Et cetera NCCC’s Oak 7 Serving with Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Department

By: Molly Byer and Victoria Gates

Oak 7, a NCCC team based out of Vinton, IA, is working in Ozaukee County for the Planning and Parks Department, which is located in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The team has been serving there since July 16 and wraps up their service on August 1. The team is also doing a week of service work with the Ozaukee Fish Passage Program. 

For the first and third week of their round, the team is helping with parks around the county. The team is doing work in Virmond Park, located in Mequon, Wisconsin, helping clean up the grounds by removing invasive plant species and extra brush that block the front and sides of the park. For the third week, the team is trimming overhanging branches along the 32 mile bike trail that runs through the county. During the team’s time with the Fish Passage Program, members are removing cattails in marsh land to create a passageway for fish to travel from streams to ponds. Oak 7 is also helping clean up creeks in the county by taking down dams that have blocked currents and access for fish.

Aside from the work for the county parks department, the team is volunteering as much as they can. During Port Washington’s Fish Day, the world’s largest outdoor one day fish fry, the team helped with the set up, judged the car show and emceed an ice cream contest for children. They team enjoyed the rest of Fish Day by having fish and chips, riding carnival rides and watching the fireworks at the end of the night!

So far, Oak 7 has accomplished a lot of work and hopes to continue to impress their sponsors with their strong work ethic. The team has also enjoyed the extra benefit being near Lake Michigan and jumping into the cool water after a hard day at work!