This week at MORPC, the soft-close finally came to an end which brought all staff back to the office. Personally, I have appreciated this week greatly since face-to-face connection is something that you cannot get across a computer screen. This remote break, while great because it gave me flexibility to spend time with friends and family, made me miss seeing the people who I enjoy being around in the office. It is nice to have the balance of seeing friendly faces a few days a week while also being able to do some of the work in the comfort of your home.

Work wise, we are in overdrive for our green infrastructure toolkit development. Throughout these past few days, I have worked with our GIS team on being able to collect data that we can use to map local green infrastructure projects. Nerding out a little here, they designed an app which allows me to go manually into the field and collect data using my iphone. I am extremely excited for this as many local organizations have graciously offered to take me on a tour around their facilities to highlight their projects. Notably, my alma matter, The Ohio State University, will be taking me around with some of their staff and faculty to highlight their innovative ways to address stormwater issues with green infrastructure solutions. In addition, I am currently working on doing this with the City of Bexley as well, which will make an exciting next few weeks as I gear up in the finale of my fellowship.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at MORPC because they have let me do opportunities like this. I have always been a boots-on-the-ground type of person so being able to release my extroversion and meet members of the community is an exciting opportunity. All in all, this week has been a grind, but it seems that the hard work will pay off when I get to see these sites.