Et cetera : AmeriCorps NCCC Team Oak 1 Refurbished Home for Future VISTA Members

[caption id="attachment_19911" align="alignleft" width="324"] Donta has fun tearing apart the wood floor in the Legacy Building.[/caption]

By: Margaret Godwin

[caption id="attachment_19912" align="alignright" width="432"] Chris and Maximilian plant flowers for the portable gardens.[/caption]

Oak 1 just finished serving with Ecolibrium3 in Duluth, MN where they helped refurbish a condemned home in the Lincoln Park Neighborhood to house future AmeriCorps VISTA members and other community service volunteers. Oak 1 members served alongside VISTA members on this project called AmeriCorps Legacy Building. The service work on the Legacy Building included removal of debris, bio-hazards, salvaging household objects, and demolition in the basement.

Oak 1 also assistedEcolibrium3 on the project called Lincoln Park Stone Soup. The team made portable gardens to plant food and flowers for the Lincoln Park neighborhood. This project will provide food access to community members who do not have yard space to plant their own garden.

“I have gained so many skills that I did not expect to learn these past few weeks working with Ecolibrium3” says Lily of Little Rock, Arkansas. “I have learned certain flowers can contaminate others, which is good to know if I ever want to start my own garden.”

When not serving on their project, the team spent their weekends working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Superior, WI, for their independent service projects. They rearranged furniture in the store and painting ceiling tiles.