IND 209-Reflection Essay
Brittany Reynolds
During my service learning experience I have contributed my help to the college
by participating in on and off site activities to help improve our campus environmentally
and make it an attractive place for both students and visitors. My classmates and I have
weeded, planted flowers and strawberries and have taken care of the rain garden
throughout the semester. We created a bordered ditch that helped the rainwater to find its
way to the garden more easily from the parking lot. I along with many others have
removed plenty of trash and litter from the trail itself and have recycled a good portion of
it. We also laid mulch down along the pathway to create a better sense of direction and to
give the trail a prettier appearance. As it has begun to get colder my classmate and I have
attempted to rake some of the leaves out of the rain garden. It has been an educational as
well as an enjoyable experience for me.
Throughout the semester, I have learned that there are a lot more problems than I
ever realized existed. I never knew about the houses being demolished in Buffalo or
about the invading plant species in our area. It was quite a shock to me that if one poured
any kind of liquid down the water drains on campus that it would end up in the lakes. The
video, “Vanishing of the Bees, also came as a shock. I had heard of it before however I
was unaware that the cause of it was from pesticides. I also never realized the extent of
the problem. I have learned that working with others can bring about a greater feeling of
accomplishment as a whole at the end of a day. I have also learned that working together
with a partner on the same project can make it easier to accomplish the work faster and
more precisely.
Unfortunately, I do not believe most of the campus community is educated
enough about the environmental issues due to the destruction I have seen on our efforts.
However, when I speak to others of our projects I usually receive positive feedback.
It continues to bother me that every time I return to the trail, trash litters it even more
than the previous time I visited it. Whether it is our own here on campus or the high
school students across the street, I see this problem as frustrating, but very important. I
understand that we will never perfect it 100%, but we can better it. Our campus provides
somewhat of a sanctuary for wildlife, which inhabits the areas that are littered. I have
seen deer, turkeys, hawks, ducks, rabbits, and a multitude of different birds. Any one of
these animals could ingest or become stuck in the litter as it has happened many times
before. The deer and turkeys are a symbol on this campus. They are beautiful animals
that I see nearly every week and would hate to see them become sick or be walking
around campus with some kind of littered plastic stuck to them. With this said, I propose
as to just try something that strict signs are posted before and on the trail about littering.
These signs should provide straight real life facts such as consequences of littering and
what it is doing to the environment. Nothing should be sugar coated. What is happening
to the environment due to littering is severe therefore our warnings against it should be
just as severe.
Upon visiting the communities of Buffalo I was surprised to find that the
surrounding areas weren’t really as bad as I have heard. Despite the few uncanny remarks
we received from neighbors and passersby, I am left with a sense that Buffalo is not a
place to be feared, but one that crying out for help. Help that I believe the gardens can
bring about for the neighborhood. Buffalo needs “change” and more attractive features
like parks and possibly even a playground for children. It needs something to make it
more welcoming and to give it a friendlier appearance. All Buffalo needs is some TLC
from people who are ready to make a difference in our community. I believe our efforts
have helped to give the Buffalo community just that. We have provided Buffalo with a
more welcoming atmosphere and one residents will take pride in. I hope to come back
next summer and see this area we have created being used by children and pet owners
and passersby.
Even though we may have run into some neighbor problems due to the houses
being so close together, that never stopped us from giving it our all. Our parking issues
didn’t stop us either as we found a comfortable spot right on the lot. I hold great respect
for what Groundwork Buffalo is doing for the community and truly believe that every
minute spent has made a difference. It has allowed Buffalo to come together as a whole
for the greater good. This organization is allowing the people of Buffalo to feel like they
are a part of something. Just this feeling of togetherness can help to make a difference in
the average person’s life. I absolutely believe these garden projects have made a
difference in the Buffalo community. Even though they are small compared to a big city,
it is the small step that must come first. Everything starts somewhere and usually for the
most part starts out small. However, even the smallest act of kindness can make the
biggest difference.
I believe one of the biggest issues the organization may have to face is the
negativity towards their projects. It is something that would happen anywhere with this
type of work. Some people who reject these types of reconstruction don’t believe such a
small act can make a big difference. They do not see the small things, but rather see the
problem as too big to fix. However, the organization must push through this. They are
positive people who know in their hearts that they are making a difference, even if the
contribution is small. I trust this organization is making good decisions and ones that will
bring about great things in the future. The only suggestion that I might have for the
group’s direction is the possibility of asking the residents of wherever they’re building or
constructing what they might have in mind for the construction. Maybe the residents in
the surrounding area have small children; therefore the organization could consider a
playground area or a park. I also might suggest that when planning a day for a great deal
of volunteer workers to show up that there are a few fold out chairs placed at a possible
station of some sort for the purpose of resting. My reason for this is due to my slight
fatigue when I spent almost 2 and half hours shoveling and wheel barrowing dirt without
rest. I understand of course this was a service learning experience that was not all that
long however I suggest it only for future volunteers, who may spend longer than just a
few hours helping out. This can especially help out when there is an overabundance of
volunteers waiting to be given a job to do.
As far as helping with the supply of supplies, I don’t see why a few letters to local
stores such as Home Depot and Lowes wouldn’t be helpful. The letters should include a
catchy phrase such as this, “Help us, help you!” The meaning of this phrase is that by
helping to give a few leftover tools to the organization, the group can make the
surrounding areas more beautiful, which would bring in more people to these more
attractive areas. This can better be applied to privately owned Buffalo tool shops rather
than big businesses, which are usually located outside the Buffalo areas. However, this
does not mean the organization cannot apply to their better nature. After all who doesn’t
like to hear that you’re working for free to make the world a better place?
Working in both areas, on campus and in Buffalo has brought us together to make
the areas more beautiful and attractive. Our goals for both projects were nearly the same;
to make them more attractive areas to people so that they would use them more. We
wanted people to want to go there and to feel safe there. These were both places of
escape, whether it is escape from academia or escape from the city or maybe just a place
to hang out. Both of these communities shared the similar challenge of keeping them
clean and keeping them safe. We have given our efforts to try and make them more
beautiful places to be, but there are kids that still trash the trail and there might also be
kids that trash the garden. We hope both of these areas will be respected for what they
are.
I heard someone mention in class about having trashcans and recycle bins along
the streets in Buffalo. I thought that was a great idea considering it would provide a place
for people to put their plastic bottles along with providing others with some spare change.
In my own opinion I don’t understand why this hasn’t happened already. I have walked
along the streets of Buffalo before and one can find more cigarette receptacles than
trashcans. It would seem that what is good for the environment is only bad for the
economy due to the way our society runs. In the video about how our society works, we
design our products to be nearly obsolete in just a few months so that we will throw it
away and buy a newer version. We do this on purpose because marketing doesn’t care
about the environment. Marketing only cares about one thing and that’s money. If we
lived a perfect world where marketing “actually” cared about the people and our
continuation on this planet they would create our “stuff” to be longer lasting. In this
modern day, it is all about getting the most out of buying stuff as cheaply as possible.
What people are not realizing is that always buying the cheapest of the cheap isn’t
helping our planet. Marketing isn’t purposely killing us; it is simply a fact that it’s
cheaper to buy regular white light bulbs than eco-friendly light bulbs. However, that is
what its all about today. It is true that buying eco-friendly bulbs is better for the
environment, but it is also true that buying regular old white bulbs is better for the
average person’s wallet. Sadly, marketing usually wins over the environment.
With the idea of my community in mind, it is the parks, the nearby stores, the
track and field, the river, and the local pool and playground that keep me happy along
with my neighborhood setting. I believe these are the kinds of things that make a
community more welcoming, which in turn help to ensure a family oriented setting and
an all around safety factor. This is what is primarily missing in the Buffalo communities.
If kids young and old had more places to go after school like a pool or a park or a trail, I
believe this would help to keep them out of trouble. I hold strong in my belief that
providing more activities for people no matter what age can have a great impact on crime
rate in an area. The more things there are to do the less people get into trouble. If I were
put into a leadership position for a community, I would definitely have parks where
people could go and take their pets and children to spend more time outdoors. My parks
would include trashcans and recycle bins and maybe even a garden and fruit trees. In the
park by where I live, there is an outside stage where plays and choirs come and put on
shows almost every month. I might include something like this to allow people to create
their own activities on stage along with having something to go do. I may “create” a
swimming hole instead of constructing one out of materials. There are lots of ideas that
could be put into creating a sustainable environment in a community.
This experience has definitely changed how I feel about environmental issues and
I feel that what I have completed was an important learning experience that everyone
should have a chance to learn about. I whole-heartedly believe I will volunteer my time
again in another community in the future. At the end of the day it is nice to feel a sense of
accomplishment and to know that even though your contribution may have been small, it
changed the course of the future. When I made the decision to do the work assigned to
me, I made the decision to make a difference and there is nothing better than knowing
you helped to make that place better. I feel that my understanding of environmental
issues has changed a great deal. I have found myself nearly everyday making a different
decision that I wouldn’t have normally made without the knowledge I have gained from
this experience. I also find myself trying to guilt family members into doing the right
thing by telling them that this is “my” future and if they care about me they will do it.
This is also on top of me attempting an explanation and to the ones that will listen; I
usually try to present astonishing facts. In my opinion, whatever works, works.