EPATT

Roshan Chandna

June-August 2016

EPATT

For my PACT project, I volunteered at EPATT (East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring). EPATT is a non-profit youth development organization for K - 12th grade students. EPATT's programs help disadvantaged students achieve academic and athletic excellence. Their belief, which I agree with, is that kids learn important life lessons from sports which they need to succeed in academics. I agree with their belief because I feel that sports have taught me valuable life lessons such as perseverance and teamwork that I would not have gotten otherwise.

I chose to do EPATT for my PACT project because I enjoy tennis, and my coach Jeff Arons helped start EPATT many years ago. Since I enjoy playing tennis, using my knowledge of the game to give back to the community was a perfect fit.

At EPATT, I served as a volunteer tennis coach. I coached small groups (usually 3-6 kids) of elementary and middle school students from disadvantaged communities, to help instill a sense of confidence, and sportsmanship and competitiveness. We usually took the kids through a warm-up where they did laps around the court and stretched. This warm-up sometimes involved running as well. We then ran the kids through drills and games, which we sometimes played with the kids.

It was really moving to get to work with these kids. I thought I would be able to connect with them easily being close in age to them, but I realized that their backgrounds are extremely different from mine. Some have siblings in gangs or have parents who do drugs, which is nothing like what I went through growing up in a rich Silicon Valley neighborhood.

Another thing that I was happy to see was that a few of the volunteer coaches had gone through the EPATT program themselves and have become quite successful thanks to it. It was great to see that people were so impacted by the program that they felt it was well worth their time to give back and help another generation of EPATT students.

I’m glad I got the opportunity to teach these kids but also learn from them over the summer.

Protecting Hickman's Potentilla at Rancho Corral de Tierra

David Schmaier

7/2/17

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

Steve Wilson

stevewilson@parksconservancy.org

The first time I worked with the Parks Conservancy, I volunteered at Rancho Corral de Tierra in Montara. Our main task was to remove invasive species in the area to protect an endangered species called Hickman’s potentilla. Hickman’s potentilla is a yellow flower that now only exists in two locations in the entire world. There are about 8 individuals in a garden in Monterey, and the rest all are located in the Rancho Corral de Tierra preserve. Thus, according to Steve, Rancho Corral de Tierra contains 99.9% of the world’s population of Hickman’s potentilla.

Because the section of Rancho Corral de Tierra that we worked on is located right next to a farm, many of the cover crops used on the farmland were carried over by the wind into the Rancho Corral de Tierra preserve. This is a major issue because most of these cover crop species are invasive. Harding grass, which was by far the most common species we removed, was brought over from Europe for cattle to graze. Because it is not native to the California chaparral ecosystem, Harding grass and other invasive species outcompeted Hickman’s potentilla almost to the point of extinction. In order to protect this threatened species, we spent many hours removing Harding grass and Mustard weed from the habitat using our hands and a pickaxe to uproot the plants from the soil.

Before, I began working with the Park’s Conservancy I thought that they did more work involving the protection of animal species instead of plant species. Most of the work is essentially just weeding which may seem monotonous, but I found that it is actually kind of a satisfying feeling to see the cleared landscape that was once overrun by weeds at the end of the day’s work. One may ask, why is it worth protecting an obscure flower like Hickman’s potentilla? While the world would not be that affected that much if we lost Hickman’s potentilla, the work that we did stands for the greater principle of promoting biodiversity. Biodiversity is essential to maintaining sustainable ecosystems since the loss of one species affects multiple other species.

Memorial Design in Northern India

Dani Wang
June 24-July 1st, 2016

Pan-Himalayan Grassroots

Mr. Nelson

One of the central causes for both poverty within Uttarakhand, and the landslide itself could be traced back to deforestation. Armed with this knowledge, we decided to also center our memorial around nature and incorporate native plants (instead of the invasive pines) in lieu of “easy growth” plants. Our motivation for doing this was twofold. We deliberately designed the memorial to be not only a gathering place for the relatives and friends of the victims, but to be a place where the local people could also learn about, and even grow to appreciate the foliage native to the region. In filling the terraces with native fruit trees and other medium/low lying plants, we also hoped that reforestation and a reintroduction of native plants and trees would encourage local communities to facilitate and actively be involved in native reforestation.

Before actually traveling to the region, we generally understood that the local communities may be more conservative and averse to change, but the scope of our understanding was woefully subpar. There were successful reforestation projects within the region, but there were still copious amounts of unused farmland that could be reforested, if only the owners of said land weren’t so difficult to persuade. Although we were working with a small plot of land, I think that I can speak for all the team members when I say that we hoped that the emotional significance of this memorial could also serve as a basis for a proliferation of reforestation efforts within the region. We hoped that by both demonstrating the aesthetic and environmental value of native reforestation (through the memorial itself as well as through plaque describing the plants and the purpose large trees play in retaining a healthy environment), that nearby communities would become more open to such efforts, and perhaps even begin to proactively seek such opportunities.

Memorial Design in Northern India

Dani Wang
June 17-24, 2016

Pan-Himalayan Grassroots

Mr. Nelson

Prior to applying for the Menlo Abroad program in India, I had many concerns over what, and how I would be able to help, if at all. Aside from all the Menlo volunteering events, I had no prior experience in pursuing a volunteer-run project, much less one that would occur over the course of three weeks. A few days before the deadline however, I learned that there was a huge landslide in the region that Menlo was going to, and that a potential project that members of the abroad trip could pursue was to design a memorial for the victims of the landslide. Enthused by design and architecture (especially since I was taking the architecture class that year), I was excited to finally see a project where I could simultaneously put my theoretical knowledge to use, and bring tangible value to a community. Without taking many other factors into consideration, I submitted my application with the hopes of being able to bring my skills in design and knowledge of architecture into a project that would serve as a memorial to those lost in the landslide.

At Ranikhet, we brainstormed a few ideas prior to visiting the memorial site, but once we did, we realized that we would have to entirely rethink our design. Seeing the site lead us to understand that we would have to create a design around the actual environment of the region, rather than transposing our own ideal memorial onto the plot

This lesson began to become a central theme to our design. As we grew to realize the importance of talking to the local people who knew victims of the landslide in order to understand their experiences, and to become mindful of the symbols and architecture that was central to Hindu culture, our own preconceptions of what would be the aesthetic and symbolic features of the memorial had to dissipate. Instead of projecting our own notions of what constitutes a proper memorial, we realized that we had adequately understand the native art forms and symbolisms that resonated with the local people, in order to design a memorial that would truly be able to bring solace to the community. It was for this reason that we began to incorporate bells, arches, miniature shrines (to various gods) as well as local art styles (which often consisted of white geometric patterns on a red backdrop) to both promote and preserve that native art and culture.

Yet our design still lacked a center, or unifying piece. In accordance with interviews conducted with our host families and other locals, we were also able to glean two vital components that would further guide our design. The first, was that despite the mountainous region, many people do travel through the area, especially on the road which, through a side entrance, led to the plot of land set aside for the memorial. The second, was that, in addition to the vast majority being Hindu, many Christian and Buddhists were also victims of the landslide. Both these pieces of information led us to conclude that although we should do our best to honor the native culture and art of the region, that the unifying center of the memorial should be void of religious contexts in order to adequately honor the victims; we wanted to create a memorial that unified these religions, instead of estranging some in favor of others. And so we began to debate various different designs for the central section of the memorial.

Riekes Center, Working at Huddart Park

Gary Marston
June 23-25th
Riekes Center

The second string of work I did with the Riekes center was part of the same camp which I helped with the week before, only this time we were working at Huddart Park. It was a totally different group of kids this time, which made me quite excited, but also a little nervous. I knew that all the kids in the past group loved the outdoors, but I was unsure about this one, as I had never seen any of them before.

Once again, activities in the park varied from each day to the next. The first day was dedicated to fire making again, but this time it was all about how to safely make fire in the wild without burning the forest down. Once again, I felt myself become like one of the kids, learning right alongside them, as I knew the information was important. What I was pleased to see was the way all the kids eyes lit up when the fire went up. Just like the previous group, some of these kid’s lives were not very pleasant, and it seemed that camping and going out into nature would be a healthy escape. For me, it has always been an amazing escape, going into the mountains and enjoying all that nature has to offer. I wanted to see the same thing develope in those kids.

The next days were other camping or environmental stuff, such as how to pitch a camp, which plants in the wild were safe, which ones were invasive, how to create fresh water, and a few other things. No matter the activity, everyone was engaged, the counselors, kids, and I, all learning about what mighty mother nature had offered us.

Riekes Center, in the Backyard

Gary Marston

June 19th - 21st

Riekes Center

For the first three visits I had to the Riekes Center, I was aiding in a camp that was being conducted for the kids in the area around the center. Some of the kids were not as fortunate in terms of their socio-economic status, but when it comes to Riekes all of that is pushed to the side. The part of the camp that I was aiding in was the nature section, which all took part in the backyard of the center.

The activities varied from day to day, with the first day being firemaking through various methods that were environmentally friendly. I could see their eyes light up with each new attempt, each new opportunity to try again. I found myself right alongside them, as I didn’t know all the methods for fire either. I became one of them, working with them to try and figure out the secrets. Another day was a scavenger hunt for plants and seeds, helping to identify invasive species and native plants, which led to digging up the invasive species. Once again, I was right there, participating, soaking in all that the activities had to offer, watching as the kids became more and more elated through working in nature.

It brought me great joy to do so, as I knew I was performing two types of services. I was helping the environment by educating this new generation to help protect it, and I felt I was helping many of the kids. Some of them do not have ideal day to day lives, so this learning provides an escape for them, while that escape also benefits the environment.

Peninsula Bridge Last Week

Miller Geschke
June 2016
Peninsula Bridge
Nicole Klee
17treesinspace@gmail.com

            Much like the first three weeks, I was very impressed with the energy and joy brought to Menlo every day by the students.  As I got to know some of the students better and hear their stories, I found that most of them found the best of difficult situations.  Their parents might not be home often, or they might even live with other families in the same home, but they always found ways to get their own space to get their work done.

            I was less impressed with some of the programs that Bridge brought to these smart kids.  Entire hours were spent on small games like giving someone instructions like they are a computer to get them from point A to point B, or learning binary.  While I do think that understanding computers and having an introduction to computer programming is extremely important for these kids, I think it could have been handled in a much better way.  Many, if not most, of the high-schooler assistants at the program have taken at least an introductory course in computer programming, and could potentially help teach the kids some small basics of programming.  Similarly, many of the part-time assistants like myself found ourselves sitting in the faculty for extended periods of time with little or nothing to do.  I think that the kids would really benefit by having these part-time TA’s in classrooms, giving additional help where it is needed, much like I did as a roaming TA.

            I was very happy with the work I did this summer, and I feel that by getting to know these kids, and finding little ways and tricks to keep them interested in something they might find boring, but I find awesome, like Math, I really made a difference, however small it may actually be, in their lives.