By Chuck Lauter
On April 27-28, 2012 the Fellowship will hold its first service/work-camp. This event caps off our celebration of Earth Day 2012 and honors the UU 7th Principle. The service portion will take place at the Door County Land Trust’s (DCLT) newly acquired, iconic Grandview property at the top of Ellison Bay hill.
Activities will begin with the April 27 campout. We’ll gather at about 5 pm at the DiIulio’s campsite, north of Ellison Bay for a potluck supper. In the evening, we’ll have a campfire with readings, stories, and songs. Overnight camping will be in tents or in the 6+ bunks in trailers on the site. Participants must provide sleeping bags, tents, and personal items. There is no electricity, so flashlights are a must. Weather is unpredictable at that time so warm clothing may be needed. Water is plentiful from a deep well with a hand pump and a port-a-potty provides sanitary facilities. The site has a shelter, picnic tables, and other amenities. We are grateful to Helene and Ray for its use. Saturday morning will begin with an early, simple breakfast so that we can travel 10-15 minutes to the work site by 9 am.
The opportunity to help prepare the Grandview site for its June 23rd opening to the public is thrilling indeed. The DCLT’s acquisition, after years of action, has protected it from development in perpetuity and preserved what many consider to be the finest view in Door County. The tasks include:
- backfilling, mulching, and watering bushes for a new privacy hedge
- marking boundaries to protect the privacy of adjacent lands
- installing a fence around the Hansen property to ensure its privacy
- assembling Leopold benches
- removing trash and litter
- establishing a short pedestrian path from the parking area to the kiosk
- Saturday we will need a crew to prepare and bring lunch
- Bob can probably use some help on the fish-boil Saturday evening
A sign-up to list your preferences will be posted in the Gathering Room April 1 to April 15. In case the weather makes our plan impractical April 27-28, we do have a rain date of May 4-5.
We’ll engage these tasks until about 4 pm with a lunch break from 12-1pm. Workers will need work gloves and water bottles (not bottled water). Shovels, buckets, pruning equipment, ratchet or crescent wrenches, and other hand tools will be useful. Our work will be supervised by DCLT staff. And of note—Marilyn Hansotia and Bob Judd are the official DCLT stewards of this preserve.
The day’s activities will conclude with a celebratory fish-boil at Bob Lindahl’s home at about 6 pm. Many thanks to Bob for preparing this. From 4-6 pm we’ll be able to clean up and move out of the camp site.
We hope Members and Friends will participate in this time of service and of camaraderie and fellowship. We recognize that some may not wish to camp or alternatively be unable to work on the projects, but we hope those who choose to participate will attend as much as possible. Non-campers are welcome at the potluck and campfire.
