Americorps
volunteers
at Pilgrim Lodge
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Americorps
Team Eagle Two |
The day after the last camper drove away and the summer staff said their good-byes, a group of ten remarkable dedicated young people moved into Balbrook at the South end of Pilgrim Lodge. PL was the home of Americorps Eagle Two, (aka: The Plungers) for the final three weeks of their summer stay in Maine. The team was brought here to help forward the work of the private non-profit group Friends of The Cobbossee Watershed.
Specifically the goals were to combat the threat of invasive non native
plants such as Eurasian milfoil and hydrilla, and to reduce non-point
source pollution by working to control erosion around the
watershed. The first was achieved through education, including the
staffing of the 'Friends...' ice cream selling boat The Otter and
by patrolling boat ramps. The second, controlling non-source
pollution, involved three means: planting trees, building rock walls
at the waters edge ('rip rap') and spreading a thick, rough mulch called
'slope stabilizer.' Pilgrim Lodge marked the teams last two days of
the Cobbossee project. Originally both slope stabilizer and rip-rap
were to be applied to the PL waterfront. Unfortunately the
Department of Environmental protection saw fit to deny our permit for
rip-rap due to a small amount of vegetation at the waters edge.
Still,
the slope stabilizer was a project the Outdoor Ministries Committee and
director Rev. Bryan Breault were researching when Rev. Breault was
approached by Bob Moore, the executive director of the Friends of the
Cobbossee Watershed. Our waterfront has been eroding steadily over
the years, exposing tree roots, dangerous rocks and polluting Lake Cobbosseecontee.
Breault said "Bob Moore and the Friends of The Cobbossee Watershed are doing amazing and important work. I sleep better at night knowing their on the job of protecting the local lakes and waterways."
The Americore team worked like a well oiled machine. In a single day they moved and spread 48 yards of slope stabilizer; that's one big pile of mulch! During their stay in Maine, they constructed 35 erosion-control projects on eight lakes. They moved over 500 yards of rocks, 100 yards of mulch, and planted almost 500 trees and bushes.
Americorps is a national program for young people between the ages of 18 and 24. The term lasts 10 months and at least 1,700 community service hours. In order to meet that requirement, three of the volunteers helped with an additional Pilgrim Lodge lodge project. The front side of the Trip Camp Barn, next to the Farmhouse, was scraped, primed and painted. Since the side of the Farmhouse was painted this summer by PL staff, the entrance to Pilgrim Lodge has never looked better.
Eagle
Two was honored
by the state senate and met with Gov. John Baldacci. The group
was always polite, respectful and appreciative of their three week stay at
Pilgrim Lodge. We are so very grateful to both Americorps Team Eagle
Two, and the Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed for their hard work and
dedication to keeping the lakes and waterways clean and healthy.
View the entire Americore photo gallery
That's one big pile of mulch!
Thank You!