Et cetera : AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps Team Organizes Community Day in Fairfax, Va.

Team Members Victoria Felt and Chris Pickarski load brush into a dumpster at Brentwood Park

By Benin Laliberte

On Saturday May 25, AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps team Pine 1 organized and participated in a community day with Volunteer Fairfax in Fairfax, Virginia. Volunteer Fairfax is an organization that coordinates volunteering in Fairfax county Virginia, matching donors and volunteers with local nonprofit organizations. The community day specifically focused on invasive species removal at Brentwood Park, a ten acre park complete with a playground, biking or hiking trails, a picnic area and a fishing pond.

Once there the volunteers, including the team and several community members, were split into two groups. One would focus on clearing an area of invasive species, mainly Russian Olive trees. They used tools including weed wrenches, mattocks, loppers and bow saws. They cleared around an acre of dense undergrowth and then hauled the removed brush back to the parking lot where there was a large dumpster for disposal. The other group cleaned up any piles of debris left from previous removal projects. They used tarps and ropes to gather it and carry it to the dumpster.

It was great to get out and help the community. The team’s Project Outreach Liaisons Hillary Futoma and Sergio Tundo set up the event. They advertised around FEMA Headquarters in Washington and reached out to a local military branch in order to get other community members involved in the project. “The event went really well. The invasive species removal helped beautify the park and make it a more family-friendly environment,” said Sergio Tundo.

At the end of the day the volunteers ate a delicious lunch including sandwiches and water donated by the local grocery store for the event. After lunch the team’s Service Learning Initiators Gabby Butterfield and Hunter Gagnon led a reflection activity to wind down and think about a job well done. The activity included drawing a metaphorical tree with various parts representing the day. It was the perfect way to end a productive and enjoyable day.