Discovering the Boulder-White Clouds

Discovering the Boulder-White Clouds: A film about exploring one of America’s most pristine landscapes and inspiring the next generation of conservation leaders.  

In June 2014, The Corps Network took a group of eight Corpsmembers from Civic Works – a Service and Conservation Corps based in Baltimore, MD – for a camping trip in the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains of Central Idaho.

Discovering the Boulder-White Clouds follows the Corpsmembers as they explore an untouched wilderness unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. The film focuses on the parallels between the urban environment in Baltimore and the wilderness of a place like the Boulder-White Clouds, emphasizing the value of preserving the environmental health of both settings. By exploring the pristine public lands of Idaho, the Corpsmembers, who in Baltimore grow healthy food on an urban farm and retrofit low-income homes to improve energy efficiency, gain a new perspective on the importance of conservation.

About the Boulder-White Clouds


Photo by David Rochkind

The Boulder-White Cloud Mountains are currently under consideration to become a national monument. The proposed monument would cover over 570,000 acres of mountains, lakes, rivers forests and grassland. This area is one of the largest unprotected roadless landscapes in the lower 48 states.

About Civic Works
Civic Works has engaged Baltimore residents in community and environmental improvement projects for over 20 years. Through hosting community service projects and providing job training, Civic Works empowers people to be active participants in making their neighborhoods greener, healthier and economically stronger.

About the Corpsmembers
The eight Corpsmembers who travelled to the Boulder-White Clouds participate in a number of Civic Works programs: some of them grow healthy food on an urban farm; some retrofit low-income homes to make them energy efficient; some clean and landscape empty lots to create urban green spaces; some build homes; and some renovate homes for the elderly to remove potential tripping hazards. Through these projects, the Corpsmembers gain hands-on job skills and help make Baltimore a better place to live.

About the film
Discovering the Boulder-White Clouds was filmed and edited by David Rochkind.  

Film Premiere Press Release   
Click here to read.

Press & Related Materials

Spotlight On: Discovering the Boulder-White Clouds
      The Pew Charitable Trusts

Urban Youths Experience the White Clouds
     Idaho Mountain Express

Documentary Follows Urban Youth into Boulder-White Clouds Mountains
     KMVT-TV/KSVT-TV – Idaho’s First News

Being Good Environmental Stewards, No Matter Where We Live
     Huffington Post – by Davon Baynes (Civic Works)

Molding Conservation Leaders
     Featured on: Corporation for National & Community Service Blog

 

 

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[Video] Anchorage Park Foundation (YEP) Video Blog

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Resources Restored, Lives Changed… World Saved by Corps

Article, written by Conservation Corps Minnesota corpsmember Nick Cox, appears in Crew Blog. Published July 15, 2014.

It’s unfortunate that the phrase ‘Save the World’ isn’t taken seriously. There should be how-to books, college courses, job descriptions, marketing campaigns that all don the phrase. Of course, serious use of the phrase would require popular agreement that we live in a world that needs saving. Plausible, at least until you ask the follow up question, “Saving from what?” Well, since I’m the only one here, I’m going to take the liberty to define some terms and make some assumptions. Because I’m here to save the world, and I know plenty of other folks who share that exact mission.

The ‘world’ that needs saving is Minnesota, it’s the Midwest, it’s North America and it’s the entire planet; it’s our world. It’s the stuff that we depend on for food, shelter, water, fresh air, but also for recreation, inspiration, beauty, sanity.

 

Now for the tricky part. From what does the world need to be saved? You pick. It’s really that easy. Point at something near you and I bet you there’s something that can be done to save the world from that thing. There’s a refrigerator nearby and I can hear it hum as it plots to destroy the world, it’s already started and I’m helping it. If it’s not stopped, it will rot in a landfill and leach chemicals for years. Without a master plan for packing it in an energy efficient way, I can’t stop it from sucking extra unnecessary electricity for years to come. It chuckles as mountain tops explode and coal is extracted for power to keep an ice cube tray and a bag of strawberries frozen in my otherwise empty freezer. Curse you, refrigerator.

 

Something must be done. Something is being done.  In my time with the Conservation Corps field crews, I’ve met so many people who share this world-saving mission with a specific focus on repairing the negative effects we have had on our natural world. Recently, we had the chance to meet some fellow world savers in other programs within the Corps. 

 

 ●     There are folks imbedded in soil and water conservation districts that work with communities and landowners to create lasting solutions that protect those precious resources.

●     Amy F. from Project Get Outdoors is working to navigate barriers that obstruct children in urban environments from getting outdoors, by helping facilitate a lifelong connection with nature and healthy, active lifestyles.

●     Mike R. Patrick D. and Mike W. are corps members with the Home Energy Squad and are working to educate and assist homeowners on the simple and immediate changes that can be made in their homes to save energy. Visiting about 200 homes per month, the total amount of energy saved due to these changes is astonishing.

●     Ana and Ana are corps members working to create best management practices for dealing with aquatic invasive species in Minnesota’s almost 12,000 lakes, as well as the Adopt-a-River program which activates volunteers that have cleaned up millions of pounds of trash out of the Mississippi River over the years.

●     Kristi L. and Brooke M. are working to make sure that the DNR is able to effectively reach younger generations that are increasingly using technology to facilitate and enhance their relationships with nature.

●     Adam M. and Ryan M. both work with RREAL (Rural Renewable Energy Alliance) to increase awareness of the availability of solar energy, helping to reduce dependance on fossil fuels for folks at all income levels.

The Corps attracts young world savers (alright, call us superheroes if you must) because it gives us the training and the opportunity to be effective in our world saving efforts, now and beyond our time as corps members. Whatever thing you pointed at earlier, I’m almost sure you could find a corps member who can discover and foil its plot to destroy the world.  Maybe it’ll even be added to our job descriptions.  I’d sure love to put “Save the World” under the Conservation Corps section of my resume.

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Civic Works Summer Program Exposes Baltimore City Kids to Farming, Cooking and Yoga

Article, written by Megan Knight, appears in WMAR Baltimore. Published July 10, 2014.

BALTIMORE – Baltimore City high school students are rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty on a farm and they don’t even have to leave the city limits to do it.

Mission Thrive Summer exposes Baltimore city high students to cooking, farming, and fitness.  At first, the idea of hard labor doesn’t go over well with the kids.

“They have it in their head that this is going to be the most awful thing,” said Brandin Bowden, the community programs manager for the Institute for Integrative Health.  “Then they get to do it and see the fruits of their labor and its rewarding.”

Michelle Thompson, 15, has accepted that being dirty and sweaty is just part of the job.  “You’re working on a farm, you expect to get your hands dirty,” she said.  She won’t let the sweat and dirt keep her from her goal of learning how to grow things, and growing as a person.

“I hope to learn more about myself and to learn how to garden because I’d like to start my own garden,” she said.

Five days a week, the students work the land at the Civic Works Real Food Farm in Clifton Park.  When they’re not caring for the produce, they’re in the kitchen practicing their cooking skills to prepare lunch for their fellow farmers.

A couple of students gained so much from their experience on the farm last year, they decided to do it all over again.

“I got to know a little bit more about myself, about people, and what i should do to become more healthy,” said Tykiera Simmons.

Mission Thrive also incorporates a physical aspect into the program.  The kids either do yoga or work with a physical fitness trainer.  They also work on their leadership and job skills.

The best part of the program for the adults is hearing that the kids are actually practicing what they learn.

“They come back and say ‘I’m eating healthier’ or ‘I’m working out more’ or ‘I’m sharing these yoga tips with my mom,” said Bowden.  “I’m always a little bit shocked.  I know I’m saying this, but you’re actually hearing me?” he says with a laugh.

And the kids can feel good about the food they’re helping to grow and harvest.  Its sold in low-income neighborhoods at farmers markets and on a mobile food truck.

For more information about Mission Thrive, click here .

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SEEDS Builds New Observation Deck To Protect Endangered Species

Article, written by Mara Thompson, appears in UpNorthLive. Published July 16, 2014.

LEELANAU CO. — A dedication ceremony for a new observation deck on Glen Lake was held Wednesday to celebrate the multiple environmental benefits it created.

The project has been in the works for two years, and was completed by the SEEDS youth corps. Students from Kalkaska and Leelanau County constructed the deck at Old Settlers Park.

The students harvested and milled Black Locust wood, an invasive species in the area to build the deck.

The deck gives onlookers a view of a cluster of Michigan monkey flowers, an endangered species found only in Michigan, and it keeps people from walking down the hill and accidentally trampling them.

“Not only did it preserve and protect an endangered species, we removed an invasive species to build it,” said SEEDS youth programs director Bill Watson. “It gave young people jobs and work and helped them get school credit while they were doing the work at the same time. It’s an incredible win-win project and the county ends up with a really lovely deck in their park.”

Organizers said the deck was possible due to help from volunteers and a grant given by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

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SEEDS was a 2012 Project of the Year Award Winner for their projects using Black Locust wood. It’s great to see they are continuing the environmentally friendly practice.

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Conservation Cruisers “Team Awesome” Values Commitment and Earns Bikes

Article, written by Conservation Cruisers Leader Kevin Webster, appears on Southeast Youth Corps’ website. Published July 14, 2014.

How often does one hear “Kids these days don’t know how to appreciate anything” and “Kids these days do not know know the value of hard work”?  Well, I can assure you that the graduates of Trips for Kids-Southeast Youth Corps’s Conservation Cruisers directly challenge these assumptions, and I know first hand they break down that stereotype.  This Saturday SYC staff, family members of the participants, Ride Mentors, and community members gathered to show their support for the hard work of these five youth.

On July 12th, 2014 Trips for Kids-Southeast Youth Corps graduated its second team of Conservation Cruisers, also known as “Team Awesome,” and five of them earned their very own mountain bike to continue to bike the trails of Chattanooga.

But what does that mean really, you ask?  For the past five months, six teenagers aged 12 through 15 gave up their Saturday mornings (I repeat, for five months!) to do something they have never done before, with people they did not know, and to take them to places they have never been.  That takes courage, that takes strength, and that takes commitment.  When they decided to make the commitment, they knew what they were working for, a new mountain bike and a helmet, and they were willing to work for it.  They taught themselves a lesson in responsibility, not just to themselves but also to the other team members to show up every Saturday on time, as if it were a job.

But they may also have walked away with benefits and contributions they did not originally anticipate like perseverance, patience, teamwork, and trust.  Mountain biking is a difficult sport.  Any new biker I’ve ever biked with admits the first pains, “This saddle is killing me!”  And it does, and you have to bear it, and you have to do it again.  I saw one of our participants sit atop a steep hill recently, calculating inside her brain the risk, and the worth, and then experience the exhilaration and the thrill of “You did it.  That’s awesome!  Go Glendy!”  Mountain bike volunteer Ride Mentor Jennifer Dzik explained to the group during their graduation, “I know you worked hard, I saw you do it, and it means a lot to me, and I hope to continue to see you on the trails,” as she congratulated them for earning their bikes.

You continue to do it because you want it.  We battled the heat and cold, rain and humidity, and bugs to fulfill our rides and do perform our monthly conservation service work.  Ask any one of these kids what Bush Honeysuckle, English Ivy, Privet, or Poison Ivy looks like, and they’ll gladly show you because they experienced it.  They know it first hand.  As we pulled hundreds of Bush Honeysuckle plants from Old Baldy on Stringer’s Ridge Park we also became acquainted with mosquitoes and sweat.  Going back to that site you can really see the difference and the impact, and that is how we made our mark, and will continue to do so.

Together the participants:

Biked 292 miles

Spent 190 hours in the saddle

Gave 30 hours performing conservation service work

199 hours were spent mentoring youth

To conclude the graduation, we all took a ceremonial ride through the Hill City neighborhood with friends, families, and little brothers and little sisters (future Conservation Cruisers) like we were on top of the world.  One Trips for Kids participant took the time to explain some group riding rules to the group and how to make other riders alert of when cars were in front or behind us before taking off.

If there is anything that I’ve learned from this special experience is that kids will meet the challenge if given a good opportunity.  Their resilience and hard work is evident, and they amaze me each time I see them.  I do not doubt that future Trips for Kids Conservation Cruisers will do the same.

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Bugs, Heat, Hard Work Turn Into Eco-Careers at Student Conservation Association

Article, written by Marty Levine, appears in Next Pittsburgh. Published July 14, 2014. Photo courtesy of SCA.

Get a bunch of city kids out in the park to learn trail maintenance and it can get unpleasant rapidly—or it can be downright inspiring.

“It’s hard work, it’s hot and it’s buggy,” says Jennifer Meccariello Layman, who directs the Pittsburgh chapter of the national Student Conservation Association (SCA), which placed 102 local high-schoolers from underserved neighborhoods in outdoor summer jobs this month. “They’re wearing long pants, hard hats and boots. They can get a little grouchy because of that. Some kids figure out, ‘I don’t want to work outside.’ Other kids figure out that they love it.”

These 14- to 19-year-olds are fixing up city and regional parks by improving trails, plucking out invasive species and planting trees. They’re also helping to recover vacant lots and greenspaces in Hazelwood and Glen Hazel, adding rain barrels to Lincoln-Lemington homes and maintaining food and flower gardens.

“It’s the first job for most of them,” says Layman. “They are not very connected to the outdoors or the environment in the parks, so it’s a new experience. By the end of the summer they are a well-oiled machine … and there’s a definite pride in what they’ve accomplished.”

Now in its 15th year, the Pittsburgh SCA aims to help the teens learn other skills too, with work-readiness lessons offered amid the time outdoors. Those doing vacant lot remediation are even documenting their work with Gigapan cameras this year for the first time. Gigapans create digital panoramic images, so the kids will gain lessons in STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering and math—while making a record of their work for Hazelwood and Glen Hazel to preserve and display.

“It will give them a bigger sense of accomplishment for what they complete,” says Layman. Not to mention that “Gigapans are just pretty cool.”

Maybe some of the kids will even turn into conservationists, she says. “Our mission is to create the next generation of conservation leaders. We want to start planting that seed of environmental and eco-stewardship.”

At the end of the summer, participants are invited to a weekend camping trip in the Allegheny National Forest, which is also a new experience for most of them, she says.

“It’s tough to instill a love of nature when you’re just working,” she allows. “We can show them what they’re working for—the fun you can have outside in addition to the work it takes to keep everything working properly.”

“Our biggest goal … is to keep kids coming back for programs,” she says. The SCA also runs a Student Conservation Leadership Corps that places volunteers in state parks, a program in the country’s national parks. It also has two internship programs for college grads with sustainability degrees who work with local nonprofits promoting rural and small-town tourism along the Greater Allegheny Passage and in the Mon Valley. “We’d love to see kids who are interested in this keep going with us.”

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Condolences to Northwest Youth Corps

Story appears on NWYC Facebook page.

It is with a deep sadness that we recognize the passing of Quintin Horseman, a member of Northwest Youth Corps’ Spokane CCC AmeriCorps crew. Quintin was involved in a bicycle accident while on his way to his service site Monday morning. He passed away in the hospital surrounded by family and those that love him.

Quintin had been a part of Northwest Youth Corps for several months and was a spirited and vital member of the crew. He will be remembered as a man who worked hard to improve himself; a young man who faced and defeated many obstacles that would seem insurmountable to most. He recently received his GED as well as a welding certification, and was serving as an AmeriCorps Member to develop technical skills and increase his career readiness. His life is a testament to perseverance and dedication. He has set an example for others to follow, and will be sorely missed.

We know that the Northwest Youth Corps family is an incredibly caring and empathetic group. We ask that you please keep Quintin and his family in your hearts and prayers as they move through the difficult period ahead. NYC has set up a fund raising campaign to help Quintin’s family with the costs associated with his medical care and memorial. Please visit https://www.gofundme.com/bc94x0 to make a donation.

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Distant Woods Experience with Student Conservation Association Focuses One Young Man on Helping Pittsburgh

Article, written by AmaRece Davis, appears in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Published July 8, 2014.

I’ve lived in Homewood for all of my 21 years. It’s one of Pittsburgh’s poorest, most crime-infested neighborhoods. Opportunities for young people are few, and role models are even fewer. That’s exactly why I plan to stay here.

I want to be a beacon for the young people who live in Homewood, to help them understand that we do have chances to live a better life — we just have to look for them a little bit harder than people who grow up elsewhere.

I speak from experience. Two of my older brothers are in prison for murder. They’ll likely never see the outside again, and as a teenager I was right behind them, heading down that same dark path. I was in trouble all the time and didn’t want to listen to anyone, but then I got a break.

At 15, I started working with the Student Conservation Association, which offers young people internships in parks across the country. I always liked being outdoors, so I figured, “Why not?”

In my first two years of building trails, clearing bush and planting trees around Pittsburgh, neither my life nor my attitude changed much. Then I got the chance to join an SCA crew at Sequoia National Park in California, surrounded by trees that seemed to reach the heavens. I sat at the base of one of these giants on my 18th birthday and thought about all of my friends and relatives who had never been out of Pittsburgh and of others who hadn’t even survived to be 18.

I came home a different person. I had found something larger than myself, figuratively and literally. I never used to care about litter, for example, and based on all the trash on the streets where I lived, neither did anyone else. When I got back from the West, I immediately organized a recycling program at Westinghouse High School and became known as Recycling Rece.

The school has some of the lowest test scores in the country. No one expects much from the kids who go there — and believe me, the students know it — but other students saw what I was doing and offered to help and prove the skeptics wrong. Imagine what could happen if there were more role models in our neighborhood. Kids here would grow up with hope instead of hopelessness.

I’ve been attending community college and working part time at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, with the ultimate goal of going to Penn State and starting a career in conservation.

I’m spending the summer with SCA as a crew leader at the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York. I’m excited to work with a team of teenagers, protect a little part of our planet and earn some money for school, but I vow: Once I get my college degree, I will come back to the neighborhood that gave me my start. I will lead by example and be the alternative role model kids here so desperately need. I’d like to see more people do the same.

I’m not naive enough to think that picking up garbage or planting a few trees will cure all the issues in Homewood. Not long ago, as my best friend and I were walking to the store, stray gunfire hit him, and he was paralyzed. I am determined to help rid the neighborhood of such dangers, and not just for me.

My younger brother is 16 and navigating the same streets as the rest of us. I do all I can to keep him out of harm’s way. We talk about setting goals and dreaming big. I give him spending money when I can so he’s not tempted to seek it in other ways. I also visit my older brothers in jail all the time. They’re proud of what I’m doing and want to see Homewood become a better environment just as much as I do.

I’m grateful for my transformative experience through nature, but I had to travel more than 2,500 miles to get it. It shouldn’t be that way. We should be able to provide life-changing outlets for kids right here in Homewood.