Another great week at FLOW! This week was a pretty typical week of FLOW activities and projects. I worked at the Worthington Tree Nursery on Thursday where they were installing a new pipe to assist with the irrigation system. The irrigation system has been a bit defective in the past few months which has made caring for the trees more difficult. Volunteers were able to fix the timer system on the irrigation a couple weeks ago, however they want to ensure the entire system is functional. The new pipes will help make this system function correctly for years to come.

Most of my time this week and entire summer has been dedicated to the Tree Giveaway Project. The opportunity to work on such a significant project has been very beneficial. I have gained various project management skills and strategies since the start. Initially, I was overwhelmed about where to start. I had not had experience in managing a project independently and was unsure on what steps to take first. Eventually, I realized that I just needed to start somewhere. I created steps each week to accelerate the project and analyzed what has been completed and still needs done. I was able to adjust my action plan based on new information and opportunities. I learned a lot about effective marketing and community engagement and how to adjust my actions in order to best serve the mission of the project. This week, I spent most of my time compiling my work and making it organized in order to help transition it to someone else after I leave. I did not understand the complexities and specifics of a large community project until this and I am very grateful to better appreciate the steps necessary. I know this is a skill I will use for the rest of my career.