Everybody Loves Mondays!

While some people do not enjoy Mondays, I find Mondays entertaining.  There is always something new to do and lots of different things going on. This morning I arrived to find a Veggie Tales movie on my desk.  Initially I thought it was something to watch, but I decided to leave it to the side and finish up some loose ends from last week.  While I was working I also stumbled upon a zamboni and was reminded that I have to leave my toys at home.  I am learning how to behave in an office setting, so now I only play with my zamboni at lunch time and during my coffee break.

Here is a picture of me playing with my zamboni.

It looks much better once you have "liked" it.

 

In other news, there has been some work on a Facebook page for the village and it is up and running.  You can find it on Facebook by typing in Village of Forestburg into the search bar.  

*I do not own a zamboni or Veggie Tales movie.  These are items that were left by the cleaning staff by accident, and although I would love to keep them, I will return them to ensure the children in Forestburg are happy.

What Am I Doing in Forestburg?

 After a nice long weekend in rural Alberta it was nice to get back into the routine of getting up early and going to work. Who am I kidding?  Although the long weekend was nice, getting up and going to work is not as painful as it is for some people.  I actually enjoy going to work and since I enjoyed my first week at work I am sure I will enjoy the rest of the summer.

Forestburg

Forestburg is a village located approximately 80 km south east of Camrose with a population of 895 in the last census conducted.  It has a pleasant main street with many essential buildings like the municipal office, grocery stores, restaurants, churches, a bank, and the locally owned hardware store.  There is also a school in Forestburg, as well as a seniors lodge and a brand new arena.

 What I Am Doing

What I am doing for the summer is helping out the village in determining whether there is a need for a volunteer liaison position within the town.  Although there are less than 1000 people living in this village, there are over 30 organizations within the community that are powered by the work of volunteers. I am going to be in direct contact with the organizations in the village in the hopes of creating a bond between the village and the organizations within the village.  The purpose of this position is to aid the organizations in any way possible.  This town has a large amount of volunteers and these volunteers are very important to the town.  Whether it is through their involvement with Communities in Bloom, coaching and leading sports, or even building the new arena complex, volunteers are definitely an asset to this community and the village recognizes the importance of these people. Most volunteers in Forestburg have families and full-time jobs aside from volunteering and sometimes the volunteering requirements may be overwhelming.  The village wants to retain all of the volunteers it has and this position is here to help these people whether it is by providing manpower to their organization for planning an event, helping keep up to date financial statements, or even helping prepare reports or grants applications.

So that is a run down of what I am doing in Forestburg this summer.  I will keep you posted on what events or happenings are going on next week.

A Phone, A Desk, and A Computer: Everything an Intern Needs

Today marks the start of my summer placement in the Village of Forestburg!

My desk, chair, phone, and computer.

I arrived at the office and was warmly greeted by everyone.  I was shown my office which is probably the biggest office any intern will have during their summer placement.  Not only do I have a desk, a phone, and a computer, I also have access to a very large conference table, 10 rolling office chairs that are made of leather and have high backs like the executives in television shows, a dozen green chairs, an almost unlimited amount of office supplies, a kitchen located on the other side of my office and a bathroom.  I hope the amount of furniture in my office has lead you to picture how big my office is.  My office is located in the Council Chambers, which is nice and quiet and allows me to research and update my blog in a very quiet environment, except for the ringing of my telephone every once in a while. I think that is enough discussion about my office, but I will add pictures to show you the sheer size.

This is my office.  This is the view I have from my desk.

Some of the many chairs that I can sit on if I so choose.

I was really excited to arrive at work this morning.  I was interested to see what I would be doing this summer, who I would be working with, and what my experience will lead to. The plan for my summer placement is to have me contact the local volunteer organizations and determine if they need help writing reports, applying for grants, updating their books, or planning and hosting events.  The Village of Forestburg recognizes the importance of its volunteers and wants to help them in any way possible because the volunteers have given so much support to this village that the village wants to ensure the volunteers have the support they need.


I am still really excited to be working with the Village of Forestburg through the internship provided by the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities (ACSRC) through the University of Alberta, the Augustana Campus, and the Learning and Beyond Office.

The Adventure Begins

This summer is definitely going to be a learning experience. Myself, along with the other interns arrived at Augustana at 9 am, ready to learn about what we will be doing this summer, the expectations of the different people we will be working for and a very tentative schedule for parts of the week.We know there is some sort of scavenger hunt occurring tomorrow, so we will have to wait and see what the rest of the week holds for us!

All of the interns learning about Camrose

Training week was definitely an adventure.  Many hours were spent researching in the library, playing with video cameras and learning how to make a movie, and getting to know the other interns.  A high light from training week for me was the scavenger hunt because it was the part of training that was the least like school.
Here are some photos from the scavenger hunt.

 The A-Team (ie. The Best Team!)

 Getting creative during the lunch break.

 Getting creative as a biker gang.

 Something sustainable- rain water collection

Something unsustainable: Throwing out grass clippings