Where I last left off, the Service Bus had just completed 3 days of trail service in the Linville Gorge with Wild South, and was headed south to Asheville for our next stop. The original plan was to whitewater canoe the French Broad River and pick up trash, but the river was at flood levels so we had to make alternate plans. We went to Manna FoodBank, a spot that NCOBS volunteers at occasionally with student crews. None of us on the bus had ever volunteered there, however, so we were excited to see what it was all about and how we could help. Manna had a really amazing facility, and they shared with us some pretty astounding facts. One that stood out to me especially was that 1 in 8 children in America are food insecure, but 1 in 6 children in the Asheville area are food insecure. I learned about food insecurity in a food science class in college, but it was never something I had personal experience with or knew any close friends to struggle with. Since moving to this new area after college, it has been eye opening to do service at community gardens and food banks during course throughout the summer and fall. Volunteering with Manna was no different. All of us on the bus were amazed by the stats they threw at us and proceeded to have a really fun time sorting all morning. We were sorting goods that had been donated from Wal-Mart or Ingles. The goods came in huge gray tubs and we sorted them into boxes. The categories were kitchen supplies, disposables (paper plates, straws...), grab bag (misc toys and items that didn't fit elsewhere), diapers, and feminine hygiene products. The items would be sorted into boxes and placed on wooden pallets which food banks and other partners of Manna in the area could then order to give to families in need. After Asheville we headed down to our Scottsmoor, Florida base camp. We made a 7 hour ride take 12 hours, but with good reason. We stopped in Savanna, Georgia, to look around and get some ice cream. The travel portion itself was really fun, especially because we have picked up another member! We are excited to have Liv Olivito join us for the remainder of the bus, as she has finished up her fall working season. Now rolling 5 deep, our squad embarked on a mini canoe expedition on the Ocklawaha River in central Florida. Liz planned this expedition for us, as she is familiar with the course area from her work on FINS courses out of the Scottsmoor base camp. Additionally, this was Alyssa's first time on the Ocklawaha River after 5 years since working her last course in this course area. For service we stopped at most of the NCOBS campsites along a 38 mile stretch of river and picked up trash. We expeditioned with 3 canoes; 2 tandem and 1 solo. The solo boat ended up becoming the trash boat, as it got filled with bags and buckets of gnarly waste gathered from the sites. "The Ock is a beautiful river that contains a lively Florida ecosystem most people never get to experience. Cleaning up the Ock was an important act of Leave No Trace, and for me personally it was an appreciation for all the growth the river has helped provide to myself, my students and my community over the years." -Liz Our expedition was planned for 3 days. On the first day we started at around 3:30pm and paddled 8 miles then made camp. The next day, we decided to "epic" ourselves on purpose and paddle the remaining 30 miles that day, knowing full well it would take us late into the night. An epic is something that happens on courses, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not. They can come in many forms, for example: staying up all night to keep a fire alive (on purpose), waking up at 3 am for a sunrise hike to the summit of a mountain (on purpose), a crew not meeting time goals throughout the day and ending up hiking until midnight (not on purpose!). Whether an epic is intentional or not, they teach grit and teamwork in an intense setting, which creates a great learning opportunity (self growth through challenge !!). We epic'ed ourselves because it would be fun to night paddle as well as to push ourselves and our milage... oh the joy of expeditioning with all Outward Bound instructors. We had a solid 18 hour paddle that involved picking up a ton of trash, seeing a bunch of alligators, and many other fun and funny moments. The photos below will help to tell the story better. With our first mini canoe expedition behind us, we are moving on in our road trip! Today we head to Hollywood, FL to do service at the Hollywood office. This office is a home base for the family coordinators and instructors to work and do follow up with students after the wilderness part of a FINS course. We are excited to learn more about this area of NCOBS and to experience south Florida!
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