Reflections, working for the NEB this summer
Reflections
Working for the North End BIZ
Summer of 2023
I worked for 4 months over the summer for the North End BIZ as a Team Leader (Urban Green Team funded). There where ups and downs, but overall I would call it a positive experience. I enjoyed working in a job where what you do actually makes a difference in a community, instead of working for a big chain and doing the same things everyday. Every day something new happened, sometimes good and sometimes bad, but that’s what made it interesting work.
Sometimes it was disheartening to see the work that you did the previous day, was undone overnight, but that was something we learned to deal with as the summer went on, and it become more manageable knowing that it was out of our control. We also liked connecting with the community, and even made friends with some of the more friendly people in the neighbourhood. This always brightened our days. It was interesting working with and connecting with people from a different area that I did not grow up in.
My role was team leader but I found very quickly that my 2 other team members, Oleh and Iryna, were equal team members and did not require supervision. The communication was a challenge in the beginning, but we improved that as we got to know each other, and both Oleh and Iryna’s English improved over the summer. Iryna also had her beginner’s so with a licensed driver supervising (me) she was able to train driving the Bobcat and she received a lot of practise. Halfway through the season Oleh left to take a full time factory job. The opportunity became available to him and the North End BIZ job was only seasonal. We missed him,
We had great supervision and support at the home base office and on the streets and I want to thank Astrid, John and Keith for their help and advice over the summer. I had a great time working with the green team this summer, and it is definitely a job I would take again.
-Ben
November 13, 2023