Working at ReUse Industries this Spring Quarter has been an interesting
experience since the day it began. That first meeting with our group set the precedence
for everything that was going to happen in the upcoming weeks. Anya Porter became our
group's leader, and we all volunteered for the various jobs we felt we were best
suited for. Karen Weiman, the sole member with a car, became the driver and in
charge of keeping materials and conducting her own research. Brian Stork, with a hectic
schedule, agreed to create a researched and professional pamphlet for ReUse
Industries out of his own free time, in addition to taking pictures. Nate Russell decided
to conduct research and take pictures, and ended up doing the bulk of the
hazardous carpentry. Andrea Stroup volunteered for the typing, photography,
and creating a World Wide Web page for the group. Anya, on top of
leadership responsibilities, recorded all meetings and decisions in the Minutes.
Our first trip out to ReUse Industries was on April 22, 1998. We toured Raccoon Creek and
the park's land, met Duane (our contact), came up with several proposals for restoration and
improvement, and signed the contract. Some of the projects we came up with were: repainting
the old "No Hunting" signs, rebuilding a cement dam, constructing birdhouses, mowing walking
trails, cleaning up the roadside trash, monitoring the existing squirrel houses and tree,
making a pamphlet for ReUse, creating a web page, planting more wildflowers, and identifying
the species living in the park area. We were full of optimism and expectations when we
arrived, and accomplished a good deal of what we set out to do; however, our experience was
not without its difficulties.
Nothing was set in stone as we began our experience together, but we slowly learned to adjust
and compensate for almost every obstacle. Whether we had difficulty finding times to meet or
reschedule (going around everyone's schedule was one of the hardest routines), finding times
our contact at ReUse was available, or just figuring out what to do, we eventually arrived at
a reasonable solution. If weather, prior commitments, car trouble, or tests kept us from
going one day, we would find another day to make up for the lost time. If one or two people
could not go, we could always find replacement work and research. When we felt uncertain of
what to do next, we sat down and discussed our options or went off in search of Duane. One
way or another, we resolved every problem we encountered.
The culmination of our work resulted in painted and laminated new signs, new birdhouses built
from the available salvaged wood, our own personal web page, a pamphlet dedicated to ReUse
Industries, a cleaner perimeter, and a better understanding of the way ReUse Industries
operates. We definitely learned to appreciate the work that goes into any sort of hands-on
construction. I don't believe any of us will underestimate the work associated with the
research and construction of a simple birdhouse again. So, we learned to work with the
materials that were available to us, researched to find out what we hadn't known, dealt with
questions and problems as they came up, and somehow emerged, sanity intact, as a group.
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