Time Flies: Reflecting on the Start of the 2018 Season
This spring has been an especially hectic and rewarding time here at Landforce. This April, Operations and Communications manager Tricia Dougherty joined the team during a whirlwind of applications, interviews, and planning for the start of the season. Now that orientation is over and the crews are off on worksites throughout the city, we’re looking back and wondering where the time went.
During the recruitment process Landforce received 55 crew member applications. From those candidates our program manager, workforce development and outreach manager, and crew leaders interviewed 34 applicants, called back 24 finalists for working interviews, and ultimately selected 16 exceptional folks to make up our largest crew to date.
The two-week orientation was filled to the brim with workforce development skills building, land stewardship training, and teambuilding. Crew members became CPR certified after completing a hands on First Aid CPR AED course. They met with representatives from local banks and community organizations during a financial empowerment workshop, where many crew members opened bank accounts for the first time. The crews bonded as a team while completing a hike through Emerald View Park in Mt. Washington. We celebrated the completion of orientation with a ceremony where each crew member was presented with their official Landforce shirts and crew assignments.
As new crew members learn about land stewardship, training on everything from felling trees, removing invasive plants, planting shrubs, and building box steps, they are also setting their personal and professional goals for the next six months. Their self-identified goals include earning a driver’s license, gaining stable housing, becoming a better communicator, developing career goals, finishing school, and buying a car. Career interests that have been identified involve plumbing, carpentry, welding, HVAC, and electrician work. Crew members have already reported progress towards those goals at our team meeting and we are looking forward to reaching many milestones this season!
It has been so rewarding to get to know everyone and grow as a team. We’re excited to see what we can accomplish together! Come back throughout our season to hear more stories from our crew members and to see what we achieve.