The Civilian Conservation Corps in Puerto Rico: A Conversation with Dr. Manuel Valdés Pizzini

The following is part of the Moving Forward Initiative blog series.

 

Dr. Manuel Valdes Pizzini is a scholar, author, and professor at The University of Puerto Rico. Through writing his book La Transformación del Paisaje Puertorriqueño y la Disciplina del Cuerpo Civil de Conservación 1933-1942 (The Transformation of Puerto Rican Landscape and the Discipline of the Civilian Conservation Corps 1933-1942), Dr. Pizzini studied the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the program’s impact on El Yunque National Forest and Puerto Rico as a whole. We spoke with Dr. Pizzini to gain a deeper understanding of the influence and legacy of the CCC in Puerto Rico.

Covering over 28,400 acres on the eastern side of Puerto Rico, El Yunque National Forest is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest System. While Dr. Pizzini’s book touches on other forests in which the CCC operated in Puerto Rico, it is the only book about El Yunque written in Spanish.

This interview is part of The Corps Network’s Moving Forward Initiative blog series. Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Moving Forward Initiative seeks to expand career exposure and increase employment in conservation and resource management for youth and young adults of color. Through this initiative, The Corps Network aims to explore unconscious bias and structural racism within The Corps Network, our member Corps, and America’s land management agencies.

In the 1990s, you were invited by archaeologist Jeff Walker to join an existing research project on the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Puerto Rico. Prior to this project, what did you know about the CCC in Puerto Rico?

Prior to that invitation, I was working with the Forest Service on contract through the [University of Puerto Rico] and was studying visitors [at El Yunque National Forest]. I spent almost two years working every weekend at El Yunque interviewing [visitors] with a large team of students from the university. We were studying patterns of visitors [because] they wanted to build a large visitor center. They also recruited me and my team to do a qualitative study about what people thought about El Yunque and their experience, the spiritual aspect of El Yunque and so forth.

During that time, I had several conversations with an archaeologist who was hired by El Yunque (which was then known as the Caribbean National Forest). He explained to me what the CCC was and the scale of their impact in the Puerto Rican Forest [El Yunque]. I didn’t know much about the CCC and then I started reading about it. So then Jeff Walker came to me and spoke about doing a study about the CCC. I had some ideas already; I knew all those trails and roads I was using to access the Puerto Rican Forest were actually built by the CCC. That really sparked my interest in the program, so when Jeff made the invitation, I already had some knowledge of [the CCC], and I started learning more about the program and its role in the United States.

 

We are intrigued by the spiritual aspects of El Yunque. Can you tell us about some of the ways El Yunque is thought about in Puerto Rico?

There are a handful of books that touch on that. In the book we wrote, I delve into that in some depth. El Yunque originally was a site of strong colonization by the Spaniards and it was [associated with] warfare between the Spanish and the Indians. Later on, African-born people [who were] enslaved in Puerto Rico moved into El Yunque to build community. That was in the sixteenth-century.

El Yunque was the site of exploration and exploitation of gold minds by the Spanish. In that period, those who lived in the surrounding areas started to build a mythology of what El Yunque meant — that El Yunque was a mythical forest, that many spirits live there, that the Indians went there and sought protection from the hurricanes. [These beliefs] come from African and European traditions. [Records from] the nineteenth-century always mention El Yunque as a special place in Puerto Rican society. The thing is, if you were traveling far away or crossing the San Juan bay, you can see El Yunque from San Juan on a clear day. That lead to the idea that El Yunque Peak [Pico El Yunque] is the highest peak in Puerto Rico, which it isn’t, but that adds to the idea that it’s a sacred place.

Close to the 1920s, the United States Forest Service (USFS) appointed Morain Bruner as the Forest Supervisor. He did a survey of the resources of the Luquillo Mountains, which is a mountain range [by] El Yunque. He described at length some of the physical and biological characteristics of El Yunque, and one of the things he said in his report – and I mean this is 1917 or 1920 – [is] that the surrounding communities had all these ideas about Indians living there in the past, about spirits, about fairies who live in the forests by the waterfalls. He said that one day, if we decide to harvest this forest for timber, my guess is that the people will raise up their arms and we will suffer. Which is actually something that almost happened in the 1990s when the USFS said it was going to harvest some of the acres of land in the forest. That created a major uproar in the Puerto Rico population. The USFS was basically harvesting plots of land that they planted in the 1940s [for harvesting], but that’s in a nutshell. However, in our qualitative studies for the development of the visitor center, people spoke to us about the spiritual and cultural meaning of El Yunque. For the Puerto Rican people, it’s associated with our national culture and a sense of identity. I knew all of that, but I was surprised to see that in the numbers in the data we collected.

 

How was the CCC structured on the island of Puerto Rico?

It was structured a bit different than in the United States. Initially we didn’t have the money to have the CCC in Puerto Rico. The Forest Supervisor, who then was William Barbour, and the governor at the time, Robert Hayes Gore, requested that the United States government put the CCC in place. They requested 25,000 people, and eventually the United States government provided the Forest Service with [funding] to place 1,000 men in the camps.

The CCC loved working with the park service, but the USFS was the main entity in charge of the CCC in Puerto Rico. The Army, [which operated camps in the United States], didn’t have much of an impact on the Forest Service. Some military officers and some retired military men were recruited as stewards and supervisors in charge of the operations. It started in a very haphazard manner; the camps were not organized. They didn’t have pillows, beds, or even places to stay. They stayed in tents or they stayed in places in town during the first two years as they tried to develop the program. It wasn’t until 1936 – 1937 that it was actually organized in a way almost similar to in the United States. In the very beginning, they slept in bunks and they didn’t have uniforms. It was not until late in the program that they did have that and some vocational training and activities. So, it started in a very haphazard way — the director of the USFS sent a person to the program to report on [conditions] and all of this is in that report from 1934.

As you probably know, us scientists usually take a critical stance. [In] studying some of the literature on plantations and forests, we came [to] the idea that this program was operated as a plantation system. When we read the documents and we listened to the narratives of the participants, the program was trying to make them into a well-mannered, well-educated American citizens The CCC was actually a process of pacification of the Puerto Rican rural population at that time. Part of that pacification was training them to be good American citizens, learning about the Constitution, learning about good American values. The participants in the program, if they had some violence in those years, it was fights within the people and within the camps, not with anyone else. What happened is they would rather work in the CCC than in the sugarcane. These were two completely different worlds. One was hell, which was the sugarcane – literally. And the other was the CCC, in which they had access to cash.

You have to understand that the Mayor Strikes of 1932 – 1934 happened because the sugar plantations were not paying the workers in cash. They were paying them with a note that they could redeem in the plantation store for fish, rice, potatoes, and other items. When we spoke with the people, they said, “Do you know what the CCC means? The CCC means Cash, Comida (which means food), and Casa (which means shelter).” These people were living in hunger with very precarious housing and they didn’t have any cash, but the CCC completely changed that. Plus, the program gave them some education in how to drive, how to read, how to write, how to use machinery, how to use heavy equipment. However, it was a program that was trying to Americanize them; they were paid by officers of the United States Army under the flag which they would have to salute. Nevertheless, [the program] in fact helped them prepare for the industrial revolution that happened in Puerto Rico in the 1950s. They were prepared for the discipline of the factory and the workshops.

 

It seems like the CCC experience for the Puerto Rican people was perhaps reminiscent of that of Native Americans and African Americans in the CCC in the states. There were benefits, but also drawbacks. After their experience in the CCC, were the Puerto Rican participants likely to continue in conservation work?

Let me put that in context. It is my understanding that, in the United States, you went for a stint in the CCC and then you came out as a very well-trained man and you might be recruited once again. The idea was to have as many new people in the program as possible. In Puerto Rico, it didn’t exactly work out that way. Once they trained the people at the camps, they were reinstated in the program in a few months and it kept them working for the USFS. Many of them were very well trained at the end of the program and went into the Army because they were actively recruited by the United States Army. They were working on building up some military structure in Puerto Rico.

The federal government controlled El Yunque National Forest, and the other forests in Puerto Rico were controlled by a local government agency. It is my understanding from interviews that CCC people were recruited by the local agency and the Forest Service to be the core of their conservation workers. That is not that well documented, but we have evidence of that.

 

 

We would like to learn more about how CCC Members in Puerto Rico helped develop U.S. Forest Service land. How did the U.S. Forest Service acquire this land?

The land belonged to large land holders. During the nineteenth-century and the first three decades of the twentieth-century, there was a mass accumulation of land into a few hands. Throughout the island, there were large landholders and medium-sized landholders: 30, 40, 50 acres. Very few people had one or two acres to live on. If you had a coffee plantation in El Yunque, and you needed labor, what they did was they recruited people and said, “Listen, come work for me, and I’ll let you use two to three acres of land and you can build your small shack or house” — and they grew what are called minor crops, so plantains, yams, mangos, beans, rice. But this is all under the system of “you work for me in the coffee plantation.” So it was kind of a similar process to sharecropping.

When the United States came to Puerto Rico, they preferred the sugar market and set aside the coffee market. The coffee growers started to get into heavy debt with the banks and they couldn’t actually produce. And some of them – and I’m talking about some specific examples that were near El Yunque – decided to cut the big trees and process that as lumber and use that on their properties. When they couldn’t pay their debt, they actually were forced to sell their land to the U.S. Forest Service. That happened all around the island, not only with the Forest Service, but also with local agencies. They started buying acres from the large, medium, and eventually the small landholders.

What happens if I sell 200 acres of land to the Forest Service? Well it may be that 10 to 20 families that live on my property will no longer have a house. They were left landless and without houses. And these were the people who started to get recruited into the CCC.

One thing I have to mention is that coffee was also impacted at this time by hurricanes, especially in 1928 – there was a huge one. The United States government provided a relief program: Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration started in 1933, and then in 1936 they started a program called the Puerto Rico Emergency Reconstruction Administration to help with rebuilding. That program became fused with the U.S. Forest Service CCC. They received funds from the United States government and that’s how the CCC became a major force in Puerto Rico. They were able to provide land to those who became landless. So, every time you go to a forest in Puerto Rico you have to pass by some of these communities in which land was distributed to those who were left landless by those who sold their land.

 

What was the effect on the rural population? On those who lived on or owned this land?

The rural population became urbanized and eventually they abandoned agriculture because they were sent to live in these very compact communities with one acre at most. That was the beginning of the end for agricultural processes in the highlands, especially nearby the forest. But on the other hand, the U.S. Forest Service was recruiting people who were really happy to work in the forest. They would say “yo trabajo en la forestall,” or “I work in the forest” or the forest agency. So that was the major impact: rural people eventually abandoned the agricultural lifestyle. The Forest Service isn’t the only culprit of that; Puerto Rico decided to get on another road for development, but that’s another story.

 

Can you describe the types of work CCC members completed in Puerto Rico?

All the forests in Puerto Rico are largely re-constructed forests that the CCC worked on. Also, they opened roads that gave the public access to the forests. They also built almost all the recreational infrastructure that is there in the forest still today. Access to the beaches, access to different parts of the forest, trails, gazebos. Additionally, in El Yunque and other forests, they built pools for the recreation of the visitors. In the highlands, they also worked on dams to retain the water produced by the mountain ranges. One of the reasons for the conservation of the forest was to have water for the sugarcane industry and for the public. This eventually became a major resource for recreation because people go to this area to enjoy the water in the rivers and waterfalls and the like. The CCC members also worked in small military installations, like communication towers.

Puerto Ricans use the forest for meditation, recreation, and enjoyment with their families.; they owe that to the people of the CCC.

 

As you suggest in your book, the CCC replicated the colonial relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico. Can you explain what you mean by this?

It’s like what I said earlier about the officers, the use of the flag, things of that sort. In the 1930s, people were working for the independence of Puerto Rico, but there was less organization then. The CCC was one of the institutions that wanted to make Puerto Rico like United States citizens. The United States unions were very active in local politics at the time and were trying to do the same. I’m just giving the facts. If you read examples about the CCC, it was about education, how to be a good citizen, how to avoid corruption, how to engage in government offices. It was expected for the program to do that; it was paid for by the United States government, so there is not much else to that.

 

El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest under the U.S. Forest Service’s jurisdiction. It has immense biodiversity among native plants and animals. Do you want to talk about the importance of this biodiversity and how it relates to the work you do?

First of all, I want to make sure it is stated that the Spanish developed their own forest service in the nineteenth-century with foresters trained in Germany. These people came to the island and started protecting the forest but also allowing some people to use the forest for economic ventures, such as growing coffee. They restricted the harvest of timber because they didn’t have the workforce to enforce that.

When the U.S. Forest Service came, they were given thousands of acres of land that had already been protected. And they did their best to protect the peaks and some of the coastal forest. The sugarcane industry and the coffee plantations almost ate the land that was in the coastal areas and near the highlands. The Forest Service works desperately to protect those areas that still have the large trees, and areas with plants that absorb the water. They were also encouraged by Nathaniel Britton who used to work for the botanical garden. He and his wife were botanists and they pushed for a public policy for land protection in the highlands and for the Forest Service to buy the land. So, they decided to buy land, and some of this land was in pretty bad shape. Even prior to the CCC in the 1930s, they started an aggressive program to plant exotic species and developed local nurseries to try to cover the land that was ruined through deforestation and other activities. In the process of buying more land, they actually protected the highland system of the cloud forest. Giving credit to Nathaniel Britton, one of the big peaks is now called Mount Britton. There is a tower built by the CCC which is called the Mount Britton Tower. They protect the forest, but El Yunque is made up of different forests. That needs to be taken into consideration because that is not an easy task. At least that’s my version of the story.

 

What is the current state of El Yunque as a result of time itself as well as the 2018 hurricanes?

El Yunque is operating right now. I haven’t visited El Yunque since Hurricane Maria. I don’t have the heart or the guts to go there, especially after I saw some of the videos. Some of my colleagues do work there; they let me see some of the videos and El Yunque is recuperating. Many of the trails are closed to the public because they still have work to do, but El Yunque, as a tropical forest, as a whole, will come back. The tree population is coming back stronger than ever. It’s very lush in parts of the island. The forest is recuperating, fortunately. Eventually, it will be open to the public completely.

 

What is the legacy of the CCC in Puerto Rico?

The legacy of the CCC is that if I want to go to the forest right now, which is 45 minutes from my office, I go up road 333, and that road was built by the CCC. If I want to go to the coastal portion of the forest, I go on a road that was built by the CCC. If I want to travel through the forest, I will go by trails that were built by the CCC, and most of the land was acquired under the CCC. So, my own enjoyment on one typical day is by means of the work the CCC did in Puerto Rico. If you look at the forest and they look full of trees, most of those trees were actually worked on by the CCC. Their contribution is their legacy. It’s a great legacy in terms of infrastructure and covering the land with trees and plans. This is something that cannot be understated. Access to recreation is possibly one of the most important legacies of the CCC to the general public.

 

What other effects did the program have on its participants?

We spoke with the participants of the CCC and we saw the reports. Anything can go in a government report, but when we spoke with members, they told us they were very well fed, they were very well educated. The capacity-building — to be prepared for the labor market that eventually was prevalent in Puerto Rico — was one of the main impacts of the CCC. The CCC members also had the opportunity to share experiences with people from other communities and towns and learn about different places in Puerto Rico. Some were sent to camps that were far from their homes. They spoke about all of that. People learned how to read and write in the CCC. They would say things like “I could eat three meals a day.” For economic reasons they weren’t able to do that in their homes. They acknowledged that and they were still very thankful for the program.

 

The Moving Forward Initiative has allowed us to look at the lack of diversity within the land management agencies along with the broader environmental and conservation fields. What thoughts do you have about his lack of diversity? Do you have any ideas about what we can do to increase diversity within the resource management field?

I think we need more internships for minorities and people who aren’t represented in land management; my guess is there still is an issue of gender representation, too.

[By the way, the CCC in Puerto Rico was all male but, for purely demographic reasons, the program participants were otherwise varied and diverse. I will say there was a tendency for those in the Forest Service to recruit white males from the United States to come and work at the forest. When we started working with the U.S. Forest Service, the management was from the United States, mostly white, and although they had the intention of understanding cultural values, they didn’t have a thorough understanding. It took the United States three to four years to push for an agenda that had some appreciation for the cultural aspect of the forest].

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We need to have internships that have some capacity-building for as many diverse people to get into the management of land resources in the United States. I know this is happening. I’m not saying it’s not happening. I just know it’s something I can recommend. It would be great if more people could get involved. I hardly heard about training and internship opportunities in El Yunque, we need people here to be training and have those experiences. There is much to learn from those who work in the forest.

 

Related Resources:

 

 

Reflection Questions:

  1. Think about a park or forest in your community. Was this parkland always there? What is the history of this space?
  2. When you think about your favorite park or other natural space, what do you feel or what words come to mind? Consider other ways in which people in your community may think or feel about this space. Historically, how have people used this space?

 

Resources 

All sources cited in this piece can be found in the Moving Forward Initiative Resource Library.

(Photo by U.S. Forest Service)

Celebrating National Park Week 2019

Every year, Service and Conservation Corps across the country partner with the National Park Service (NPS) to engage young adults and recent veterans in maintaining some of America’s most treasured natural and cultural resources. From restoring habitats, to building new trails, to preserving historic buildings, Corpsmembers complete important projects to help make our parks accessible, sustainable, educational and relevant. To celebrate National Park Week (April 20 – 28, 2019), we’re highlighting some of the many ways in which Corps are proud to partner with NPS.
#FindYourPark
#National Park Week

Utah Conservation Corps
Capitol Reef National Park
Habitats and Landscape

Utah Conservation Corps partnered with Capitol Reef National Park last fall. These AmeriCorps members worked on a variety of projects around the park, including a barrier fence along the south side to keep cattle from getting into the park.

Conservation Legacy – Stewards Individual Placement Program
Fort Washington and Oxon Cove Parks
Education

Diego Contreras, an AmeriCorps VISTA member with Stewards Individual Placement Program, served at Fort Washington and Oxon Cove Parks as part of the National Junior Ranger Program in Washington, DC. Diego worked on making both the physical and the digital Junior Ranger Program more accessible, relevant and meaningful to children nationally by bringing the nation’s parks to children who might otherwise not experience them. Through his focus on urban and impoverished communities, he worked on promoting and expanding the program beyond park boundaries to include community based programming in underserved populations.

Conservation Legacy
Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program
Habitats and Landscape

Conservation Legacy works closely with the National Park Service to place AmeriCorps members all across the country. As part of this partnership, Emma Lord served her second AmeriCorps member with the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program in the state of New Hampshire. The RTCA program supports community-led natural resource conservation and outdoor recreation projects across the nation. One of the projects Emma worked on was the Transportation and Infrastructure Projects on Wild and Scenic Rivers training workshop at the 2018 River Management Society Symposium in October 2018.

When asked about her service Emma stated, “I have been and will continue to be interested and passionate about conservation and protection of natural resources, and working with the NPS has only solidified that.”

Conservation Legacy
Colonial National Historical Park & The Geological Society of America
Habitats

Conservation Legacy places AmeriCorps members at National Park Service (NPS) sites all over the country. One particular NPS program, Geoscientists-in-the-Parks (GIP) matches college students and recent grads at NPS sites who want to use their expertise to help the agency to better understand and manage its natural resources. One GIP, Jennifer Cramer who is based at Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia, is involved with many important projects at the park. One of the projects Jennifer is most proud of includes collecting datasets and making plots to relate groundwater responses to extreme weather like Hurricane Florence. Jennifer is also heavily involved in a vulnerability assessment of the 56 archaeological sites across Jamestown island.

Student Conservation Association
Kenai Fjords National Park
Trails

Each year, Student Conservation Association (SCA) sends Conservation Corpsmembers to serve for several weeks at Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park, working to maintain the popular Harding Icefield Trail.

Canyon Country Youth Corps
Arches National Park
Habitats

Due to a successful partnership between Canyon Country Youth Corps and Arches National Park and funded by the National Parks Foundation, Ancestral Lands Corpsmembers have been able to remove invasive species while floating down the Colorado River. Canyon Country Youth Corps is excited to continue working with the Arches River Ranger and staff on future projects.

Conservation Corps North Bay
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Trails

This past winter, Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) was awarded a grant through California’s SB 1 Active Transportation Program (ATP) to enhance and restore the Dipsea stairs, located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. CCNB Corpsmembers have a history of working with partners to preserve and protect Marin’s most cherished hiking and running trails.

Due to wear and tear and the natural effects of time, the Dipsea stairs needed repairs to maintain their structural integrity. Working in partnership with Golden Gate National Park Conservancy and the National Park Service, Corpsmembers focused on infrastructure, installing new stone stairs and replacing cracked ones to control erosion and to minimize safety concerns for thousands of visitors to the trail. Learning from NPS experts, Corpsmembers used traditional masonry techniques of laying stone by hand to lessen environmental impact and help maintain the historic character of the stairs.

Student Conservation Association
Yosemite National Park
Wildlife

For the past 10 years, Student Conservation Association (SCA) has partners with Yosemite National Park on Black Bear Management internships. These interns assist park biologists in reducing human-wildlife conflicts by detecting and mitigating the availability of human food in campgrounds, parking lots, lodging facilities, and other park areas. In addition, interns assist with monitoring movements of bears using radio telemetry, assist in capture and relocation of bears and other wildlife, assist with negative conditioning of bears and other wildlife using various tactics, and enter daily patrol data into a database. Interns also participate in wilderness patrols focusing on educating hikers and backpackers about bears and proper food storage.

Great Basin Institute
Great Basin National Park
Wildlife

During the 2015-2016 and again in 2019, Great Basin Institute coordinated with the National Park Service and Great Basin National Park to implement bat monitoring and public outreach at Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada. Bat surveys provide current information on life history, population status and trends, location of key concentrations of bats, and habitat conservation needs. To better understand species density, richness and diversity within the park, surveys include information on locations of roosts, roost fidelity, frequency of changes in roost occupancy, and associated foraging requirements. Assisting with bat monitoring provides opportunities for developing a diverse array of field techniques, including mist netting, exit and roost counts, and acoustic sampling. This work generates data providing key indicators of species density, richness, and diversity to inform adaptive management strategies. Engaging in public outreach to inform park visitors about their role in preventing the spread of White Nose Disease is part of the monitoring and outreach program.

Conservation Legacy – Arizona Conservation Corps and Southwest Conservation Corps
WASO & NPS Intermountain Fire Program
Military and Habitat

Conservation Legacy’s Veterans Fire Corps (VFC) engages recent era veterans on priority hazardous fuels and prescribed burn projects while developing the next generation of wildland firefighters. The VFC successfully addresses two needs 1) veterans who need a way to transition from military to civilian service and 2) land management agencies who need highly qualified and well trained employees.

Arizona Conservation Corps
The inaugural Arizona Conservation Corps Veterans Fire Corps crew has been working in partnership with the National Park Service to protect homes and reduce fuel load and the chances of catastrophic wildfire at the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Parks. The Corps has been performing prescribed burns, introducing fire back into ecosystems where historically fire has been a natural occurrence. By reducing fuel loads and re-introducing low intensity fire, Corpsmembers are helping to protect life, property and the natural environment of our National Parks. The crew will continue to work in Grand Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and will start work in Saguaro National Park this fall.

Southwest Conservation Corps
The Veteran Fire Corps crew of Southwest Conservation Corps has been working with Rocky Mountain National Park on fire/fuels mitigation projects that will contribute to wildland urban interface buffer zones between the National Park and private lands in order to reduce the potential spread of wildfire in the future. As the crew moves further into their season they will continue working primarily on fire/fuels mitigation projects such as thinning and fire break creation, as well as assisting in prescription fire efforts to help reduce the chance of large fire events. These efforts will be performed in Rocky Mountain National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Mesa Verde National Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Conservation Legacy
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park 
Habitat and Historic Preservation

A Conservation Legacy Crew was tasked with the restoration of the original historical fence line that bordered the Dyer farm during the battle of Chickamauga during the Civil War. The 700 foot fence was placed right off a trail going up Strawberry Hill on Glenn-Kelly Road. Earlier in the week, the group used an old map to create a scaled version for the restoration. By working with staff at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, the team was able to complete this work using modern day tools but followed traditional practices.

Conservation Legacy
Historic Preservation Training Center

The Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) and Stewards Individual Placement Program partnership provides training, vocational skills development and experience for individuals interested in the historic preservation trades. Since the HPTC is part of the National Park Service, members gain skills while helping to preserve the historic structures, monuments and memorials throughout the park system. In 2018, Conservation Legacy and the HPTC program placed 55 participants.

 

Corpsmember Highlights:

“I will be continuing into another term with the Project Management section of HPTC and hope to become a term employee in the future. [The Eisenhower NHS project] allowed me to utilize a lot of the skills I learned in school and allowed me to learn much more about the restoration aspect of construction. It pushed me to be confident in my knowledge and decisions, and I had a great support system from my coworkers.” – Josh Eavis, Eisenhower National Historic Site

 

“My internship has been phenomenal. One of my favorite projects has to be the restoration of The Chapel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb is a sacred place and we had to be very careful working as to not to disrupt ceremonies. The windows were beautifully restored by our team. I completed the necessary repairs in a building that millions of people find sacred.” – Ben Branholts, Arlington National Cemetery

 

“We learned the terms preservation, restoration and conservation first hand. Putting those words into action was exciting and fulfilling. Restoring windows is a great way to conserve energy, materials and workmanship.” – Susan Hinton, Gettysburg National Battlefield

Rocky Mountain Youth Corps
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
Historic Preservation

AmeriCorps Members with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps completed historic preservation and restoration work at the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. The crew removed old plaster and applied new mixed plaster to the Quarai Missions building to preserve the history of early cultural interactions between Spanish settlers and Pueblo Peoples in the Middle Rio Grande region.

Rocky Mountain Conservancy
Rocky Mountain National Park
Trails

In 2019, the Rocky Mountain Conservancy helped to rebuild the Aspen Brook Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. This trail has remained damages since the 2013 Colorado floods. It required reroutes, stabilization, and restoration work. The Corpsmembers established new trail tread, constructed switchbacks and check steps, and helped decommission and restore old trail corridor with six AmeriCorps members and over twenty volunteers.

Northwest Youth Corps and Idaho Conservation Corps
Works across 13 National Park Service sites
Trails and Habitat

Northwest Youth Corps and Idaho Conservation Corps have a vibrant and effective partnership with national parks in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In 2018, the Corps mobilized 322 young people to provide 13 NPS parks and sites 38,000 hours of conservation service. The National Park Service’s commitment to youth programs, along with the determination of the Corps to provide service opportunities from youth and young adults from all backgrounds and walks of life makes this partnership a success.

Conservation Legacy
Mesa Verde National Park
Habitat

Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) crews have a long history of caring for the Mesa Verde National Park. From weed removal, to ensuring campgrounds are bear-safe to maintaining trails throughout the park, SCC is a critical resource as the National Park Service struggles with increasing visitor’s usage and decreasing budgets each year.

This past summer, two crews from SCC’s summer youth programs in Four Corners worked on a variety of projects throughout the park. To help to create a more inclusive amphitheater space for rangers to give evening programs, a crew worked to dismantle a large portion of the existing amphitheater. These crews had the opportunity to work mitigating weeds, both by hand pulling multiple acres of invasive species, and laying weed barrier cloth and gravel around large water tanks throughout the park. One crew had the opportunity to help maintain five miles of trails in the park, to keep them sustainable for the hundreds of thousands of visitors received by the park.

Conservation Legacy
Historic Veteran Trades Apprenticeship program

In 2018, the Historic Preservation Training Center and Stewards Individual Placement Program have begun the Veteran Trades Apprenticeship program (VTAP), specifically providing post-9/11 veterans training and experience in the maintenance and care of federal monuments and memorials. Throughout this program, apprentices develop marketable skills and receive excellent exposure to the historic preservation career field. The Stewards Individual Placement Program placed 8 VTAP members in 2018. The majority are still in service: some have accepted a second term of service and one participant has already accepted a full time post-service employment opportunity in the field of historic preservation.

Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (NM)
Bandelier National Monument
Trails  

In the fall of 2018, an Upper Rio Grande (Taos) Conservation Spike Crew cleared out wilderness trails at Bandelier National Monument. These efforts helped hikers and trail users to enjoy the landscape, including the sections previously impacted by the Las Conchas fire in 2011.

Save the Date: Webinar Opportunity – December 11, 2018

Opportunity Youth United Community Leaders:
What it means to be a Community Leader and how you can get involved

Details

The Corps Network and Opportunity Youth United (OYU) want to remind everyone they are joining forces December 11th to administer a webinar outlining the Opportunity Youth United’s Community Leader position and how interested individuals can get involved. The webinars will feature two former Corpsmembers of the Year, Timothy Gunn and Philan Tree, both of whom are members of the National Council for Young Leaders, OYU’s governing body. These two will share their experiences as members of OYU, describe the OYU movement generally, and dive into some of the specifics of being an OYU Community Leader. The webinar is geared toward Corps alumni, but is open to current Corpsmembers and Corps staff as well. We encourage all to participate, but current Corpsmembers and Corps staff should be aware of any and all AmeriCorps restrictions (please see disclaimer below). This is an issue that will be addressed during the webinar. Even if you find the position is not the right fit for you, you might find it would be perfect for someone you know and pass along the information.

For additional context, Opportunity Youth United is a solution-oriented national movement of present and former Opportunity Youth united to increase opportunity and decrease poverty in America. The movement engages opportunity youth of all racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds, as well as their adult allies. They come from both rural and urban communities and despite this diversity, they are united in their aim to end poverty and injustice. Community Leaders are involved in this movement to serve as public spokespeople and local organizers in their own communities. They organize community improvement projects, strengthen civil engagement and support national policy initiatives all in an effort to end poverty and injustice and achieve the National Council for Young Leader’s recommendations.

If this is something that interests you, and you are between the ages of 18-24, have strong leadership skills, a strong connection to your community, and are a former Opportunity Youth, heed the call and learn more about being a Community Leader. The webinar will be held at two separate times, Dec. 11th at 4:00 p.m. EST and Dec. 11th at 7:00 p.m. EST. Registration for the 4:00 p.m. time slot can be done here. Registration for the 7:00 p.m. time slot can be done here. We encourage all to register, but if you happen to forget, we still want you to participate. Feel free to call in at 202-599-4501 and view the screen share here.

 

Disclaimer about AmeriCorps Restrictions:

Staff and Corpsmembers may not engage in the following activities while charging time to an AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS):

  1. Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office
  2. Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials
  3. Conducting a voter registration drive or using CNCS funds to conduct a voter registration drive;

Staff and AmeriCorps members may not engage in the above activities directly or indirectly by recruiting, training, or managing others for the primary purpose of engaging in one of the activities listed above. Individuals may exercise their rights as private citizens and may participate in the activities listed above on non-AmeriCorps time, and using non-CNCS funds. For more information on Prohibited Activities, see this resource from CNCS

Questions?

Please contact Conor Rooney from The Corps Network Government Relations Team, [email protected].

 

Add event to calendar — Slot #1 (start 4:00 p.m. EST)

Apple     Google     Outlook     Outlook.com     Yahoo

Add event to calendar — Slot #2 (start 7:00 p.m. EST)

Apple     Google     Outlook     Outlook.com     Yahoo

On the Front Lines: How Corpsmembers Engage in Wildfire Response, Recovery, Mitigation

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of Corpsmembers and staff with the California Conservation Corps have served night and day in response to the Camp, Woolsey, and Hill Fires. Now that the fires are contained, Corpsmembers are still hard at work trying to prevent landslides in areas that have been stripped of vegetation. Some staff and Corpsmembers even continue to serve after losing homes, friends, and family in the Camp Fire.

In this difficult time, our thoughts are with the CCC and those affected by the recent fires.

We are grateful for the Corpsmembers across the country who not only respond to wildland fires, but help mitigate the threat of future fire events, and provide recovery support in the days, weeks, and months after the flames have subsided. Read below for an overview of some of the ways Corps engage in fire response, recovery, and mitigation.

 

Due to warmer temperatures, drier weather, and the spread of the mountain pine beetle – an insect that feeds on trees, killing off whole sections of forest – conditions across the West are fueling longer, costlier wildfire seasons. To meet this challenge, state and local Conservation Corps are training AmeriCorps members in the skills to not just fight wildfires, but help manage fire risk.

Last year alone, Corps responded to over 560 wildfires, a sharp increase over the 140 fires Corps addressed in 2014.

Through partnerships with federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), as well as with state forestry agencies, several Corps across the country offer AmeriCorps members the opportunity to be certified as Type-I or Type-II firefighters. Type-II training leads to a kind of license called a “Red Card,” which allows individuals to serve on fires with federal agencies. Type-I firefighters might receive upwards of 80 hours of training in more advanced firefighting skills.

WCC responds to Thomas Lane Fire earlier this year. Photo from WCC Facebook page, courtesy Trevor Cassidy.

Washington Conservation Corps (WCC), housed within the state’s Department of Ecology, has 300 AmeriCorps members, all of whom have the opportunity to earn their Red Cards. So far this year, over two dozen Corpsmembers have been deployed to fires, often on “hand crews.” This means Corpsmembers come through after a fire to survey for heat, extinguish embers, and dig ditches to keep fires contained. In advance of the hand crew, a WCC wildland fire chainsaw crew will clear trees and branches.

“It’s really hard work,” said Brad Mahoney, a WCC AmeriCorps member. “You have to be mentally and physically ready. It’s pretty draining, but there is a certain satisfaction that keeps you coming back. Being able to take part in something that is so important is a really meaningful experience.”

California Conservation Corps, summer 2018.

Further South, the California Conservation Corps (CCC) operates a larger fire program. About 70 percent of the Corps’ 1,400 Corpsmembers will at some point work on a fire, either as camp support or as firefighters. CCC members have responded to all major California fires this year, including the recent Camp Fire, as well as the Mendocino Complex, Ferguson, and Carr fires.

Fighting fires on the front lines is incredibly important, but so is supporting fire camps. Every CCC Corpsmembers undergoes training in fire camp operations. A given fire camp can easily have upwards of 5,000 firefighters and support personnel, with activity happening 24 hours a day. CCC members are a critical asset, helping in the kitchen, managing equipment, dispersing ice, collecting trash, and monitoring the perimeters.


Meet Oscar Nuño, a CCC Corpsmember.

 

“A shift usually starts around 6:00 a.m. and they are camping out in tents. Because of the fire, it’s hot. It’s hot, hot, hot,” said Bruce Saito, Director of the California Conservation Corps. “… It’s 12 days in a row having to be tolerant, patient, understanding, and not letting petty arguments get in your way. You’re a team, you’re serving, you’re helping hundreds of thousands of people by the work you do.”

CCC members also help manage equipment and food distribution at fire camps.

Another critical element of fire management involves mitigating the risk of future fires. Since 2015, Corps across the country have removed well over 70,000 acres of hazardous fire fuels, such as dead trees and overgrown brush. In January 2017, the California Conservation Corps launched a new program – Save the Sierras – through which AmeriCorps members cut down more than 15,000 dead trees in the Sierra Nevada mountains before the end of the year.

The non-profit Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) also does a significant amount of work clearing invasive species and fire fuels. MCC has several chainsaw crews, as well as two AmeriCorps programs that are more focused on fire and fuels management: their Veterans Green Corps and their Women’s Fire Crew. Members of both programs receive their Red Cards and S212 chainsaw certification, spending much of their time removing hazardous trees and, in the case of the Women’s Fire Crew, conducting controlled burns on USFS and BLM land.

Montana Conservation Corps and Southwest Conservation Corps members in the BLM Women’s Fire Corps program.

“They gain some serious skills that are empowering and teach them a lot about what they are capable of, and they gain skills that could launch them into a career…a lot of these folks are going to go on and get fire jobs or stay in natural resources, and that saw certification goes a long way,” said Adam Hein, MCC’s Central Divide Regional Director.

AmeriCorps service on chainsaw and fire crews can be an important step towards a job in wildland fire or resource management. Not only do Corpsmembers earn certifications, but they get to serve side-by-side with professionals at agencies like USFS and BLM. Colorado-based Conservation Legacy has produced numerous career wildland firefighters through their young adult and veterans crew AmeriCorps programs at Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC), Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC), and Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC).

Southwest Conservation Corps – Veterans Fire Corps at Coronado National Memorial.

“My time spent crew leading for AZCC helped significantly in not only providing me with the skills and qualifications to obtain my position with the Forest Service. It prepared me for a lifestyle of living simply, performing arduous work for long hours, and perhaps most importantly, connecting with a crew to work towards a common goal,” said Olivia Gagliardi, an AZCC alumna and hotshot firefighter with Coconino National Forest.

Demand for wildland firefighters and saw crew members isn’t expected to slow down. Earlier this year, Congress created an annual fund of more than $2 billion to be accessed when the cost of wildfires exceeds the 10-year average. Agencies like USFS won’t have to divert as much funding to firefighting and, instead, can focus resources on mitigation. Congress also specifically directed USFS to address forest health issues – like beetle outbreaks – that increase the risk of fires. Indications suggest that, in the near future, AmeriCorps members could be engaged in more fuels management projects and, unfortunately, more fire response projects.

 

Did you know?

As of 2016, all Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers offer wildland fire training. Through this program, Job Corps can annually deploy more than 1,000 Corpsmembers to fire emergencies and forest health projects.

  • Learn more about the 2017 Project of the Year awarded to JCCCC for their Wildland Fire Program

 

In 2018, Southwest Conservation Corps and Montana Conservation Corps won a joint Project of the Year Award for their BLM Women’s Fire Corps pilot program.

 

Fire recovery takes years. Watch this video from 2013 about Texas Conservation Corps members helping rebuild infrastructure destroyed by a 2011 fire at Bastrop State Park. To this day, TxCC Corpsmembers serve at Bastrop.

Meet the 2019 Corpsmember of the Year Finalists

Meet the finalists for the 2019 Corpsmember of the Year Award! We are inspired by all of these outstanding candidates; it will be an incredibly difficult task to only pick five winners.

The winners will be announced in December and will be recognized at Resilience – The Corps Network’s 2019 National Conference, taking place Feb. 10 – 13, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Corpsmember stories are arranged in alphabetical order by Corps name.

 

California Conservation Corps (CA)
Jessica Wermes

“Jessica Wermes has displayed a commitment to the program and herself since the day she joined the Corps. Jessica is a tremendous asset and a positive influence on the Corps, her peers, and the community. She inspires others with her strong energy, respect for others, and positive leadership.”

Before joining the California Conservation Corps (CCC), Jessica Wermes was trying to find a positive path forward. She had experienced a challenging adolescence, but knew she wanted to overcome past setbacks by dedicating her life to service. Jessica embraced the numerous opportunities the Corps offered and achieved a plethora of accomplishments. She earned three AmeriCorps Education Award Program scholarships, a Class B Commercial California Driver License with Passenger Endorsements, completed the California Conservation Corps Leadership training, and received a 40-hour certification in Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. Jessica was promoted twice within 20 months to become a Crew Leader II, the highest-ranking Corpsmember at a center. Jessica volunteers her time to help make Placer Center (in Auburn, CA) a better community and continuously takes on leadership roles on the Corpsmember Advisory Board. She was also selected to complete the specialized Backcountry Trails Program (BCTP), an AmeriCorps program through California Volunteers, and has qualified as a lead firefighter to work alongside CalFire during the 2017 fire season. Once she is done with her time in the CCC, Jessica hopes to travel and eventually continue working on public lands.

 

Climb CDC Conservation Corps (MS)
Hunter M. Ferguson

“Hunter has shown our AmeriCorps members that it does not matter where you come from, your past experiences or anything that you have gone through, that they can achieve their goals with hard work and determination.”

Hunter entered the world of Conservation Corps after he started learning more about how much overdue work is needed on private and public lands across the country. He decided to be part of the solution to improve these lands and discovered the opportunity to do so through Climb CDC. Hunter accomplished many goals through hard work and dedication and always had a positive attitude during his time with the Corps. Since completing a nine-month term as a “GulfCorps” member in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, he was promoted to be a Crew Leader. Hunter’s long-term goal is to become a wildland firefighter and eventually a park ranger. As he says, his vision is to live out his life in an A-frame cabin, surrounded by the forest he loves.

“If we don’t change how we live, there will truly be no natural wonders left for generations to come,” said Hunter. “The future I now look at is rather bright rather than bleak.

 

Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps (CA)
Nestor Sanchez

“During his nearly two years at the LCC, Nestor has exhibited an excellent work ethic, strong moral compass, and high expectations for himself and his fellow corpsmembers.”

Through volunteering with Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps (LCC) monthly food distributions, Nestor learned about the opportunities the organization had to offer. Seeing his dedication, the Corps encouraged him to apply to become a Corpsmember. Being a Corpsmember enabled Nestor to build self-confidence and become a first-generation high school graduate. He also built his résumé with certifications in chainsaw operation, aquatic restoration (Waders in the Water), forklift operation, and CPR/First Aid. Primarily through his work at Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, Nestor has also qualified for the Public Lands Corps non-competitive hiring authority. With the assistance of his AmeriCorps Education Awards, Nestor currently attends Fresno City College. With his remaining Education Award funds, he plans to pay for the Fire Academy and eventually go into wildland firefighting.

“My Corps experience has been inspiring and now my life has meaning. My Corps experience has helped me to develop into a responsible man, build confidence within myself, and I am now a leader in training for tomorrow. I’m working to make a difference in my community and be a positive role model.”

 

Green City Force (NY)
Justin Baker

Justin Baker was working a retail job, feeling stagnant and unhappy. He knew he needed a change. When he discovered the opportunity to serve as an AmeriCorps member with Green City Force, he jumped at the opportunity. As a Corpsmember, Justin focused on making sure projects got finished to the end. Though he comes from Staten Island – the farthest borough in New York City, he has the most service hours and has achieved one of the highest ranks in his cohort. During his term with GCF, Justin has primarily participated in the Corps’ Farms at NYCHA program, through which Corpsmembers tend crops and provide food education on New York City Housing Authority Properties. Since he started in May of this year, Justin has been one of the most reliable and passionate members of his team, helping lead them in educating hundreds of residents and schoolchildren, engaging thousands of farm visitors and dozens of volunteers, and distributing over 22,000 pounds of organic produce to families in need. GCF staff rely on Justin’s ability to – with great enthusiasm and seriousness – educate all ages, from children, to young adults, to parents and seniors. In the future, he hopes to continue engaging in community-building activities.

“I would say that Green City Force has put me well on my way to be the best version of myself.”

 

Heart of Oregon Corps (OR)
Thyreicia Simtustus

Thyreicia Simtustus first joined Heart of Oregon Corps after her Junior year of high school. She was interested in being outside and on a crew. She is now completing her third AmeriCorps term across two programs at Heart of Oregon: she has served more than 2,100 hours on public lands and has served outside in collaboration with The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. For the last year and a half, Thyreicia has participated in the Corps while also attending college, commuting over two hours a day roundtrip to do so.

Thyreicia has participated in a range of projects, from planting trees and removing invasive species, to improving recreation resources and managing wildfire fuels. She is known by her Corps to patiently help new Corpsmembers, taking extra care to help some of her peers who experience disabilities. She also openly shares about her indigenous culture and is proud to be a role model, especially to Native American girls. Serving with Heart of Oregon Corps has completely changed Thyreicia’s career. Originally, she planned to have a career in medicine, but she has now discovered how working with the Forest Service can help her get closer to her true dream of becoming a pilot. She recently completed a job shadow with the Forest Service Air Center and had the opportunity to learn about the dispatching system for smokejumpers.

Thyreicia currently serves as “Miss Warm Springs” on behalf of her tribe and is active in tribal community service.

 

Los Angeles Conservation Corps (CA)
Damontre Halcromb

“I have witnessed the exceptional contributions that Damontre has made to the local community and the fellow corpsmembers he’s worked with.”

Damontre didn’t waste any time when he started with Los Angeles Conservation Corps in January 2018. He participated in every training and certification opportunity, earning his First Aid/CPR, OSHA, and forklift certifications, as well as his driver’s license. Due to his hard work, Damontre was recently promoted to be a Corpsmember driver, a role that requires a high level of leadership among his peers. He currently serves with the City Plants project, driving across LA County every day to deliver free trees to residents that requested them. He previously served with the Mayor’s Million Trees Program, planting over 750 trees across LA County. Damontre’s proudest accomplishment, however, is knowing that he has made a positive impact in his community. His goal is to earn an AmeriCorps award and enroll in Los Angeles Trade Tech community college.

“Prior to joining the Corps, I did not have a sense of community even in the neighborhood that I grew up in for the last 20 years,” said Damontre. “Before the Corps, I felt as if I was taking from my community only to benefit myself. Now that I have been a part of the Corps, I feel as if I’m giving back and it makes me see everything in a more optimistic light.”

 

Limitless Vistas, Inc. (LA)
Jasmine Poole

“Ms. Poole works hard and always has a great attitude no matter how hard the work is, or how dirty the job may be… Her attitude has been noticed by our project sponsors so much so that they ask for her personally when they need help with community projects and events. She has also become a positive role model and leader for young, minority women in her community. Jasmine serves as an excellent example of a hard worker, a leader and a participant in the community.”

Jasmine Poole completed two AmeriCorps terms through the Opportunity Youth Service Initiative and now serves as a “GulfCorps” crew member. Growing up in a city, Jasmine had few opportunities to experience nature. However, she has embraced the work of managing public lands and enhancing the environment and has taken full advantage of the trainings LVI offers. Since starting her service in March 2017, Jasmine has helped clean up an EPA brownfields site; conducted a plastics and microplastics survey at Elmer’s Island Wildlife Refuge; cleaned and preserved historic grave markers at Chalmette National Cemetery, and participated in numerous community events. Jasmine became the first and only woman to complete a GulfCorps service term with Limitless Vistas. Upon completing her second GulfCorps term, Jasmine plans to use her AmeriCorps Education Award to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in business management.

 

Montana Conservation Corps (MT)
Dolly Sanchez-Webb

When Dolly was hired for the Montana Conservation Corps’ Youth Conservation Corps, she was just a high school graduate looking for a summer job. Coming from a ranching community, Dolly was initially apprehensive about serving on projects with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS); ranchers and federal resource managers have historically not always agreed on land use practices. Through her summer building fences and trails with MCC, however, Dolly quickly grew to respect and enjoy the work of the USFS.

Dolly is a very hard worker and a natural leader. Just a few weeks into the program, she was asked to step up and help co-lead the crew. With her problem-solving abilities and ranching experience, Dolly developed efficient ways to complete tasks. She took it upon herself to hold check-ins with her fellow crew members and make sure everyone’s voice was heard. When the work got tough, Dolly’s enthusiasm kept the group cohesive and encouraged.

Dolly is now a student at Brigham Young University-Idaho, studying Exercise Physiology and Recreation Management. With the support of project sponsors at the USFS, she hopes to work with the Forest Service this coming summer.

“Dolly was a dedicated, hardworking crew member… She was always eager to jump right in and get to work, no matter the project.” — James Helsley Recreation Technician, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Townsend Ranger District.

 

Mt. Adams Institute – VetsWork Environment (based in WA, service in SC)
Elamon White

Elamon White has demonstrated outstanding leadership and dedication to environmental stewardship and community engagement through her AmeriCorps terms with the Mt. Adams Institute VetsWork program. Her path to this program started when she enrolled in the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in college. While training to become a Naval Officer, Elamon also studied marine science. While she enjoyed serving her country alongside “some of the best sailors she had ever met,” Elamon knew she wanted to pursue a career in conservation. Through VetsWork, Elamon has served as a partnership and volunteer coordinator intern on the Andrew Pickens Ranger District of the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina. She established a detailed volunteer engagement tool, has strengthened relationships with the community, and created a system to track projects, all of which have proved very useful on a district that relies heavily on volunteer support. In addition, Elamon has been the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Crew Leader for her district for the past two summers, leading especially productive crews in projects including campground rehabilitation and trail reconstruction. Once she completes her second AmeriCorps term in January 2019, she hopes to transition to a neighboring district, where she is actively being pursued for a Resource Assistant position.

“I have found purpose in my life and want to continue efforts in protecting and stewarding our public lands so that we have them for future generations.”

 

Sequoia Community Corps (CA)
Maria Corona

When she joined Sequoia Community Corps, Maria Corona had recently become the sole provider for herself and her two small children. Maria had previously taken a break from school to raise her family, but she now needed to start earning an income. She began her Corps training in the organization’s Energy Services call center, fielding questions and scheduling appointments. Maria worked hard and excelled.  Her supervisor noticed her hard work and offered her an administrative position in charge of customer feedback and assisting site assessors. In addition to having a strong attendance record and an excellent work ethic, Maria is well-liked by her fellow Corpsmembers, who respect her dedication to her children and ability to always put family values above all else.  Maria is a positive role model, taking her experience working in the community as a motivator to always be the first to sign up for volunteer activities.

Maria is still deciding on her career path, but her new job skills have given her a sense of confidence and opened the possibility of getting a permanent position with the Corps. Her plan for the future is to go back to school to finish her associate’s degree.

“The reason why I knew I wanted to become a Corpsmember is due to the fact that I genuinely wanted to help others.”

 

San Jose Conservation Corps & Charter School (CA)
Paola Flores

“Paola has been a positive influence in so many ways to her peers in encouraging them to continue in life no matter the obstacles. She shares with them that she herself has faced many obstacles but continues to work towards success every day.”

With her strong work ethic, Paola has achieved a great deal during her time with the San Jose Conservation Corps & Charter School (SJCC & CS). Over a two-year timeframe, she has completed four AmeriCorps terms of service, obtained her high school diploma, and successfully gained hands-on job experience in the Corps’ Environmental Projects Department and Recycling Department. She achieved all of these accomplishments while also taking college classes and managing the responsibilities of being a single mother to her 3-year-old daughter. Paola has gone above and beyond, attending volunteer activities on the weekend, and helping her peers register for college, update their résumés, and access support services. She has been selected to represent her peers at the Corps at several speaking engagements and recruitment events. “Paola amazes SJCC & CS Staff from all departments within the organization daily with her mature professional can do spirit!”

Paola is currently enrolled in Evergreen Community College, where she is putting her AmeriCorps Education Awards towards a degree in psychology. She hopes to pursue a career in social work.

 

Southwest Conservation Corps – Ancestral Lands Program (based in CO, service through Southwest)
Sheldon Tenorio

“Sheldon is committed to his crews’ personal and professional development, and their development of conservation and stewardship ethics… Sheldon models strong work ethic, dedication, and professionalism.”

After previous experience with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps – New Mexico, Sheldon has been an exemplary Crew Leader with Southwest Conservation Corps’ Ancestral Lands program. Now in his third AmeriCorps term, he has shown a commitment to the success of the program, as well as sincere dedication to empowering Native American youth to make a positive impact on the land, their communities, and in their own lives. This year, Sheldon led some of the most successful crews for the Ancestral Lands program, consistently receiving high praise from partners for their accomplishments. Among other efforts, his crews worked on habitat restoration, trail maintenance, and community outreach and engagement. Their project in partnership with the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge has helped to expand the Refuge’s definition of conservation and environmentalism to include the voices of people of color, people from low socio-economic backgrounds, and people whose voices have historically been excluded from the conservation narrative. Sheldon plans to stay with the Ancestral Lands program for a while longer to help create more opportunities for Native American youth. He hopes to one day start a Corps program out of the Kewa Pueblo.

 

Stewards Individual Placement Program (service in OH)
David Kilroy

“I enjoy being able to do work that has value, and has an impact on the people around me… I know that when I look back on my experience in the AmeriCorps, I will recognize the significant impact it has had in shaping not only my career trajectory, but my personal growth.”

Part of David Kiliory’s assignment as an AmeriCorps VISTA through the Stewards Individual Placement Program was to build capacity for his host site, Shawnee State University Innovation Hub. He did this by writing and receiving a $2.78 million grant to fund renovations to the Innovation Hub’s facilities. This in turn will help expand technological innovation and creativity in the community. David is very loyal and committed to work that he starts and decided that he wanted to see this project through and stayed for an additional VISTA year with this program.

David moved to Portsmouth without knowing anyone. Through his service, David made connections and quickly learned about his new community. Among other activities outside of his AmeriCorps service, David joined a local Toastmasters chapter, becoming the Vice President for Education, and most recently was nominated for the board of the local Main Street organization. Once David is done with his second term, he plans to stay in Portsmouth and hopes to continue working on his current project as a full-time staff member.

 

Trapper Creek Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center (MT)
Levi White

“Levi is an amazing individual with an infectious attitude and an even bigger heart. As a member of the fire crew, at times, he literally gave fellow crew members the shirt off his back.”

Prior to enrolling at the Trapper Creek Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center, Levi White was homeless. He worked all through high school to help support his family, even walking great distances to get to and from his job after his car broke down. Job Corps offered the opportunity for a fresh start and Levi was motivated to leverage every resource the program offered. He enrolled in the Natural Resources Training Program and red-card certified as a wildland Firefighter Type 2 (FFT2). He became a member of the Trapper Creek Fire Crew and a member of the Trapper Creek Trails Crew. Levi also quickly found his footing as a student leader. On campus, Levi served as a student guide and helped ensure newly enrolled students had a support system to navigate the program. He also gave campus tours to several notable guests, including Senators and U.S. Representatives. In addition to leading by example among his peers, Levi served as a role model to a younger generation by teaching conflict management and communication skills to middle school students through the Center’s Advanced Leadership program, or SUMMIT. Levi is open about using his own past challenges to relate to students.

Levi is currently enrolled at Grafton Job Corps Center in the Human Service Worker Advanced Trade Program. Ultimately, he’d like to work to support those in ground level facilities, such as rehab centers, corrections facilities, and homeless shelters.

 

Utah Conservation Corps (UT)
Ruth Campos

Ruth started studying at Utah State University and felt like something was missing. To complement her education, she has since done three AmeriCorps terms of service, completing physically strenuous natural resource conservation projects, as well as serving on campus to decrease the student body’s carbon footprint. In addition to serving with Utah Conservation Corps, Ruth also served with Montana Conservation Corps on their Project of the Year-winning Women’s Fire Corps program. Ruth has served as a visible role model for diverse populations in natural resource conservation. She is a competent and hard-working AmeriCorps member, and has also given extra effort to become a visible spokesperson for the UCC and the nationwide Corps movement. This was demonstrated by her summer 2017 meeting, interview, and photoshoot with former Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell at the Outdoor Retailer Show, which became a part of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Together We are A Force campaign. Outside the Corps, Ruth also provided leadership for the USU Center for Community Engagement (CCE) Alternative Spring Break service trip to Guatemala, ultimately earning CCE’s Outstanding Service Award for her commitment to engaging diverse populations in community projects.

Once she finishes her third AmeriCorps term and completes her undergraduate degree in Philosophy this spring, Ruth hopes to attend graduate school. Over the summer, she plans to serve on a wildland fire crew.

 

Urban Corps of San Diego County (CA)
Monica Lopez

“Monica works hard to ensure that everything she does is done with a purpose in her life. This positive attitude makes Monica a leader and a role model amongst her peers and in her community”

Monica joined Urban Corps of San Diego County at the beginning of this year, setting high goals for herself. Monica is a proud single mother and, after having to take a break from her education, she was determined to step out of her comfort zone to make changes in her life. Through hard work, Monica was promoted to Crew Leader, obtained her driver’s license, and is currently studying for her Commercial Driver’s License. During her service, Monica has participated in a range of trainings and projects, including doing fire restoration work in Yosemite National Park.

Monica is expected to graduate in December 2018 with her high school diploma. She is currently enrolled in the Corps’ Construction Apprenticeship Readiness Program and is scheduled to take her Electrician Apprenticeship test in January with the local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Once Monica gets in the apprenticeship program, she will be able to earn a high-paying salary and build a career while receiving free college credits.

 

Weber Basin Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center (UT) & Schenck Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center (NC)

“Job Corps is sometimes called a “program of opportunity” and Abdusalam is an exemplar of this motto. Job Corps merely allowed him to shine and hone the intelligence and determination that he already possessed.”

At age 24, Abdusalam’s Ibrahim’s life experiences have made him mature beyond his years.  After his village in Sudan was invaded, Abdusalam and his family made their way to a refugee camp in Chad before eventually immigrating to the United States. Seeking to make his American dream come true, Abdusalam enrolled in the Weber Basin Job Corps, after first obtaining his high school diploma and certification in auto mechanics at Clearfield Job Corps Center. He graduated this September from Weber Basin Job Corps with a career technical training certificate in Office Administration and certification as a wildland Firefighter Type 2 (FFT2).

Abdusalam achieved his success and profited from his Job Corps experience by setting clear goals, using all resources available to advance to higher levels of education, practicing a strong work ethic, and remaining open to the feedback. In addition to his work in the office, Abdusalam was repeatedly dispatched on wildland fire crews because those he worked with appreciated his motivation, tireless enthusiasm, and willingness to learn. Recently, Abdusalam was accepted into the rigorous Schenck Job Corps Advanced Wildland Fire Management Program. This aligns with his dream of becoming a wildland firefighter. In the future, he also hopes to volunteer at an immigration center to help other newcomers to America.

 

“Not in Anyone’s Backyard”: People of Color and the Environmental Movement – Part II

The following is part of the Moving Forward Initiative blog series.
By Allison Puglisi
Ph.D. Candidate, American Studies, Harvard University

 

This is the second of a two-part blog series on the hopes, concerns, and activism of environmentalists of color. Part one discussed the United Farm Workers’ (UFW) fight against pesticides, as well as other environmental events in the 1960s and 1970s. Part two, below, resumes the story at the end of the 1970s.

At that time, America witnessed several key changes: deregulation of industry, setbacks in workers’ rights, a housing crisis, and the start of a sharp rise in the prison industry. Environmentalists of color were committed to addressing all of the above. They also believed the environmental movement had a responsibility to prioritize the concerns of those most at risk: people of color and low-income people. This belief would evolve to become the environmental justice movement.

*Banner above is a photo of MELA, Mothers of East Los Angeles.

Northwood Manor

In spring of 1978, Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) sought a permit for their latest project: a landfill in predominantly black northeast Houston. BFI had already acquired a plot of land, and after all the necessary arrangements were made, they would begin to build. They had not paused to consider that the plot was next to a residential community.

That community was Northwood Manor, a mostly black subdivision. As soon as the residents learned a landfill was planned near their homes, they voiced their concerns. As historian Elizabeth D. Blum points out, the landfill’s proposed location was not far from the local high school. Residents were worried about their children’s safety. One parent, Mildred Douglass, was certain that “over a long period of time . . .  [the landfill] would cause some type of health problem.” Another parent, Margaret Bean, told Blum there were no “sidewalks out here. I was concerned because the kids were walking home and . . . these big old Browning-Ferris trucks [would be] going up and down the street. I thought some of these kids might get hit by these trucks.”

Bean started knocking on her neighbors’ doors to inform them about the impending landfill. Soon after that, she joined forces with two other women in the neighborhood: Patricia Reaux and Louise Black. The three women became known as the “Gunfighters” because, in Reaux’s words, “they knew that if we were going to fight, we would fight to the end.”

The Gunfighters used a variety of strategies: they called and visited their neighbors, handed out pamphlets, held demonstrations, circulated petitions, and hosted frequent “clean-up days” in their neighborhood. They also hired a lawyer named Linda McKeever Bullard, who prepared to argue that the siting of the landfill was racially discriminatory. The Gunfighters, meanwhile, helped her case by conducting research on Houston’s landfills.

 

Warren County

The same year that BFI proposed the Texas landfill, a similar issue emerged in Warren County, NC. It began when Robert, Timothy, and Randall Burns drove through the county with 50,000 tons of toxic waste.

The waste came from Ward Transformer Company, an electrical equipment company owned by Robert Ward. To avoid the cost of proper disposal, Ward hired the Burns family to dump the waste illegally along the highway.

The state of North Carolina sued and sentenced Ward and the Burns family, but 50,000 tons of waste containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)—a toxin and potential carcinogen—still lay strewn across the county. With approval from the EPA, the state of North Carolina declared its plans to open a landfill in Warren County and move the PCBs there.

The residents of Warren County demanded to know why they should have to live with Ward’s waste. They held demonstrations at the site, and in 1982, they enlisted the NAACP to represent them in court. Like McKeever Bullard, the NAACP argued that North Carolina and the EPA had allowed the landfill in their community specifically because it was black and low income.

Neither the Warren County case nor the Northwood Manor case was successful in court. In both Texas and North Carolina, activists were able to delay but not ultimately prevent the landfills. Still, the movements were successful in pushing many people—for the first time—to consider the relationship between racism and environmental degradation. As Blum writes on Northwood Manor, “The impact of the Bean case lies not in its result . . . Bean yielded a new cause to which [environmentalists of color] energetically applied themselves. Over the next few years, the movement gained in prominence, drawing support from other scholars and activists. During the 1980s, activists in the environmental justice movement developed definitions of their movement in strong opposition to their perceptions of the ‘mainstream’ environmental movement.”

The residents of Northwood Manor and Warren County laid the groundwork for later organizing, and they inspired other groups. One such group was the United Church of Christ (UCC).

The UCC had been following the events in Texas and North Carolina. Its Racial Justice Committee decided to conduct research on environmental hazards in communities of color. In 1987, they published their findings in a report still cited today: Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States. The report found that race was the most important factor in the siting of landfills, processing plants, and other hazards. It also determined that three out of every five black and Latinx Americans—and half of Asian and Native Americans—lived in “communities with uncontrolled toxic waste sites.”

With Toxic Wastes and Race, the UCC started an important conversation—a conversation much of America, unfortunately, was unwilling to have. In many ways, the politics of the 1980s ran counter to the UCC’s views and values. The decade was marked by deregulation of industry, large tax cuts, and budget cuts. It was also a challenging decade for environmental issues. Then-President Ronald Reagan hired James G. Watt as Secretary of the Interior and Anne M. Burford to head the EPA. Both were criticized and eventually pushed to resign: Watt, for insensitive remarks toward people of color and people with disabilities, and Burford, for “mismanagement in cleaning up toxic waste.” Reagan, too, was rebuked for his 1981 statement that “trees cause more pollution than cars.”

 

Local Struggles, Broad Visions

On the local level, grassroots environmentalist groups were responding to these trends. In 1986, a group of mostly Chicana mothers formed the Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA), which still exists today. The mothers originally came together to challenge a $100 million prison planned in their neighborhood, but later organized against an oil pipeline and waste incinerator as well. At first glance, these three projects seem separate and distinct—but to MELA, prisons, incinerators, pipelines, and chemical plants all fell under the same category: large industrial projects designed to damage both the land and its residents’ quality of life. Since its founding, MELA has pushed environmentalists to rethink what constitutes an environmental issue.

MELA is not the only group to push these boundaries. Also in California, a number of Asian and Asian American groups have made an environmentalist case for workers’ rights. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s—when Silicon Valley was a technology manufacturing hub (and not just an information technology hub, as it is today )—its labor force was comprised mostly of Asian and Latinx women. Very few were unionized, and as Julie Sze points out, this posed serious consequences: “the health and environmental effects of computer production-line labor are numerous, and particularly destructive to reproductive and nervous systems (such as triggering miscarriages).” To address this, groups like the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) emerged to place pressure on the computer industry and educate people on matters of environmental health.

 

The First Summit

In October 1991, local environmental activists from across the country came together and held the first ever National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. 300 people of different races, from all U.S. states and the Americas, descended on Washington, D.C. to – as Dana Alston put it – “redefin[e] environmental issues in their own terms.” They heard from Havasupai activists fighting uranium mining in Arizona, black activists challenging the petrochemical industry in Louisiana, Western Shoshone activists organizing against nuclear testing in Nevada, and many others. They informed one another about their issues, they shared strategies, and they drafted and ratified “The Principles of Environmental Justice.”

On one hand, the Principles affirmed what many already felt: that people of color were most affected by environmental degradation, and that mainstream environmentalism had not met their needs. At the same time, the document offered a vision of justice that was both forward thinking and cognizant of past violence. It acknowledged how slavery and colonialism shaped – and presently shape – American politics. It also indicted the military industry, declared support for workers’ rights, and “affirm[ed] [indigenous peoples’] sovereignty and self-determination.”

The Principles retain their relevance today, as the residents of Flint, MiI continue to doubt the quality of their water, and the people of Standing Rock Sioux Reservation continue to organize against oil pipelines nationwide. Today’s environmentalists of color are not an anomaly or contradiction. They are part of a long-standing tradition that dates back to the Gunfighters and earlier: a tradition that links environmental rights with human rights.

 

Reflection Questions:

  1. Many environmental justice groups were led by women, and had mostly women members. Why do you think this is? How might women’s rights and environmental justice be related?
  2. Take a look at the Principles of Environmental Justice here, on page 16. The US Constitution reads, “We the people . . .” while the Principles begin, “We the people of color . . .” What do you find interesting or surprising about the Principles?
  3. People of color today–in Flint, Standing Rock, and many other places–are still fighting for clean and safe resources. What do they have in common with the activists in the twentieth century, and what is different?

 

Resources 

All sources cited in this piece can be found in the Moving Forward Initiative Resource Library.

CCC Legacy comes to Oregon 2018

By Natalie Whitson
Northwest Youth Corps, Development Officer

As many know, today’s Conservation Corps owe their ethic of service to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which operated across the US from the years 1933 to 1942. The state of Oregon – home to several members of The Corps Network, including Northwest Youth Corps (NYC), Heart of Oregon Corps, and three Job Corps Centers – hosted 61 CCC camps. These camps enrolled nearly 25,000 Junior and Veteran CCC members; 2,750 Native Americans; and 6,800 other participants. One of these camps was at Silver Creek Falls, located east of Salem, and now Oregon’s largest state park.

In recent years, NYC crews have worked at Silver Falls State Park to help rebuild and re-roof cabins originally constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the CCC, as well as complete other projects, such as reroofing the lodge. More information can be found here: https://www.ccclegacy.org/Northwest_Youth_Corps.php.

Over the weekend of September 29 – September 30, Silver Falls was the site of the CCC Legacy Annual Gathering. Co-hosted by Northwest Youth Corps, this year’s event celebrated the 85th anniversary of the CCC. Attendees included more than two dozen guests, as well as a few members of the original CCC.

Activities included a kick-off social attended by 10 authors who have written about the era, as well as the CCC alumni – also known as the “CCC Boys.” Beside a tabletop display of “traditional” hand tools surely familiar to CCC members, and still in use by NYC and other crews today, NYC Development Officer Natalie Whitson and NYC Program Coordinator Edison Velez both spoke about how members of The Corps Network carry forth the ethic of service started by the CCC.

The next morning, a NYC crew and NYC staff joined CCC Legacy during their trip to Silver Falls State Park. During the morning activities, hosted by Brad Chandler of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, NYC Corpsmembers helped beautify the grounds, prior to eating lunch with the CCC Boys and CCC Legacy. NYC Director Jeff Parker welcomed the group and acknowledged the work of the original CCC. He spoke of the ‘30s era historic preservation techniques and tools that NYC members had to use during reconstruction at the Park, due to Silver Falls’ properties being listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Jeff also read the text of a Governor’s proclamation naming September 29, 2018 as Oregon CCC Day. For their service, NYC Corpsmembers received a specially-designed CCC patch, while Jeff and Natalie received special certificates for their service.

After lunch and taking photos with the NYC crew, CCC Legacy’s guests then traveled to the Forest History Center, Forest Office Headquarters, where they toured and laid a wreath at the CCC Worker Statue. CCC Legacy also toured CCC buildings at the Zigzag Ranger Station with Ranger Bill Westbrook, and toured the CCC museum at the Mt. Hood Cultural Center. Guests also visited Timberline Lodge, built by the WPA from 1936 to 1938 and furnished by local artisans of the era. CCC Legacy’s guests learned about the CCC Art Program, a unique group of artists sent into CCC camps with President Roosevelt’s personal approval, who chronicled America’s greatest conservation movement. Some of the art produced was contributed by Art Clough, who – with his two assistants – created six huge wood carved panels and 18 smaller panels illustrating the work of CCC enrollees in the forests of Oregon. These panels now permanently reside at the University of Oregon, in Eugene.

More than mere artifacts of wood and stone, however, the lasting legacy of the CCC is service. The men of the CCC were so convinced of the goodness they derived from their CCC experience that they firmly believed that everyone should have a public service experience. When they were younger, some of the CCC Boys would come to The Corps Network Forums, and they loved it.

In that same spirit, NYC salutes the work of Naomi Shaw, Secretary of CCC Legacy and Chair of the Annual Gathering Committee; Joan Sharpe, President of CCC Legacy; and all the board members of CCC Legacy who worked tirelessly to organize this celebration, and who work year-round to represent the CCC alumni of America, bring awareness to the heritage of the CCC, and offer support to the modern Corps who carry on the work of preservation, education and conservation.

RAP Profile: Britney Pizzuto & Courtney Fernelius

The USDA Forest Service Resource Assistants Program (RAP) is a rigorous and immersive, paid internship for U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are at least 17 years old. The program is designed for those interested in conservation, natural and cultural resources, environmental management, research and development, and other career opportunities with land management agencies. Resource Assistants (RAs) are recruited by partner organizations and work under the supervision of Forest Service staff to accomplish mission-critical work that develops leadership, critical thinking and strategic communication skills. Through collaboration, coaching and mentorship, resource assistants gain the tools to launch their careers and expand their understanding of our Nation’s natural and cultural resources.

 

In partnership with the Forest Service, The Corps Network and several Member organizations of The Corps Network recruit RAP participants. This recruitment strategy helps the Forest Service engage the emerging workforce and increase the diversity of highly qualified candidates to support the Forest Service mission.

 

Below are stories of two RAs recruited through Utah Conservation Corps.

Britney Pizzuto, a native Utahan, became a Resource Assistant with the Manti-La Sal National Forest after completing her first year as a nursing student in an undergraduate program. Though she was originally hired in May to work at the front desk, Britney transitioned into the RAP program. Britney quickly learned the impact this internship would have not only on her summer, but on her long-term career plan.

“Since transitioning into the program, I have changed my major in college. I was studying nursing, but now I’m going for wildlife biology. Being an RA has definitely influenced what I want to do,” said Britney. “I was in classes for nursing and I hated it. I hated every second of all my classes. I wasn’t into it, I didn’t want to learn it.”

After expressing her feelings about her classes to her supervisor at the Forest, Britney was given the opportunity to go out into the forest to see if a career in conservation was right for her.

“So that’s when I had a field day with one of the wildlife biologists. After that, I knew this is what I want to do. It’s something that actually makes me happy.”

Courtney Fernelius is a recent alum of the Resource Assistants Program. Before becoming an RA, Courtney studied recreation management and landscape architecture at Utah State University. As an RA, Courtney researched recreation trends and issues within Utah’s forests. This research allowed her to do week-long forest visits across Utah. These trips involved directly interacting with the Forest Service staff to address specific recreation needs. These forest visits, along with additional research, lead Courtney to create around 20 research papers. These papers were ultimately distributed to the different forests and utilized when developing each forest’s individual recreation plan.

 

“One of the best parts of being an RA was going to different national forests. I really liked to see all the different resources that are out there. I also got to meet so many different people who work on the forests. They would share their experiences with me and tell me about paths they have taken to get where they are now. I just loved that interaction.”

 

As for what she’s doing now, Courtney is working for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under funding from American Conservation Experience (ACE).

 

Both Britney and Courtney found that being a Resource Assistant has influenced their career trajectory. Both of them are actively pursuing careers in conservation and resource management.

9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance 2018

September 11 is known as “Patriot Day” or the “National Day of Service and Remembrance.” It is a time when Americans honor the lives lost in the terrorist attacks of 2001 by coming together to volunteer and make our communities stronger.

Every day, young adults at America’s Service and Conservation Corps engage in service to our communities and public lands. On September 11, Corps often coordinate or participate in neighborhood volunteer events or activities to honor those affected by the events of 9/11/01. Here are just a few ways member organizations of The Corps Network participated in this year’s National Day of Service and Remembrance.

 

Arizona Conservation Corps

In Flagstaff, Arizona, Arizona Conservation Corps engaged with community members at the Flagstaff Food Bank. They teamed up with the Flagstaff Family Food Center to assist in food relief efforts for the Flagstaff community. This involved emptying, flattening, and crushing 10 small dumpster loads of recyclable materials and crushing 2 bundles of plastic and cardboard for food bank recycling program. Additionally, the Corps organized a food drive to benefit first responders and will be ongoing all month.
In Tucson, Arizona, another crew teamed up with the University of Arizona Mathematics Mentoring Program. They brought together the community in a full day of STEM related activities. These activities included: balloon racing, drawing with a swing, chemical reactions with eggs, and wind sculptures. This event opened with a few words by Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and brought together over 60 members of the community.

The Earth Conservation Corps

On a rainy morning in Washington, District of Columbia, Earth Conservation Corps spent their Day of Service and Remembrance by presenting a raptor education show for the cadets at Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy.

Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Opportunity Youth Service Initiative (OYSI) Corpsmembers at the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps attended 9/11 events hosted by the Milwaukee Fire Department and Milwaukee County War Memorial Center.

Louisiana Conservation Corps a program of American YouthWorks & SBP

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, AmeriCorps members with Louisiana Conservation Corps and SBP Baton Rouge teamed up to assemble over 7,000 emergency preparedness supply kits to ensure senior citizens are prepared for hurricane season. A crew with Louisiana Conservation Corps also built a wheelchair ramp at a retired firefighter’s home.

Maine Conservation Corps

In Canaan, Maine, Maine Conservation Corps brought together over 70 Corpsmembers, along with staff and community volunteers, to Lake George Regional Park to volunteer in remembrance of victims, survivors, and those who served in response to the attacks. The focus of the volunteer project was to make improvements to trails to provide recreation opportunities for visitors. Click here to learn more about this project via FOX ABC Maine

Rocky Mountain Conservancy

In Estes Park, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Conservancy and local volunteers completed a project with Rocky Mountain National Park fire crews. The project supported wildland fire crews’ efforts to reduce the fuel load from areas surrounding trailheads, roads, and campgrounds. This valuable work helps protect visitors, promotes healthy and diverse ecosystems, and mitigates risk to firefighters. Read more about this project on their blog.

Texas Conservation Corps a program of American YouthWorks

In Houston, Texas, an AmeriCorps Opportunity Youth Service Initiative (OYSI) crew with Texas Conservation Corps spent their Day of Service at the Indiangrass Preserve with Katy Prairie Conservancy. They worked to remove invasive Verbena brasiliensis.
Meanwhile, in Austin, Texas, two crews helped facilitate the Pleasant Valley annual Memorial 9/11 Stair Climb. Over 30 firefighters with Austin Fire Department each climbed 110 flights of stairs, in full fire gear, to represent the height of the twin towers. The Texas Conservation Corps crews assisted the firefighters with putting on their gear and helped set up and breakdown the event.

Utah Conservation Corps

In Logan, Utah, Utah Conservation Corps spent the Day of Service and Remembrance at the UCC Urban Community Farm. They hosted community volunteers and worked together to harvest and control weeds.

Western Colorado Conservation Corps

In Clifton, Colorado, Corpsmembers with Western Colorado Conservation Corps worked towards advancing and restoring riparian lands. This project involved removing invasive plants, re-vegetation planting, caging plants to protect from predation, and general site maintenance.

Youth Conservation Corps

In the City of Waukegan, Opportunity Youth Service Initiative (OYSI) AmeriCorps members participated in a full day of projects and engaged with local volunteers and law enforcement. Following a memorial ceremony at Fireman’s Memorial Park, a beach cleanup was conducted in conjunction with first responders from the Waukegan Police Department.

Taking Nature Black


Panelists at second Taking Nature Black conference (Left to Right: Chancee Lundy, Teri Brezner, Tina Smith, Beattra Wilson. Photo courtesy of Audubon Naturalist Society)

The following is part of the Moving Forward Initiative blog series.
By Allison Puglisi
Ph.D. Candidate, American Studies, Harvard University
On February 28, 2018—the last day of Black History Month—Mustafa Santiago Ali took the floor at the Taking Nature Black conference in Maryland. He had an unusual question for the audience: “By a show of hands, in the last sixty seconds, how many folks have taken a breath of air? Hold your hand up if you’ve taken a breath of air.”

The audience, laughing, raised their hands.

“When we breathe in,” said Ali, “we expect to be receiving something positive to our bodies.” He listed a number of cities with severe air pollution and told the group, “we have far too many communities across our country who are still battling every day for a breath of fresh air.”

Ali, Senior Vice President of Climate, Environmental Justice, & Community Revitalization for the Hip Hop Caucus, was one of 21 speakers at Taking Nature Black. The one-day conference, which is in its second year, is hosted by the Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS) at their headquarters in Chevy Chase, MD. This year, the conference filled to capacity just three weeks after registration opened. More than 200 people attended—double the number at the first conference in 2016. https://www.anshome.org/2017/11/taking-nature-black-2016  

The conference featured performers, professors, riverkeepers, engineers, inventors, lawyers, public officials, and consultants—all of whom work on environmental issues. Speakers discussed the environmental problems facing communities of color, and what today’s environmentalists can learn from black farmers and conservationists in history. They challenged the idea that urban communities lack nature or wildlife, andencouraged conference-goers to look close to home for interactions with nature.

The conference also addressed environmental activism and careers. Speakers discussed how to make racial justice a more central part of environmentalism, shared experiences from the workforce, and offered strategies to impact the political process—as well as build “green” careers. https://anshome.org/2018/01/tnb-topics-2018/


Kim Lambert of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a sponsor of the Taking Nature Black event.

Perhaps most importantly, Taking Nature Black brought together a group of people often excluded from the environmental movement. Caroline Brewer, conference chair and Director of Marketing and Communications for the ANS, says Taking Nature Black is an “opportunity to share and celebrate African American contributions to the environment. Rarely do you see African Americans represented, and yet we have this long-standing history.”

That history spans farming, conservation, environmental activism, and many other traditions.

After centuries of being forced to cultivate land under slavery, and being exploited as sharecroppers, many African Americans bought land and continued farming on their own terms. To this day, farming remains a tool for African Americans to sustain their communities and preserve their family histories. Over the last several decades, hundreds of thousands of black farmers have lost their land to scams, government discrimination, and development. Farmers who still own land are working to keep it amid rising costs.

This is what “taking nature black” means to Joseph James. James is founder and president of Agri-Tech Producers, a company that remediates polluted soil by growing special biocrops. Preserving black landownership is particularly important to James, whose company is based in South Carolina. As an innovator and entrepreneur, he has been active in political discussions about land, agriculture, and energy. At Taking Nature Black, he spoke on a panel about engaging elected officials.

In addition to farming and agriculture, African Americans have been crucial to environmental activism. In the 1910s, the National Association for Colored Women (NACW) led public awareness campaigns on health issues like garbage disposal and insect-borne diseases. Later on, at the height of the Jim Crow era, black Americans fought to access the parks, beaches, and swimming pools that so many white nature enthusiasts already enjoyed. Many pools did not allow black swimmers at all, but some allowed them on designated days. At the end of the day, they would empty and refill the pool with new water before reopening it to white patrons.

After civil rights activists won integration and ended practices like these, many of them turned their attention to the problem of oil, chemicals, and toxic waste. They demanded, and continue to demand, that waste dumps and other hazards be removed from minority communities.

As these moments show, African Americans have long advocated for the environment: through civil rights organizations, religious institutions, and family farms. On the other hand, mainstream environmental groups did not always address African Americans’ needs or include them as full participants. Rather than confront that difficult history, some still assume African Americans have no interest in the outdoors—or concern for the earth.

“Taking Nature Black disrupts that perception,” says Karen Driscoll, who spoke at this year’s conference. Driscoll is a Senior Associate at the Raben Group and also works with Green 2.0, an initiative to strengthen diversity at environmental NGOs, foundations, and government agencies. At Taking Nature Black this February, Driscoll joined two other panelists for a discussion about diversity, equity, and inclusion in environmentalism. For Driscoll, diversity is about more than filling a room with people: “It means making a commitment to do your work differently,” she said.

The ANS and organizations like it are part of this changing landscape. The ANS was originally founded in Washington, D.C. in 1897 for the conservation of birds. Today, it also serves the needs and interests of the Washington, D.C. area by providing environmental education.

As environmental organizations address their pasts and work to increase diversity, their members and partners interrogate the meaning of the word “diversity.” Brewer suggests that although people often think of diversity in raw numbers, numbers mean less if minorities are expected to simply “blend in.”

This year’s conference was not about blending in. It was an opportunity to confront racist histories, reclaim forgotten legacies, and bring together future leaders.

 

For your Consideration:

  • Do a quick web search for “green jobs,” or glance at the short bios of this year’s Taking Nature Black speakers (https://anshome.org/taking-nature-black/). What do you find? What do these careers have in common?
  • On its conference page, the Audubon Naturalist Society writes, “Diversity and inclusion are actually two very different concepts, but their impacts in the workplace and the larger society are more profound when the two are implemented together. In fact, diversity is essentially meaningless without inclusion.” What do you think? How are diversity and inclusion different?