Stinky Stuff!

Because we're working with manure!! It smells pretty nasty, and unfortunately, because it is raining and because we are shoveling it and planting things in it, it gets all over us! Yuck!!

Actually, we just finished our manure project, and that is definitely a good thing. It was pretty smelly, haha. We had to transplant grasses which were at the bottom of a hill and spread them throughout the entire side of the hill by splitting them in half, digging up the back half, carrying them to a hole (which we had previous dug in the ground), putting them in the hole, and then covering up the plant roots with manure and dirt. We did this for about 450 plants. And add in the fact that it was rainy, cold, and slippery (because of the copious amounts of mud that develop when it rains), it was quite an adventure! Haha.

The work at the Garden is pretty tiring (and dirty, and wet, and cold!), and now that we are embarking on our third week of work here, we are definitely starting to feel a little bit on edge. As always happens with teams, some disagreements and frustrations will arise, and that time is now for us. Some people feel like they are working harder than others. Some people feel that others are not being considerate. Some people are doing their chores while others are not. Etc, etc, etc. And as the Team Leader, it is my lovely job to get that all sorted out.

I really love being the Team Leader, though, and I am not really worried about the team. According to Tuckman's Model of Group Formation/Dynamics (not sure which it is, haha), every team goes through five stages:

Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning

Right now we're hitting the Storming phase, and to get over this hill we need to communicate, sort out conflicts, and the like. As the Team Leader, it is my responsibility to make sure the team is running smoothly, everyone is having a good experience, and that the work is getting done. It's really interesting, actually, because the people on my team are so different and have pretty different backgrounds.

The breakdown in age goes as follows:

18: 1
19: 0 (he just turned 20)
20: 2
21: 1
22: 2
23: 2
24: 2 (including me)

So as there is a huge amount of development, growth and maturity that happens between 18 to 24, people don't always see eye to eye. But the idea is that people communicate with each other so that misunderstandings don't happen. However, when THAT doesn't happen that's where I come in!

I've had lots of talks with people on my team and have helped people see the other side of whatever issue they are having with other people on the team, and I think it's been pretty useful, actually. It's been quite a learning experience for me, too.

I also have learned that while I don't get stressed out every easily, when I do get stressed out, it is NOT a good situation! Haha. When stressed, I definitely don't manage my nonverbal communication very well, I don't think clearly, and I don't work with other people nearly as well! That's an area I need to work on. Luckily, I very rarely get stressed (only when everyone else around me is really stressed about something that concerns me), so it's not an overwhelming challenge.

...

As for what we've actually been doing though! Last week, we worked in the Amazing Water Garden (which has a bunch of reflecting pools... it's quite pretty) removing unwanted brush on top of a stone wall and then tilling the soil so that it can be planted with new plants. We also spent a good portion of the week working on what the horticulturists at the Garden call "ATM Hill." It's the hill where we've been digging holes and transplanting grasses. Really, really tiring work! Other than that, we bent wire hangers into staples to use to hold burlap coffee bags in the ground (it will serve as a weed liner on a hill near the front of the Garden), worked the burn pile (making a big fire into which we threw unwanted brush), used hedge trimmers to cut spirea bushes around the Garden's Wetlands area, drove Gators to and from the burn pile... and lots of other cool stuff!

For now though the coffee shop where I am at is closing, so I think it's time to go! I'll finish this post and add pictures later! Or maybe I'll just write a new post. But for now, toodles!