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David Muraki Honored as One of 20 AmeriCorps Trailblazers

Story submitted by the California Conservation Corps

California Conservation Corps Director David Muraki was honored as one of 20 AmeriCorps Service Trailblazers during a 20th anniversary AmeriCorps event in San Francisco last week.

David served as deputy director for CaliforniaVolunteers from 1996 to 2007, leading public policy efforts and supporting AmeriCorps national service and disaster volunteer programs. He was also architect of a statewide system matching volunteers with organizations that need them.

In 2007, David was appointed director of the California Conservation Corps.

Among those also honored as Trailblazers at the San Francisco ceremony were former first lady Maria Shriver and Sacramento Congresswoman Doris Matsui.

AmeriCorps 20th Anniversary: How Service and Conservation Corps Celebrated

Last week, AmeriCorps celebrated it’s 20th anniversary. Nationwide, champions, alumni, and current members joined forces to recognize the accomplishments of our national service program. There was even a little gathering at the White House.

Here are some of the ways that members of The Corps Network celebrated:

Post by Reading Partners.

Post by Washington Conservation Corps.

Post by Mile High Youth Corps.

Post by AmeriCorps NCCC.

Post by Vermont Youth Conservation Corps.

Post by SAGA.

Post by Montana Conservation Corps.

Post by Urban Conservation Corps of the Inland Empire.

Post by Utah Conservation Corps.

Post by Conservation Legacy.

Post by Southwest Conservation Corps.

Post by New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg.

Post by LA Conservation Corps.

Post by Green City Force.

Post by Southeast Youth Corps.

Post by Greater Miami Service Corps (GMSC).

Post by Maine Conservation Corps.

Post by Earthcorps.

Post by Washington Conservation Corps.

Post by Kupu.

Post by Arizona Conservation Corps.

Post by Limitless Vistas.

Post by AmeriCorps St. Louis.

Post by American YouthWorks.

Post by City Year.

Post by New York Restoration Project.

Post by The Corps Network.

Post by Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa.

Post by SEEDS.

Post by Green City Force.

Post by California Conservation Corps Foundation.

Support The Corps Network Youth Council

During the month of September, The Corps Network is running a CrowdRise campaign to raise money to support the creation of our new Youth Council.

At our annual National Conference, The Corps Network honors a select group of young men and women from our member programs as Corpsmembers of the Year. These extraordinary individuals are strong leaders and excellent ambassadors of the Corps movement. We plan to build upon the Corpsmember of the Year model to establish a Youth Council.

We believe it is critical to solicit and include the input and ideas of the young people we serve. Therefore, through this campaign, we are seeking donations to develop our 2015 Corpsmembers of the Year into spokespeople who can influence programs and policy here at The Corps Network, as well as at the federal, state, and local level. The funds we raise will help offset their travel costs to Washington, D.C and allow these bright young adults to make their voice heard at the national level, get in front of important decision makers, and help steer the future of America’s Service and Conservation Corps.

Your gift to The Corps Network will enable us to foster the next generation of America’s leaders.

The San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps 10 Year Anniversary Celebration

Article, written by Carlos Puente and Vanessa Martinez, appears in the Mid Valley News. Published August 13, 2014. Photos courtesy of Devette Johnson.

On Saturday July 26 the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corp celebrated their 10 year anniversary with actor Mike Gomez as master of ceremonies. The day started with the VFW of Greater El Monte Post 10218 Color Guard leading the Pledge of Allegiance with city, county and state dignitaries in attendance. Those present were Roger Hernandez, Assemblyman the 48th District; Hilda Solis, supervisor Elect 1st District and former US Secretary of Labor; Mike Eng, Congresswoman Judy Chu, Andre Quintero, Mayor of El Monte; Dr. Ed Hernandez, Senator 24th District; Susan Rubio, Baldwin Park City Council; Joseph Gonzalez, So. El Monte Mayor Pro Term; Assembly member Ed Chau and Jerry Velasco, El Monte City Treasurer.

photos courtesy of Devette Johnson

The day was filled with emotions and celebration as alumni success stories from 2010 to 2014 told their stories of how the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corp picked them up and guided them into the right direction to achieve success. The event ended with dinner, raffles and a silent auction, as well as a tree planting ceremony to close the event. The San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corp history is a short but stellar one, full of triumph over adversity that reflects a tremendous power for social progress. This can be achieved when founded upon the strength of a partnership between a whole city and a non-profit organization, dedicated to serving the needs of the resident and business community and their common needs.

Chairman Rogers Kicks-Off Job Corps’ 50th Anniversary Week at the Pine Knot Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center

On August 20, 1964, Congress passed “The Economic Opportunity Act” (EOA), which created the flagship Job Corps program. Across the nation, from Monday August 18 through Friday August 22, 2014, Congressional members, state and local officials, neighbors, and graduates gathered at 28 Forest Service Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Job Corps program.

The Pine Knot Job Corps Civilian Conversation Center, on the Daniel Boone National Forest, welcomed Hal Rogers (R-KY), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee as the Center’s key-note speaker for its 50^th anniversary week kick-off celebration on Monday, August 18th. The day began with tours of the center. As their vehicle made its way up the road to Pine Knot’s gymnasium, Chairman Rogers and his staff were welcomed with an array of lawn signs celebrating the success of the program. Pine Knot Job Corps’ entire student body, campus staff, local elected officials, community and employer partners, and graduates and former staff erupted in a round of applause as Rogers walked into Pine Knot’s gymnasium. Highlights of the celebration included a performance by the McCreary Central High School Choir and presentation of the national colors by the McCreary Central High School Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, U.S. Forest Service Job Corps National Director, Tina Terrell recognized Chairman Rogers for his long-time support and advocacy of both protecting America’s forest and its at-risk youth.

Chairman Rogers posted this remark on his Facebook page, “Proud to join the Job Corps 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Pine Knot Job Corps Center in McCreary County. Thank you for all of the community service efforts you provide to our region and the life-changing skills and education you provide to students from across the country. Congratulations!” To view Chairman Rogers’ pictures and post, right click the link below: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanHalRogers?ref=stream

Started in 1964 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, Job Corps provides career technical training and education for low-income young people ages 16 through 24. The EOA assigned the U.S. Forest Service Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers a unique conservation mission to “provide academic education and practical training in work-based learning to conserve, develop and manage, and enhance public natural resources and recreation areas, or to develop community projects in the public interest.” In Program Year 2013, 1,993 Forest Service Job Corps students volunteered 210,549 hours towards restoration and conservation on the nation’s public lands. These hours have an independent sector volunteer hour value of $4,661,555 million dollars.

Forest Service Job Corps Centers have the capacity to house, educate, and train over 5,200 students, allowing them the opportunity to obtain a high school diploma or a general equivalency diploma (GED) and receive vocational training in over 30 vocational trades, including Forestry, Urban Forestry, and Firefighting. Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers graduate approximately 4,200 students each program year.

Northwest Youth Corps Celebrates Its 30th Year Anniversary

Since 1984, Northwest Youth Corps has helped more than 18,000 youth and young adults from diverse backgrounds to learn, grow, and experience success.

NYC got its start during the depths of the recession hitting Oregon in the early 1980s. Finally, after two long years of lining up the necessary work sponsorships and grants for crew equipment, NYC’s founder was able to write on NYC’s very first day of operation,

“…this concept (the founding of NYC) is no longer a dream… We are starting to get work done. In a few more days we should be able to show the world that, with the right people — people willing to really give it their best — NYC is here, and it is here to stay!”

Although NYC has grown dramatically since then, our mission remains unchanged: helping young people to become stronger, more engaged with the world around them, and more confident of their abilities to meet their goals in life.

In 2013, Northwest Youth Corps crews completed 113,636 hours of priority natural and/or cultural resource projects for 113 partners including three US Army Corps of Engineer units, eight BLM districts, three National Park Service sites, four Oregon State Parks and Recreation locations, and 19 USFS National Forests. As one graduate put it, however, “…NYC is more about building people, character, and community than it is about building trails.”

“Northwest Youth Corps taught me much more than just how to build, fix and maintain trails; it taught me how to be a leader, how to take initiative and how to push myself. I now can take the things NYC gave me and apply it to my life and what I have planned for my future.”

— NYC 2013 Graduate

To celebrate our 30^th year of service to youth, communities, and the outdoors, Northwest Youth Corps is hosting a 30^th Year Celebration during the weekend of September 6-7, 2014, at the NYC campus, in Eugene, Oregon. Planned activities include a festive dinner, NYC Share Your Adventure contest with cash prizes, family fun day, barbeque, service project, free tent camping, and more! To learn more, visit www.nwyouthcorps.org/30Years.aspx. We also invite our alumni and others to “like” our Facebook alumni page, https://www.facebook.com/northwestyouthcorpsalumni?fref=ts and get updates this way.

California Conservation Corps Crews thin forest in bid to protect Jack London State Historic Park’s oaks

Article, written by Eloisa Ruano Gonzalez, appears in The Press Democrat. Published August 26, 2014.

To protect the majestic centuries-old oaks at Jack London State Historic Park, state workers have this week begun cutting down invasive vegetation and bay laurel trees known to harbor sudden oak death, which has killed millions of oaks and tanoaks throughout Northern California.

As oak trees have died and toppled from the disease, canopy openings have widened at the park in Glen Ellen. That has let more light seep through some areas of the forest, fueling the growth of dense and more flammable plants, according to environmental officials.

Chainsaws and shears in hand, nearly a dozen workers with the California Conservation Corps made their way Tuesday up a section of the park near the Wolf House ruins to tear out broom and other brush that could act as “ladders,” allowing flames to climb onto tree canopies during a fire. They navigated their way around dead oak trees and poison oak to get to young bay laurels that threaten tanoaks and black and coast live oaks, which are more “vulnerable” to sudden oak death, according to Cyndy Shafer, a senior environmental scientist with California State Parks.

“We’re definitely not removing all of the bay trees. It’s very targeted and strategic,” Shafer said about the $150,000 project, funded by the state and aimed at reducing the fire risk and spread of the disease in the oak-dominated section of the forest.

“It’ll make it less inviting for sudden oak death,” she added. “(But) we will not be removing any mature, healthy trees.”

The disease is caused by a fungus-like organism called Phytophthora ramorum, which is believed to be related to the microbe thought to be responsible for the Irish potato famine, and was discovered in Marin County in 1995.

It’s killed more than 3 million tanoak and oak trees throughout 15 coastal counties from Monterey to Humboldt, according to UC Berkeley’s Forest Pathology Laboratory.

It’s infected more than 105,000 acres in Sonoma County.

Combing through the state park, Shafer pointed to black and brown spots on a bay tree, evidence it was carrying the disease. Although it doesn’t kill bay trees, she said, sudden oak death easily can spread via water to nearby oaks — some of which are hundreds of years old and beloved by the community.

“Everybody understands that bay laurels are major carriers and they’re threatening the oak trees,” said Tjiska Van Wyk, executive director of Jack London Park Partners, which operates the state-owned park.

“The project is protecting the oaks for future generations,” she added. “We have a lot of those (old) guys here.”

Park visitors were upset over plans last year to remove a celebrated oak that stands outside Jack London’s cottage. Arborists had determined it was infected with a pathogenic fungi and dying, though it was determined not to be afflicted with sudden oak death. The tree, more than 300 years old, was spared after additional testing revealed it did have significant decay but was healthier than first believed.

Daniel White, a Corps employee supervising the crew, grew up climbing oak trees in the Napa area. It’s an experience he wants his son and future grandchildren to have.

“It’ll be nice to see future generations have the same opportunity we had,” White said as he watched crew member Durantae Johnson saw through a large dead oak that already had fallen over — likely a victim of sudden oak death.

“I’ve never seen oak trees this big before,” said Johnson, of Vallejo. “It feels good to help the area.”

Johnson and the rest of the crew will work for the next five to six weeks until the rain kicks in.

They plan to cut down the limbs and brush and press them down into the earth to decompose instead of hauling them off and risk spreading sudden oak death elsewhere, Shafer said.

Ted Swiecki, a plant pathologist and co-owner of Phytosphere Research, which was hired to look for ways to reduce the fire hazard and impact of sudden oak death, said the drought has slowed down the spread of the disease because a lack of rainfall to carry it. He said it’s important they get ahead of the problem to preserve oaks.

“An oak-dominated woodland is a pretty low fire hazard,” he said, adding, “It’s a proactive approach. What we’re trying to do is maintain a desirable native stand there.”

Urban Conservation Corps Installs Trailhead Kiosk at San Gorgonio Wilderness

Article appears in the Highland Community News. Published August 26, 2014.

FOREST FALLS, Calif. – Volunteers from the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association and Urban Conservation Corps, and U.S. Forest Service personnel will complete installation of a wilderness information kiosk at the Momyer Trailhead on Saturday, Sept. 6, in an event that will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and the legacy of wilderness advocate Joe Momyer.

Installation of the kiosk will begin at 9 a.m. A dedication ceremony will follow at noon with comments from San Bernardino National Forest officials, SGWA Executive Director Val Silva, and Harry Krueper, one of two remaining members of Defenders of the San Gorgonio Wilderness. Joe Momyer, Defenders president, Krueper, and other Defenders fought to protect the San Gorgonio Wilderness from development in the 1960s and lobbied for inclusion of the primitive area in the Wilderness Act of 1964. The act was signed into law Sept. 3, 1964.

The kiosk will include information about the San Gorgonio Wilderness, its history, and its importance as watershed for downstream communities and a place for visitors seeking respite and renewal from modern life.

The Momyer Trailhead parking lot, located in Forest Falls on Valley of the Falls Boulevard, approximately 3 miles from the junction with Highway 38.

The San Gorgonio Wilderness is one of the original wilderness areas created by the 1964 legislation. It receives approximately 200,000 visitors each year, one of the most heavily used wilderness areas in the country. Its 58,969 acres harbor two small lakes, meadows, streams, 100 miles of trails, densely forested northern slopes, and rugged terrain.

SGWA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the public, protecting the San Gorgonio Wilderness and the forest surrounding it, and educating people about how to care for the natural resources of the forest.

The kiosk project was made possible by a grant from the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance, working to build a community of wilderness stewards across America. For more information about NWSA visit wildernessalliance.org.

HOPE Crew Project at Custer National Cemetery featured on Preservation Nation Blog

Article, written by David Robert Weible, appears on the Preservation Nation Blog. Published August 25, 2014.

It’s one of the most famous battles in American history. In May, 1876, Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry tracked down roughly 8,000 Cheyenne and Sioux Indians in southeastern Montana and stepped into battle with about 1,800 of them. The rest, as they say, is history.

Now a small piece of that history is being restored, with help from the National Trust, The Corps Network, The Montana Conservation Corps, and the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center.

138 years later to the month, the National Trust’s HOPE (Hands-On Preservation Experience) Crew program began connecting national youth corps participants with preservation projects from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to New Mexico’s Old Santa Fe Trail Building. The program will eventually bring thousands of young Americans to work on hundreds of sites, and teach them preservation craft skills from tuck pointing to carpentry, to window restoration, while restoring historic places in the process.

That’s exactly the case at the Custer National Cemetery inside the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument where a new HOPE Crew recently went to work.

Beginning July 14, a HOPE Crew comprised of members from the Montana Conservation Corps began work on the cemetery’s headstones, which mark the graves of soldiers from the Battle of Little Bighorn, the Spanish-American War, both World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

“This HOPE crew project was very special for our veterans corps members,” says Jono McKinney, President and CEO of Montnana Conservation Corps. “The opportunity to honor fallen veterans through their service restoring these headstones was personally moving. Each felt a bond through generations of service with his peers in combat. They connected to this work in such an intimate way, and found deep purpose in this HOPE project.”

The crew, comprised of two ‘hitches’ of six corps members each — including the HOPE Crew’s first all-veteran hitch representing each branch of the military — cleaned the headstones and adjusted the height and orientation of stones to coincide with the Veterans Affairs set of standards.

“An all-veteran HOPE Crew is a great example of how the program continues to expand to engage different audiences,” says Monica Rhodes, who oversees the HOPE Crew program for the National Trust. “[This type of training] is another opportunity for returning veterans to transition into an industry that could benefit from their proven leadership skills and work ethic.”

During the work, which ended August 8, corpsmembers also received visits and support from two representatives from the office of Senator, Jon Tester (D-MT).

“The park really appreciates this partnership opportunity, and we were able to complete some work that we would not have been able to accomplish without the program,” says Christopher T. Ziegler, Chief of Cultural and Natural Resources Management for Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. “We are excited to be a part of a program that helped train future stewards in preservation skills. After all, NPS will be the direct benefactors of this future labor force.”

But it’s not just the cemetery that’s seen a bit of a makeover in the last number of years. In an effort to reflect the history of both sides of the conflict, the name of the monument was changed from Custer Battlefield National Monument to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in 1991. Since then, NPS has worked alongside local Native American organizations to erect a monument to those that opposed Custer’s men and incorporate their story into the interpretation of the site.

“When the park first opened, interpretation largely focused on General Custer,” says Rhodes. “With the inclusion of Native American organizations, visitors are able to experience another side of the story, allowing us to celebrate other voices in American history.”

Watch a video of the Little Bighorn HOPE Crew project here.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America’s historic places. Join us todayto help protect the places that matter to you.

Teens, young adults create mural with peace in Pomona as the theme

Article, written by Monica Rodriguez, appears in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Published August 20, 2014.

Using vibrant colors and various symbols that represent Pomona and its history, a group of teens and young adults are creating a mural that conveys a message of peace.

The mural includes the images of orange trees, symbols of the city’s agricultural history, and the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains. The word peace is written in the sky and messages of peace worked into other elements of the mural. In addition, room among the roots of the trees in the work will be painted with chalkboard paint allowing people who see it to add positive messages about peace.

Peace, in multiple languages, will also be part of the city emblem, which consists of six images of the letter “P” arranged in a circle.

“It really is a community mural with a community design,” said Andrew Quinones, who in addition to being a professional artist is the director of mentoring, art and culture for the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps.

The mural, which is being painted on six, 8 foot by 4 foot wooden moveable panels, is an initiative of East/West Action, a gang intervention and violence mitigation program that started about a year ago in Pomona to address some of the city’s needs, said Bill Martinez, the group’s director.

Through the project, teens and young adults have a means to share their thoughts in a creative way, he said.

“It’s a way to give them a voice,” Martinez said.

A group of about 10 young people ages 15 to 20 are involved with the project, Martinez said. Some are young artists and others may have engaged in risky behavior.

The design for the mural came about through a collaborative process in which the participating young people contributed ideas that Quinones then wove together into one design.

This is the first of what is expected to be many more art projects that young people will create not only for the sake of producing public art but to give youth a way to be involved in the community and to express themselves.

“We have a number of talented youth but not enough outlets,” Quinones said.

Through art “we can create a lot of positive messages in Pomona.”

Among the young people who are involved in the mural project is Liselotte Marin, of Pomona. Marin is an art history major at Cal State San Bernardino and an artist who works mostly with acrylic paint.

Pomona resident Christian Ornelas, 17, a senior at the School of Arts and Enterprise in downtown Pomona is a young artist who has created metal sculpture in addition to producing pottery.

Both have been involved in mural projects before.

Marin was drawn to the mural project for several reasons, among them the fact the project is in her community and addresses violence.

“I think in a lot of my work I’m trying to send a message of equity and peace,” said Marin, who aspires to become an art teacher in addition to continuing to producing art of her own.

Over the years Marin has met young people who have engaged in negative behavior.

When that has happened Marin has some words for them: “Friend, come hang out with me.”

Marin has then introduced them to art and Pomona’s Arts Colony, often with success.

“Everybody has a talent,” she said.

Ornelas said art provides a means to express ones thoughts and feelings in a creative, non-violent way and the Arts Colony has many places where they will be welcomed and where they’ll find people willing to offer artistic guidance.

“There are so many opportunities,” he said. “There are plenty of places where they can go and get their feelings out.”

Once completed the mural will travel around Pomona, said Martinez who added he is having conversations with Pomona Unified School District representatives about having the murals visit district schools.

Martinez’s goal is to be able to take the mural to campuses from high schools to elementary schools.

The mural can spark conversations, he said.

“It’s really to start a process,” Martinez said. “It’s something we can use in the process of promoting non-violence.”

The project came about with the help of a $10,000 Tri-City Mental Health Services Community Wellbeing Grant.

The mural should be completed in time for it to go on display during September’s Second Saturday Art Walk in Pomona, Quinones said.

If it’s not possible to work out an arrangement with a local gallery then a formal unveiling will take place during an upcoming open house of the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps’ YouthBuild Charter School campus in Pomona, he said.