Team Building

Hola Amigos!

     Hope you are all doing just as well as I am! Today was the most productive day yet. Oswaldo, a former student from Ayala campus, has come this week to volunteer his time for the Mexico Project. Kendall and I met him today to establish where we were at and what are our goals is for this week. Last week was our first week, therefore things were slow and it was more about "fitting in", getting to know the students and presenting my ideas to the group. This week we are ready to get moving and plant in a Medicinal Peace Garden! However, as much as we (the students) have the drive to get started in the implementation of the project, we have no plants, no soil and tools. This is where Oswaldo comes in. He is very knowledgable with compost and plants in general. He has the perfect contacts to get the worms for the compost, the plants for the medicinal garden and the cactus for a 4th group what was added to day, a cactus section!
     We showed Oswaldo our compost and he said that the compost box should be placed in the sun appose to leaving it in a shady area all day. The reason for this is as follows:

1. The compost needs direct sun heat for the organic matter to decompose properly. 
2. The shady area where the compost was left was under a tree. This is inappropriate because the leaves that fall from the tree is mixed in with the compost. These leaves do not decompose properly, nor do they blend well with the organic matter. 

This means we will need to change the way we compost things and ensure that worms stay in the compost to help the decomposition. This is one of the fastest ways to make healthy compost.

Meeting Oswaldo

Explaining the activity

Getting together for the activity

Students opening up

     After we met with Oswaldo we had the students join us to the activity Kendall and I had planned last week: Raging River. This was a successful activity. The students giggles, mingled and worked together as a team. I have posted a video for those of you who are interested in seeing how it went. Following our game, Oswaldo sat with the students to discuss how they envision the project. They all had one common response: making their school a lively and sustainable environment! Oswaldo continued the meeting with another activity to create a stronger bond between the students. He made us dance and hug. Its was a fun and entertaining way to create connection between students. Yari and I ended the meeting by offering them a sustainable DSU Dawson College water-bottle. The students were happy to receive a present from Kendall and I so early in the project! So I will keep you posted this week on how dirty our hands and cloths will get with the work we will be putting into the project.

Hasta luego,
Gab :]

Video of the Raging River activity.