Week Two at Sparrow Arc Farm

The past week has been very busy since one of our workers left to canoe the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. The manager and I were very busy weeding summer carrots, planting a field of head lettuce, and preparing more land to be used in the coming weeks. We experienced a big set back with the amount of rain we've had in the Unity area the past week. When the rain was too heavy for outside work we took the weather as an advantage to do some greenhouse work.

               In the greenhouse we started our fall cabbage and kale crops for planting in our Burnham fields. We also plugged more shishito peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and heirloom Waldoboro turnips. I also worked on our weekly succession of brassicas and head lettuces that we seed throughout the season as well as seeding more baby leeks and scallions.

When the weather started clearing up I used the farm tractors to plow, harrow, and cultivate two fields in Unity and our new field in Burnham. I cultivated our brassica crops and potato fields to control weed pressure. The next day I took the New Holland to our Burnham field were I harrowed, when I had finished in Burnham I headed to Unity to plow and pick out big rocks in one of our fields with my co-worker Jaime. Once the fields were all prepped we  had a chance to put out a crop of popcorn, onions, and bush beans into one Unity field.

This week we harvested more cut lettuce, radishes, pac choi flowers, and chives. We were very excited to find that we had broccoli beginning to sprout!
At the start of this week we welcomed two new farm hands and one returning farm hand to Sparrow Arc. Hopefully we start to see some good weather in the near future.

Week Two - National Aviary

So far so good...two weeks down for my internship at the National Aviary. Got to tackle some new projects, began training, got more involved with the visiting public and have even taken on some new solo responsibilities as an intern. Safe to say the training wheels have been removed and the organization is putting my hours to use all around.

A lot has been shifted this week as far as my routine goes. Several birds have been relocated to different exhibits and the breeding center I overlook has lost & gained some new species. I now have a fire-tufted barbet, fruit doves, a mot-mot, and my buddy Mr. T the rhinoceros horn bill has moved away into his newly renovated home over in tropical forest (his girlfriend too)! The lorikeets also moved to a brand new exhibit all to themselves. It is huge with many perches and enrichment galore. Their previous room had no windows or access to natural light. Now it is equipped with a whole sky light window. Of course there needs to be a long adjustment period for the birds because they have never been able to see rain or clouds, or even planes ect. passing over head. At first, they were incredibly frightened but have loosened up a bit since the beginning of the week. I actually got to conduct my first few lorikeet feeding programs with visitors who get to hold the birds and feed them within some limitations. Definitely the highlight of this whole week for me. I completed training on handling, and protocol Wednesday afternoon and actually did a show immediately afterwards.

Aggression has elevated between me & the flamingos unfortunately. It's the time of the season when they begin to breed/construct nests around the exhibit. This has been making my job much more difficult than it needs to be. Caution has to be used 100% of the time, especially when individuals of the general public may see me within the exhibit doing chores. If I am attacked or accidentally threatened by the birds, a negative perspective could be given to my visitors. They are protecting a nest, so it's not they who are to blame. I have come to see the reality that while in their territory, anything that may result is inevitably my own responsibility.

Also to my dismay, my training with Winnie the crested orependola has also been hindered slightly by the season. She is currently sitting on an egg in her nest hanging within the wetlands exhibit. This means two things: She is absolutely loving the reinforcing worms she is receiving from the training sessions because she needs the extra food while tending to her nest and also that the training sessions are often times cut too short by her flying off, or other birds fussing with the nest. Thus very little progress can be made. My supervisor Dave still wants me to stick with it though but invites me to pick up another possible trainee if I find one I am compatible with. I was thinking about the hooded merganser. He is already very familiar with me and approaches on cue. If I look into it some more I may be able to find a natural behavior of his I could train for and use for the show.

This week I found time to explore other exhibits and sharpen my natural histories for all the birds. I have fallen in love with a breeding pair of white-crested laughing thrush. They are absolutely amazing, smart birds.

Next week Dave will be off for a few days, meaning I will have to tend to the routine all alone. Although it is a wonderful feeling to know I have earned that trust, it all gives me the chills from being nervous. I don't have an answer for all the guest questions, nor do I know everything that could be done or go wrong, or how to fix it. I am still learning and gaining my bearings on this new organization, but trust me when I say that it is things like this that teach me the most...and boy am I excited for Monday!!!

Sparrow Arc Farm Internship

Sparrow Arc Farm is located in Unity with 42 acres of vegetable production. The farm produces a wide variety of vegetables and fruit from jelly crab apples to our roulette pepper, the shishito. This summer we are working hard to produce more unique variety of our hot peppers (including the newest proclaimed hottest pepper in the world, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion!) and heirloom tomatoes. Right now the farm only has four workers, including the boss, who are managing about 30 acres of planted land but we'll be having a few more hands join us in a few weeks when our season picks up.


The season has started out with a lot of tilling and  planting. In the past two weeks we've put our leeks, onions, pickling cucumbers, head lettuces, frisee, greens seedlings, beets, hot peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and squash in our fields. Weather permitting we will be planting more by the end of this week.

We also were able to put up our wash up tent for packing out the veggies headed to gourmet restaurants in Boston. The tent was a monster to put up, but we now have a spacious area for all of our washing and packing equipment.

With so few hands and so much land we use our transplanter to help us plant seedlings neatly and efficiently. We've been steadily emptying and refilling our greenhouse with seedlings.




Sparrow Arc just sent our Boston customers our first harvest of arugula, mustard greens, french breakfast radishes, and dry beans.

Week 2 at Harbor Family Services

This is the second week at harbor family services, and was a little more busy than the first.  I had three days of training at the Winterport location in what is called Therapeutic Crisis Intervention.  The majority of this training is about de-escelating Clients when they become agitated or aggressive, which quite often is there reaction to a stressful situation.  Every person that is being treated in this program has an adverse reaction to some sort of stress.  Sometimes this means just getting angry, and yelling and blaming anyone who is near them for whatever problems they are dealing with.  This is something I delt with alot this week.  There was 1 participant who, although usually he only has a few minutes where he melts down here and there, was just so impatient this week.  Just telling him he had to wait 10 minutes to play video games was enough to send him in a fit, at one point punching out a screen.  After a bit of alone time, I explained to him again that he only needed to wait a bit, but he would need to clean up the mess he had made when he got upset.  He took this very well and just seemed to drag out the cleanup a bit, which he never likes to do anyways.  It felt good to be able to use the tools the methods they used during the first week, mostly patience and respect, and to see how well it can deal with someones frustration.

The National Aviary - Week One

This was a very busy week indeed! My schedule was Monday through Friday 8am - 5pm, just like it will be for the rest of the summer. When I first arrived I will be honest when I say it was a very large and unfamiliar environment for me, which left me feeling quite reserved and nervous about what was to come. I was dressed according to dress code and ready to start working. Little did I know, there would be no formal training. I shadowed one of the trainers named Diane for my first day, and the next morning was thrown "into the fire" so to speak. It has been a very fast moving introduction into the everyday routines and scheduled events. I now am under the supervision of David Miller, the animal programs trainer staff member. I have shadowed his training sessions, exhibit chores, and even paid encounters with the public. Dave is a good guy who truly wants his interns to take a lot away from the internship. According to him, interns at the National Aviary do not receive any type of money, however if they work hard enough and put in their full effort, they will receive experience far more valuable than any piece of paper.

As an intern, we all receive an area where we will work along side the trainers, and one area we are responsible for on our own. My area is the breeding center just up the stairs from the animal hospital. Here are where animals that have been taken off of exhibit go to when they basically have no where else to put them. Also, those birds which have become to aggressive to be on free range display are held here as well. Still haven't figured out why they call it a "breeding center" though. Along with that, I am on duty within the grassland and marshland sections of the aviary. I have already mastered feedings, and even helped with cleaning the marshland pond out. I would like to mention that scraping algae, and whatever else that was (which I do not want to know) off the bottom of the drained pond. I smelled awful, it was like hair, and I fell into it. It was so much fun!!!

Just the other day I have received my first intern personal project to work on from Dave. He wants me to use positive reinforcement training to get Winnie, our crested orependola, to jump up onto a scale for weigh-ins. Not only could it be used as a nice addition to a show or for the visitors, it would also help the veterinary staff record her weight since she will become a mother very soon, with a few more eggs on the way. I have direct contact with all of the birds in my exhibits however, that does not mean that they all like me. I have been literally chased out of a room by Joni, the feisty wattled currasow, who apparently does not like new interns anywhere in the marsh lands, thus pecks at your shins until you are gone. It sheds blood, and is not pleasant at all. The flamingos are also going through their breeding season which has proven to be quite the battle for territory when going into the exhibit for feeding and upkeep. However Dave has taught me some of the hand signals they are trained to respond to, and I have been using them to avoid being preened or bitten. In the future when I become acceptable to the flamingos, I will be in charge of running my own private showings with the guests. 

A lot is still coming together though and with Memorial Day approaching this weekend, it is looking like a busy week again next week. Some key things I have managed to get down are the cleaning and feeding in the breeding center birds. I have also learned methods of adding medications and supplements to different foods, and their preparations. I have began positive reinforcement training with Winnie, and have been required to know all of the birds in my sections by heart. My favorite part of this week has been seeing the kids during our live feeding show in the marshlands where the Inca terns fly down and swoop fish out of their hands! Totally looking forward to even more to come! 

This is an Edward's Lorikeet of whom I watch over up in the breeding center while their new section is being remodeled. Trouble makers!!! 

Week 1 at Harbor Family Services

This week started out with mostly training, last Thursday that was actually why I was scheduled to work.  This training included job shadowing, where my job was to fallow different staff members for a period of time and learn what my job consisted of.  There was alot to take in, but it was exciting to learn that being interested in video games and different cards games actually gave me a leg up.  This was because there are some kids who currently need pretty much constant supervision, and if you can genuinely be interested in what they are doing while your doing your job, it really seems to give them a little courage to keep trying even if they aren't doing very good.  The hardest part I found was when i was outside playing Frisbee with one kid in particular, it was hard to not just bring them back inside to the video games and card games, something they all seem to have a knack for.  I think this quote that I found in a book about wilderness therapy is a good way of describing how detrimental that could be:

"lets face it.  For most of us our first reaction when we see a drowning person is to swim out and try to save her.  It's going to take a certain restraint to row out to within shouting distance and give what equats to swimming lessons."

These kids come from backgrounds that almost seem to scare them away from anywhere they could fail, and to feel defeated from just a couple bad throws with a frisbee.  But from last thursday to yesterday I saw some spectacular improvements, with kids going from staying at it from only 10 minutes, to up to an hour while they still weren't a champion thrower, but they were finally able to make a straight line throw, what may seem like a small thing, but you could see the improvement in other parts for them, their room cleaner, more manners at the table, there almost seems to be a little confidence boost when they get those "swimming lessons".   And also something unexpected that came out of this new found confidence, they wanted to try something harder.  A small hunger was starting to grow for challenge, something hopefully that will continue to build. 

Holt Scholarship Information- Proposals Due 3/29

Please note the Holt Challenge Scholarship has been re-opened for a second round of proposals.


Call for Proposals: Nicholas Holt Challenge Scholarship Fund

In 2010, Unity College became home to the Nicholas Holt Challenge Scholarship Fund, a gift made possible by the Holt family in collaboration with the Maine Community Foundation.Unity College was a major interest in Nick Holt’s life since 1973; he spent more than twenty years working toward accreditation of its strong environmental teaching program. Nick was an architect, family man, befriender of strangers, Army veteran and marcher on Washington, gunkholer and sailor, and a lover of color, trees and light. His family is pleased to honor his passion and commitment to Unity with this scholarship fund. The purpose of Nick’s Fund is to support juniors and seniors in challenging, experiential learning projects that are self-initiated, curriculum-based and approved by an academic advisor.

Challenge is paramount to the Fund’s goal because Nick delighted in challenging himself and others to attempt the impossible, to say “I think I can.” Recipients of this scholarship in Nick’s memory will share the thrill of pushing their personal and educational boundaries and their projects must reflect this spirit.
Approximately $10,000 will be distributed annually through this fund. There is no minimum or maximum award amount and no pre-determined number of awards to be made annually. However, the fund is typically divided among 2-3 scholarship recipients per year. This intent is to make otherwise impossible projects possible and to cover the full expenses of selected projects.

The Unity College Environmental Stewardship (general education) curriculum, required for all students irrespective of major, includes a culminating experience at the 3000or 4000 level to be worth at least three credits.

Students have five options for completing this requirement:
1. Seminar
2. Internship
3. Independent study
4. Thesis
5. Academic field experience

The latter four, all directly-driven by student initiative, are the endeavors eligible for support from this program.
Therefore, each semester, eligible students will have the opportunity to apply for funding to support their internship, independent study, thesis, or academic field experience, in accordance with the application process below.

Applying for the Holt Challenge Scholarship
Eligible students
Only full-time Unity College students who:
1. are in good academic standing
2. receive need-based financial aid
3. will be juniors or seniors at the time of their proposed project are eligible.

Eligible projects
Only projects eligible for consideration are ones that will:
1. Serve as an internship
2. Independent study
3. Thesis
4. Academic field experience in fulfillment of the Unity College Environmental Stewardship curriculum

Timeline
The application and decision process are timed in relation to preregistration each semester because these are credit-bearing projects for which students must register. Award specifications from the donors and a later preregistration period during spring 2012 make it possible for the Review Team to accept an extra round of proposals for this semester only. Please, see the timeline below for deadlines. Also note that an informational session for interested students will be held on Tuesday, March 27 at 11 a.m. with a location to be announced.
For projects during

Proposal Must Include:
1. Forms necessary for:
a. an internship (Internship Agreement Form and job description)
b. independent study (Independent Study Proposal Form)
Modified 1/25/12
c. thesis (Thesis Proposal Form)
d. academic field experience (program description).
2. A completed Holt Challenge Scholarship Proposal Essays (see attachment).
3. A detailed budget developed in the Holt Challenge Scholarship budget form (see attachment). Common expenses will be for travel, materials, access to necessary resources, etc. Tuition for credits in excess of three (i.e. the fourth credit and beyond) may be included.
4. A current resume.
5. A letter of support from an appropriate academic advisor, for instance, a thesis advisor or internship faculty sponsors.
Evaluation Criteria (ranked in order of importance, with most influential criteria at the top)

The strongest proposals will:
1. Demonstrate a commitment to academic excellence by describing a well-planned learning experience clearly intended to challenge the student to master new knowledge and skills.
2. Present a project that is distinctive and that bears a meaningful relationship to the student’s post-graduation career and service aspirations.
3. Describe a growth and learning experience unlikely to be available to the applicant without the support of this fellowship.
4. Demonstrate a commitment to service by identifying the benefit to others, besides the student, that will result from the project.
5. Be from students with a strong record of productive involvement in Unity College.

Review Team and Process
The review team is appointed by the Vice President for Academic Affairs. It is comprised of:
1. Two members of the faculty
2. One past Holt Challenge Scholarship recipient
3. Internship Coordinator/Career Consultant or designee
4. Dean for Students Affairs or designee
5. Community-Based Learning Coordinator or designee
The team receives the materials and reviews them according to the criteria. If it wishes, it may request a meeting with a finalist(s) to discuss and clarify his/her proposal, budget, etc. The team makes a recommendation to the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and Advancement, who together will determine the final recipient(s). Award recipients will be asked to complete a presentation on campus after completing the experience.
Spring 2012 PROPOSALS DUE: 12:00 Noon Thursday 29 March 2012
Submit proposals electronically to Stacey Hachey at shachey@unity.edu. Upon verification of eligibility and a completed proposal, the proposal will be forwarded to the review team