Quiet is the New Loud
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
evergreen reachout
Last semester I participated in U Serve 2006. So when a similar volunteer event, Reading Week Reach Out, was opened for registration, I did just that. I was placed in 'Environment' with Evergreen today, with the task of painting this room that would be used as their office at the under-revamp Don Valley Brickworks.
It wasn't easy to get there. Had to take the subway to Castle Frank station, then take a few minutes ride of cab. The Brickworks is an abandoned brickworks located at the Don Valley which is part of a restoration project. There are plans underway to trnasform the quarry and surrounding area into a public space with gardens and activities, all with an environmental-conscious approach..
Ended up, we didn't have to paint. Rather, we had to clean up the place. I suppose that had been the aim of Evergreen all along in getting us there, since 'cleaning' doesn't sound as appealing as 'painting'. But it was okay.. There was an additional activity at the end that allowed us to make our own notebooks out of scrap paper and cardboard boxes as the cover. Plus, we had a tour of the area..
Heading to the quarry. You can see the depth of the current fill, multiply that by two since, and you can gage how deep the quarry used to be. Replanting and the creation of a filter lake system with public-friendly walkays transformed it to...
The brickworks, with the remaining chimney, 'VALLEY', out of four. You can see the bridge network and frozen filter lakes in the foreground.
The group of volunteers.
We also entered this huge industrial building where it was dark but had sparse holes in the roofs letting in streams of light above, the ground was littered with bricks and debris, the walls were graffiti-covered, but yet was a building with high aesthetic value. I didn't have my camera with me then.. and it eventually ran out of battery. But yea, a cool Blair Witch Project-like area.
The whole masterplan is expected to be completed by 2010 or so with delays. I'll check it out then, since I'm hopeful I would still be here..
It wasn't easy to get there. Had to take the subway to Castle Frank station, then take a few minutes ride of cab. The Brickworks is an abandoned brickworks located at the Don Valley which is part of a restoration project. There are plans underway to trnasform the quarry and surrounding area into a public space with gardens and activities, all with an environmental-conscious approach..
Ended up, we didn't have to paint. Rather, we had to clean up the place. I suppose that had been the aim of Evergreen all along in getting us there, since 'cleaning' doesn't sound as appealing as 'painting'. But it was okay.. There was an additional activity at the end that allowed us to make our own notebooks out of scrap paper and cardboard boxes as the cover. Plus, we had a tour of the area..
Heading to the quarry. You can see the depth of the current fill, multiply that by two since, and you can gage how deep the quarry used to be. Replanting and the creation of a filter lake system with public-friendly walkays transformed it to...
The brickworks, with the remaining chimney, 'VALLEY', out of four. You can see the bridge network and frozen filter lakes in the foreground.
The group of volunteers.
We also entered this huge industrial building where it was dark but had sparse holes in the roofs letting in streams of light above, the ground was littered with bricks and debris, the walls were graffiti-covered, but yet was a building with high aesthetic value. I didn't have my camera with me then.. and it eventually ran out of battery. But yea, a cool Blair Witch Project-like area.
The whole masterplan is expected to be completed by 2010 or so with delays. I'll check it out then, since I'm hopeful I would still be here..