Y-LINC 2013: Day One

Bienvenidos Amigoes! Welcome Friends!

Working in the idyllic SFA High Gardens, providing a green
break in the scenery for its students as well as food.

Our kids began the journey today with a service-learning project at Stephen F. Austin High School in Houston, where they worked on their school garden. That garden is part of a Project Learning Tree Greenschools! program. Greenschools! in a nutshell is a project in which a team of students investigates how their school impacts the environment, develops a plan to mitigate that impact, and implement their plan with grant funds from Project Learning Tree, thus making their school that much more environmentally friendly.

FNFGT has spurred similar efforts at Lantrip Elementary, as part of our "Greenschools Grapevine Initiative", which enables a student attending the schools in that Grapevine to get multiple chances to participate in impacting their school in meaningful ways. Y-LINC campers planted seedlings at Lantrip's garden. which again was part of a Greenschool project.

Then the students toured Nature's Way Biofuel plant, priming their minds for recycling and showing them how waste does not have to be wasted. Then, the +Texas A&M Forest Service gave them a tour of the +Red Cockaded Woodpecker habitat at the W.G. Jones State Forest in Conroe. Thanks goes out to Alex Schlueter and Ezequiel Villa for their expertise!

The kids still had energy even when
they arrived at HQ, around 7:00pm.

While they were on their trips this morning, Lyndi and Dave were getting some finishing touches ready at HQ, including filling 7+ water containers. Texas is hot, and we want are kids to be safely hydrated for their adventure. 

Our kids are learning real life skills here at Y-LINC: some helped to set the tables, brought down chairs and cleaned the dishes! Tomorrow, they will be assigned to the chores that make an event like this run smoothly by their youth leaders; everyone will get a chance to help with cooking food and cleaning up.

+Tracy Sanchez and +Naielli Hidalgo had their tents up first!

Though the light was waning, our Y-LINC campers pitched their tents and got settled in for the night, ready for what tomorrow has in store. They will be hiking, fishing, getting organized, and will get to meet Dale Synder, a FS wildland firefighter.

Dinner under starry strings of lights and solar lanterns.

We now got a photo album on Flickr! Check it out here! We also have convenient links all our social media sites in the top left, and visit our main page for more info! Like us, Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and subscribe to this blog for more updates!

Orientation provided by +David Clipson,
+Tamberly Conway and +John Boyette

Special thanks to our donors! Without you, Y-LINC would be alot less fun!

+Stephen Kob - Supporter

+David Clipson - Supporter

+Tamberly Conway - Supporter and Donor

+Warren Conway - Supporter and Donor

+Ed McClure - Supporter 

+Tracy Sanchez - Supporter, Donor and Fundraiser

+Alma D. Garcia - Supporter and Donor

+Anthony Gonzalez - Supporter

+Lorraine Gibson - Supporter and Donor

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Y-Linc 2013: Preparation Day

We are preppers on this day.

Our Magnificent Headquarters. 

We are breaking out the tents, getting out sleeping mats from storage, digging the fire pit, watching the osprey fly over the awesome lake view and listening for campers that are not quite here yet, but will be soon.

Tomorrow, our 10 campers and 5 Y-Linc alums will arrive at our home base.  Their first task will be to choose their tents and assemble them on the shores of the Sam Rayburn Reservoir, where they will spend their first night of the week under the stars. Some will be sleeping in tents for the very first time. 

We have been told there are hogs in the area, so we will see what adventures await us; hopefully none involving them, or skunks, our outdoor friends from afar.

Thus begins our Y-LINC adventure! Check out our photo album on our Facebook page, and be sure to click that "Like" button to get updates! Connect to our Twitter and LinkedIn pages too!

So in closing, we make this introductory wish, based on an old Irish blessing, on behalf of our campers:  

Our Youth will be camping here, along the shores of
Lake Sam Rayburn (no sleeping indoors for them!)

"May your troubles be less, 

and your blessings be more, 

and nothing but happiness 

come through your tent door!"

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