3/24 - 3/28 Week In Review
Fellows learning about Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and enjoying some sunshine at HRMM
Word of the week: Accountability
Hello Friends,
This week, as our fellows reached the halfway mark of their service study, we explored the theme of accountability. We shared personal stories about the challenges of taking responsibility and the growth that comes with it.
On Monday, Lissy and the cooking team knocked it out with fried chicken and waffles. We included a fellow family secret recipe for the buttermilk breading, which has a hint of hot sauce in the batter. Fresh fruit and waffles with sweet maple syrup were served. The fellows also made handmade bacon jam cheeseburger eggrolls. The recipe was one a fellow found on TikTok.
In the afternoon, the fellows experimented with the natural dyeing process. Lissy showed us how to use natural foods to create beautiful dyes using turmeric and avocado. The avocado skins and seeds were used to make a beautiful rosy natural dye.
Those pieces will be used to support Aurora’s printmaking lessons, and hopefully, some of these pieces will be hung in the CPW gallery come May!
On Tuesday, Lex from Kingston Ceramics came by for a tile demo and gave an encouraging pep talk about taking our work seriously and using our camera to create images with authorship and mood. She encouraged us to take more pictures with more intention in both framing and subject, and to show more of ourselves in our work.
Our second session with Karine from kAn Landscape and Kristin Wilson, Deputy Director of the Ulster County Planning Department, focused on reimagining the Midtown Linear Park. Fellows contributed ideas and engaged in meaningful discussions about its future. Kristin and Karine dove deeper into design as fellows shared their visual ideas and discussed how in design there is always a solution.
For Financial Literacy, we reviewed mobile banking apps to assess how fellows' grant spending aligned with the 50/30/20 rule. Our discussion on needs vs. wants was lively. Some debated whether dining out fulfilled a necessity or a craving. The fellows also shared how they are planning to spend the savings with a larger purchase to buy a car or down payment for a rental when they move out.
At HRMM, we spent the morning learning about the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a member-supported nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the Hudson River through advocacy and education. Clearwater operates a historic 106’ Hudson River Sloop replica, recognized as America’s Environmental Flagship. For over 50 years, Clearwater has been a vital link between communities, fostering generations of environmental stewards through award-winning educational programs. More than half a million people have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard the sloop. As the Clearwater is prepared to return to the water, our fellows gained a deeper appreciation for its mission and the role it plays in preserving the Hudson Valley.
We then spent the day getting hands-on in the woodshop, sanding and planing. The fellows are settling into their roles and embracing the hands-on learning experience as they get closer and closer to the completion of the boat.
Wishing you all a sunny week ahead!
Have a good weekend, Place Corps Team :)
