Eric Larsen
You will find Eric either below ground or far above – an avid rock climber, Eric thrives on the roof working under the sun. As much as he enjoys working at heights, he enjoys digging holes, and on digging days you can find him with a shovel in his hand. He will often rush off to the store, returning with the motorized spade he rented himself. We appreciate Eric tremendously for his hard work and dedication. Thank you, Eric, for being such a fantastic volunteer!
How did you first get involved with Habitat for Humanity East Bay?
The company where I work, Cisco Systems, sponsored our engineering group to spend a day working. It seemed like a really fun and useful thing to do so I started coming back on my own.
What motivates you to continue volunteering with Habitat?
I keep learning new skills each time I come out, and I feel like I’m slowly getting more productive and useful on the site. I think if you did construction work for money, you might get stuck doing just one type of task, but to do something different each time helps keep things interesting. It’s a thrill to see the buildings reach completion and think about moving the families in. It allows me to make a very tangible contribution and actually accomplish something that helps people in a very concrete way. Much of my paid work in software development over the years has been discarded and I find it very satisfying to build something that will last for a while and actually get used by real people.
"I was wondering what it would be like to be a paid carpenter and my curiosity is now fully satisfied." - Erik Larsen
What has been your favoriate Habitat experience?
Working on the 2006 Earth Day Build-A-Thon was really neat. I was exhausted by trying to sustain the effort for four days but it was great to see the buildings spring up so quickly. The logistics and preparation meant everything went really smoothly. I was wondering what it would be like to be a paid carpenter and my curiosity is now fully satisfied. I doubt I could sustain doing that kind of work every day at my age. Seeing the pace and intensity that the experts bring to framing was a real eye opener for me. Pretty fun... I can’t wait for the next one.
What are your plans with us in the future?
I plan to keep working at the Livermore site at least a few times each month through the completion of phase III. I hope to keep working on various Habitat projects. The Peninsula HfH group is starting a build very close to my home in Redwood City that I might get involved with in 2007. I sure enjoy the HfH East Bay mentality, however. I very much enjoy learning how to use new tools and there is a great opportunity to do this with East Bay.
"The other day Eric was disappointed when I locked up the fence at the end of the build day, because he didn't have time to empty the last trash can. That's just the kind of guy he is - always staying late to finish the job." - Chrissy Thomas, Site Supervisor
Tell us about yourself. Besides volunteering with Habitat what else do you do with your time?
I like to ride my mountain bike and spend quality time with my cats. I get over to Planet Granite in Sunnyvale for indoor rock climbing a few nights each week. My girlfriend Barbara is a part-time SCUBA instructor so we get in a little diving in Monterey. Sometimes we take trips to the tropics for diving and rest. I enjoy watching “Modern Marvels” on TV. I usually have to wrestle the remote control out of Barbara’s fingers before I can watch any TV show featuring heavy equipment or construction...
Tell us a little about your work with volunteers in Yosemite.
In 1998 the park had some money allocated to repair the damage from floods and they started a volunteer program. A few climbers started coming up regularly to camp, climb, and help the park with ongoing maintenance and repair projects. Eventually I started to coordinate our little group and it grew into a very capable but loosely organized entity. We got involved in some great projects, including recycling 40,000 feet of telephone cable that we brought down from a mountain side. Unfortunately there was a lot of poison oak in the area and it turned into an itchy ooze-fest. We also got involved in demolishing some old buildings near Wawona. We tore down a number of dilapidated residences using chain saws and sledge hammers. It was amazing that we avoided serious injury on that effort. I have since gained a better understanding of construction safety. We diverted 240 cubic yards (six big debris boxes) of wood out of landfills. The wood materials were ground up and used for fuel in a co-generation plant near Fresno. The park relies heavily on volunteers due to lack of budget to do things such as clean the fire pits in the campgrounds. They estimate that they got over $1 million dollars worth of donated labor in Yosemite in the last year from various groups. I love to climb in Yosemite and it’s a great place to camp, especially in our special campsite away from the RV’s. Climbing the scaffolds and doing roofing is almost as much fun as rock climbing!
