Green Team Member goes to Groundwork USA training in Texas!

My name is Tyjohn Sykes. I attended a Groundwork U.S.A youth leadership training in Texas in March 2015 for seven days.When I first got to Texas I didn't know what to expect. I immediately was comforted by the people around me. They treated me like they knew me my whole life. In these seven days we learned a lot of useful information.

Our days started off with a breakfast cooked by the host and some of the volunteer youth leaders. Each day the youth leaders switched off chores. One day we learned how to use a chain saw, ax, and did stone work (cutting stone and building a small stone wall). Before working we went over the safety procedures. We wore safety goggles, hard hats, gloves,respirators, had a first aid kit available to us. We made sure to always drink water. Our nights ended with dinner and campfire talks we slept in tents.

The purpose of this experience was to sharpen our skills as leaders, bring people from across the country together to share and exchange information. Another thing was to tap into unknown resources. This experience will help me in my life it taught me to be more open.