Presentation nervous pervous

Work is almost over and we are about to to give our final goodbye presentation. These presentaions will contain things jostled with during our visits to fairmount park. They will also include how we plan to improve the park and make it more accessible. This will be something to remember. I am nervous we have to speak in front of everyone and including strangers. I was never too fond of alot of people. I will try to do it to get it out of the way.

Our Last Week

This week is our last and I think it went by so fast. Being in this program was definitely a new experience for me. I've done things I would've never thought in a million years I would be doing. I've definitely learned a lot from this program. This program has showed me the importance of the environment and how much improvement it really needs to be better. Going on the tour of the Wissahickon Park really showed and taught me the importance of the transportation that people take and how not all of it is accessible for everybody ( bike riders, walkers, joggers, and people in wheelchairs.) So after we finished seeing different parts of the park, we started talking about what we saw and how we could help and that's when we started working on our power points. Now we are finished with that so now we are just days away from our last day.

8/6/2009 - 8/10/2009

This program is coming to a close on Friday, we are working on a final project. This project includes a Powerpoint and Google Sketchup. We have to design a part of a park that we want to fix or want to add to that park. We have to showcase it on Friday to everyone in the program.

Our Goodbyes

As you and the rest of this program may know it's closing time. We are one week away from our maybe to next year goodbyes. It has been fun getting to know the program and gaining work experience. It moved so fast and them 5 weeks disappeared in such a short period. Also as you may know we have a presentation set up on the last day of the B.I.T.S program. Our friends and family is allowed to join and see what we have learned in the last 5 weeks. This will be a summer to remember.

8/4/2009 and 8/5/2009

On those days we worked on a project that we have to present on August 14, 2009. We have to make a powerpoint and a sketchup about the Wissahickon Park we wnt to via Reginal Rail.

7/31/2009

This day was just a day to relax just a break. We had a ice cream party!
Then some groups watched movies and other group stayed in the hallway and played cards.

7/30/2009

On, Thursday July 30, 2009 this was another day where nothing was really planned. We did have to do this little find game on Google Maps. That was about it for this day.

7/29/2009

On Wednesday, July 29, 2009 we returned to Fairmount Park yet again. We went up a different path this time. This path was not very accessible people with legs were having a hard time what about people who do not have them and is in a wheelchair or have a bad leg.Then we went into a part with all tress it was very hard to tell where you are going. There is no signs or anything to tell you where is where. At the entrance of the park there is a road that says nothing about it. So any one could walk in and not realize.

7/28/2009

On, Tuesday July 27, 2009, we watched a movie about electric cars. It was called "Who killed the electric car". They talked about the car "GM EV1" a car that ran on electric. Everyone loved it, who had one it was easy to use to them and more eco friendly. But, then in the end they got their car token away from them and some of them were crushed. The EV1 did not make enough revenue.


We also played a game where we talked then we had a paper that we had to change the conversation.Then, we had to act something out that was given to use on paper.

For more infomation on the EV1 visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1

7/27/09

On Monday, July 27, 2009 we played around in Google Sketchup. We had to make something that Fairmount Park needs.

Pictures from the trips

Erosion

erosion
"the process by which the surface of the earth is worn away by the action of water, glaciers, winds, waves, etc."(dictionary.com)

Well on Wednesday July,22 we took at trip to the Wissahickon and Kevin showed us a piece of eroding land. He talked about it and gave great details on why it did erode. After he spoke a little about the land we continued our walk and had a blast.

Erosion

Erosion in the movement of solids such as soil, sediment, and rock in the environment, and it usually occurs do to transport by wind, water, or ice. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erosion). We saw a lot of erosion when we were in the Wissahickon Park. An example of erosion is the soil that was washed a crossed the road. Another example of erosion is a dent that was made in the ground from water.

Park Erosion

Fairmount park is suffering from Erosion. Erosion is when the removal of a solid like rocks and solid caused by rain and winds. There are a couple of types of erosion there are.

Gravity erosion, Water erosion, Shoreline erosion, Ice erosion, Wind erosion, Soil erosion.


Fairmount is effected by Soil and Water erosion.

What is erosion ?

Erosion is very easy to understand. This step in nature is basically when things break away or breakdown. This step always happen downward. The reason is because things tumble down. For example when a liquid beats against something like a cliff or a mountain then it decay it or break it down then it falls.

qk

The trip on friday was pretty fun.Although i was a little scared of being that high and over water,I did enjoy the view.For future trips I would like to venture further out of philly.Thats pretty much all i have to say for today.

Wissahickon Park

We went to the Fairmount Park and we learned a lot about the different areas of the park. We learned about the Wissahickon Park and we also learned about erosion. We saw trees, rocks, grass, water, and dirt. we walked through the park and we saw various things. We saw the Schulkil River and the diferent animals that live in the park.

Wissahickon Park

Hello today is july27,2009 and i will be discussing my views of the trip to Wissahickon park which my group and i ventured last week. My experiences there was neutral i did not learn anything that i did not already know but i can say that i did see the effect of erosion which was fairly new. Erosion is the removal of solids (sediment, soil, rock and other particles) in the natural environment. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erosion)


(http://plantandsoil.unl.edu/croptechnology2005/UserFiles/Image/siteImages/GullyErosionPasture-NRCS-LG.jpg)

The examples that i saw was an area in the ground were vast bits of soil were no longer in sight. Another example of erosion was the tree's that were in the water and the ones that basically weren't connected to the ground or to there roots to be more specific. Other wise than that was the walk. The walk that we took was pretty cool because i got to see a part of Philadelphia that i haven't seen before dealing with nature. But things i hope that can change in the future is that the river is more cleaner and there's less trash around the park, the parks could use more trash cans and maybe a water fountain every 300 feet or so(could be an exaggeration in distance)

my way to fix the park

Well the way that i would fix the Wissahickon park is by putting filters inside of the water. The reason for me doing this is to clean then water so people can swim drink and have fun. I know from experience that when people look at the river they get sick because of how disgusting it looks. Cleaning the river would benefit everyone. For example lets say your a runner/biker and you need a drink or a quick splash of water on your face well you would have to go to the store anymore because the water is right there and its free.

7/24/2009

On Friday, July 24, 2009 we walk on an expressway. They road did not have enough room for the amount of people that was there. There are not enough trash cans and toilets for everyone. It could have been better if a lot less people had came to make it a faster process. The weather was not to good either it was really hot. I think a restroom should be built somewhere along the way we walked and some kind of stand that sells drink.

kelly drives pedestrian convenience

Friday July 23,2009 we took a trip to Fairmount park to explore the pedestrian accessibility of Kelly drive. As we were viewing we can see that pedestrians along with bikers and skaters have to be alert because of the lack of space. People on feet have to be aware of the oncoming traffic of bicyclist. As you can see in the picture above(google image) the walking path is very narrow. Our group had to walk in a basically single file line. Several signs were also telling us to walk in single file. We also had to alert others in the group that stumbled a little out of the line that bikers were coming at excessive speeds. It was very incovenient to us. In addition there were no bathrooms for us to use but one porta potty. That is not very good because some people might be phobias. And others like me don't want to use it because thousands of others in whom we do not know have used it and left their germs. Everybody knows plastic holds germs. I think to improve this park they should add cabins that contain bathrooms and food courts for pedestrians convenience. These cabins should be located about 1 to 2 miles apart. That's also more jobs for those who don't have one. Also they can cut half of a street lane into a bike lane and extend the walkway. This would make kelly drive safer for pedestrians and more cmfortable to visit.

The walk of a life time

I am going to tell you how I felt about this walk honestly! This walk was a pointless. The reason is because we just walked around in a circles it felt like. The place we went a Kelly Drive. One of our supervisor told us to walk on one side of the sidewalk which was Dum, Stupid and just extra stupid. It was like one hundred degrees. We are big,black and just irritated we was extra close. Then on the way back to the train station. I think that was unorganized because they didn't talk to the other co-workers before the did that. That trip was so pointless. Then on the walk I notice a few things they needed the items are trashcans, bathroom that can air out on their own and more benches.

A day along Kelly Drive

On Friday 7/23/09, we walked along Kelly Drive and explored the transportation that people take. While we were down there we saw a lot of people riding bikes and jogging. At one point we stopped by a bridge to take in the beautiful view of this big body of water. Also during our walk we happened to see a turtle on a log in the water and I thought that was so cool. We explore the cars and how people who want to ride bikes have to ride on the path which does not have that much space. ( picture from Google)

7/23/2009

On Thursday, July 23, 2009 we had a guest speaker his name is Josh. He came to talk to use about wheelchair accessibility in Philadelphia Parks. He has a wheelchair himself, he was in the wheelchair since he was 10. And he has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, meaning his muscles are not as strong as they should be, that causes him not to be able to move without the help of a wheelchair. Josh is a very nice person and very smart he does not let DMD ruin his life. He is a motivation to not let any disability stop you from doing anything you want to do. He acts like a normal person, to be honest he seems perfectly healthy besides the chair and the equipment to help him breathe.

Please check out these sites:

Josh's Blog - http://winheldsworld.blogspot.com/
Learn more about DMD - http://www.mda.org/disease/DMD.html

7/22/2009 - Wissahickon Walk

On Wednesday, July 22, 2009 we walked the Wissahickon Creek, well we walk on a trail. Kevin who visited Temple last week was our tour guide. He took us around the trail, we made about four stops. There are a lot of bikers that use that route it was kind of annoying to move over every five minutes. As I walked along the park I noticed that there are no trashcans around for at least a mile. So if you have any food or drinks, you would have to save it until you come up to the trash can. The whole walk was about 3 miles.

7/21/09

On Tuesday, July 21, 2009 this day could be considered basicly just a realx day. We played around in Google Sketchup for about an hour or so. We blogged and that really is all we did.

Lady liberty

As we walked we stumbled upon the colored soldiers memorial. It was a great view and piece of historic art. As we looked at the statue we could obviously see that it was a lady in the middle holding two wreaths. The lady was lady liberty and the soldiers looked up to her as they strived to protect her during the war. It was a sign of great fought battles.

Minor details/ Sadie's walk

On Sadie's first walk we saw alot of historic spots. We even walked the rocky stairs together. It was very excitng and new. I'm pretty sure Sadie had just as much fun as we did. We viewed many statues and other really amazing mediums. We came in contact with many hidden symbols and maps. They led us to the explanations of why certain things were around. We tood on a hill above the schuylkill river. It was quite a view and high up indeed. Sadie feet began to get hot so her owner put her feet in cool water at Love Park.

Here is a picture of City Hall from the trip we took to Parkway on 7/20. That day we were sight seeing and learning about the history that was there. There was so much history behind all the things we saw there. The funniest thing I think happened while we were there was when we all ran up the Art Museum steps like Rocky. Even though it was extremely hot that day, I think that overall everybody had a great time learning a lot about the history behind all the maps, statues,and historic landmarks we saw.

Some of the photos from 7/20/09

Photos in the stream:

Love Park: Home of the skateboarders on Go Skateday. Also the reason why they city Philadelphia is known as the city of Brotherly Love.
Internatianal Vistor Council Plate.
Laura and the Fairmount Park Museum District Map.

BITs groups 6 and 7(?).

7/20/09

Monday, July 20, 2009, we went on our Parkway walk. We walk about 3.1 miles in total. First we had to follow Laura then Dr.Masucci.


First thing we went to Love Park that is where we split up 2 groups with Laura and 3 with Dr.Masucci.

We visited various locations along this walk(photos will be posted in another post). Lunch was Subway. Something new for my group since about 3 of the 10 days we went to Wendys which everyone is tired of.

The location that we ate lunch at was Rocky Land also know as the Art Museum. Then we switched up the group that was following Laura followed Dr.Masucci and vice versa.

During that trip with Dr.Masucci I learned that her dog Sadie is like her shadow, where every she is Sadie is.

So once after the trip was done every one departed for the Broad Street Line and went home.

7/17/2009 Scare of the day

Our unnamed mentor tried to trick us and make us think that we were not getting paid. Until Laura and Aaron came and explianed the things to know about the debit card. Then a mentor of the other group also said "You are getting paid, so there is no reason why you should not have this" that being a zone 2 pass that we need for SEPTA.

Pay Day and 7/17/09

On Friday, July 17, 2009 a guy named Kevin came in and talked to us about Fairmount park and a program called "Friends of Fairmount Park". Basicly he told where we are going to be and what we are going to be doing. We are getting to the park via SEPTA's Reginal Rail Line R6. The mentors told us to buy a zone 2 trail pass for this trip (the advertisement on the pass is for Mcnuggets).

This day was also pay day, at the end of they day around 4:20 PM.

FAIMOUNT PARK

This is Fairmount Park. On Monday 7/20/09 we will be going there to check out the park and do a little walking. Well actually more than a little walking. I am very excited and I can't wait. I think this will definetely be a new experience for all of us especially our group leader because he has never been there before so this will definetely be something else.

Fairmount prepping

Today is Friday and we are currently prepping for our trip to Fairmount park on Monday. I am ready and very excited. I know for sure that we are in for quite a walk. Fairmount Park is one of the biggest parks I know of and it is very enormous indeed. I will be up and ready to walk. I will probably have to buy some walking sneakers. It will be a totally new experience for me because I never walked through Fairmount park. I wish I could have other people I know that need to lose weight so I can help someone and see the park at once.

Learning about Fair Mount Park

Today we learned about Fair Mount Park. We learned about the different parts of the park, such as the Wissahickon. We learned a lot from Kevin, who is a volunteer at the park. He taught us about the different areas of the park and he taught us about the friends groups.

$ pay day $

Well today had to be the scariest day at bits for the simple fact that we all thought we wasn't getting paid. Then Laura cleared things up and we all had a sigh of relief

Thanks Laura

It is almost time for the Ben Franklin walk

First off for more information about this walk please visit: http://www.itsrg.org/5/post/2009/07/bits-participants-survey-the-benjamin-franklin-parkway.html
This walk will be about 1 mile, or a very long walk our group leader who wants to remain unnamed told us to bring a lot of water. This trip will also be the chance to get some excise. We will be getting to this place via SEPTA's Broad Street Line (Orange Line). We have to take the local train becuase Temple University station is not an Express or Broad and Ridge Spur stop. But the Ridge Spur does not even stop at City Hall Station (The station we are getting off at)

7/16/2009

On Thursday, July 17, 2009 we learned about Twitter. We learned from a group of students that attend Temple. They have a twitter themselves their main focus is on the enviroment. They first tought us basicly what Twitter is for example they showed us how to "tweet" meaning your message. Then they showed us backgrounds and stuff like that. That is about it for this day there was not much planned for us to do today.

The Way We Work

The way we work may be different what other peopled call work,
We may sit down and do nothing but it is still work,
The reason why it's work because we can sit and socialize with our peers of all ages, size, religion and ethnic group
We may not like everything they do but we just deal with it because they are out co workers and sort of out friend,
To me this is a excellent job because WELL HEY WE GET PAID,
The true meaning of a job will never be known,
The dictionary definition of job is a piece of work,
I DON'T CARE WHAT NO ONE SAYS A JOB IS WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING FOR THE MULLAH

The HIstory Of Jessie Redmon Fauset

Jessie Redmon Fauset was born in Fredericksville, New Jersey. Her father was a minister and her mother died when she was a child. Fauset moved to New York City and began to work for the NAACP's The Crisis magazine. She edited many children books and also she published many other books in her carrer. We went to her home at 17th and Berks and we read about her and took pictures in front of her home.

This picture is of the Opportunity Industrialization Center
O.I.C means the Opportunity Industrialization Center. This center provides jobs for people that are jobless in the community. O.I.C is ran in twenty two states in the U.S.A and in theDistrict of Columbia. The program does not only give jobs but it also provides information and further more training for more superior jobs that people might need more development so they can be skilled when they arrive to there new and approved jobs. The Opportunity industrialization center is a non-profit network of employment and training program and was founded in 1964 by reverend Doctor Leon Howard Sullivan. The organization currently has sixty affiliated programs in thirty states and the District of Columbia.

Our Space

This is Alter Hall our space we go to just about every day.

7/14/2009

On Tuesday, July 14, 2009 we used Google Sketchup http://sketchup.google.com/ at Anderson Hall we played around with all the features. We were told to build something and that is what everyone did. After that we went to lunch then we had to go back to Anderson Hall to listen to Laura talking about a trip that we are going to go to on Monday, July 20, 2009.

Team work

This is the REAL GROUP 6. There is no one before us or after us because like i said we are the real, talented and the fantastic group 6. We run this blog. If you haven't notice on our blog there is many personalities. We are trying to do the best we can on this blog.

having the opportunity to work is very amazing. That's cash on the flow at a head start. I figured if I start now I will have less trouble getting started in the future. Yes, it's true that this job is very boring but guess what? I'm still getting paid for it. It really seems like I'm dedicating my time to a paying summer school. I know for sure that most agree. On the other hand it's fun because you get to talk to many crazy kids too. These kids that are here trying to get paid too can be very hilarious too. The walking by the way is very tiring. I didn't know a college campus can be so big. It's giving me doubts about to return in the next 4 to 5 years. Of course unless it is the only opportunity I have than maybe. I can use those years to determine if I'm capable of the walking and remembrance of directions. "Chi" seems to be perfectly fine with all the walking around this place.

Days at Temple (scavenger hunt)

First we did the scavenger hunt. It was exhilarating, but we had many obstacles on the way. We overcame our obstacles as a team even though our group leader was unavailable during this process. We passed the same area over and over again, making the scavenger hunt seem endless. The areas we visited during the scavenger hunt was: the alumni circle, bell tower, Bank of America, Progress Plaza, Owl Cove, and Skate Park.