Town of Farragut has been a good fit for me post-nccc.  If anything my time with the Stormwater Matters program has been a movie trailer to a dream job that may or may not exist.  While the work I do in inlet mapping and illicit discharge screening is certainly applicable to many job paths - I don't know if I'll ever be able to mix whimsy and environmental work the same way I do here. Rarely does whimsy and fun feel so productive - I've assessed and tidied up miles of creek, recycled almost an entire ton of refuse, and participated in a number of environmentally focused outreach events just to name a few accomplishments. 
Stay tuned because tomorrow I'll talk a little bit more about my AmeriCorps State/National adventure here in Farragut.    

E-Recyclosaurus eats non-recyclers.

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