CCC Crews Dispatched to Southern California Fires

A CCC fire crew on the Miguelito Fire in Santa Barbara County.  Photo by CCC crew supervisor Jeremy Day.

Story provided by the California Conservation Corps.

A dozen crews from the California Conservation Corps  — 170 corpsmembers — are helping to combat the wildfires in San Diego and Santa Barbara counties.

CCC crews from Los Angeles, Pomona, San Diego and San Bernardino are assisting with logistical support at fire camps in San Diego County.  Crews are working for both Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service; they are assigned to the Bernardo and Tomahawk fires among other locations.

In Santa Barbara County, Camarillo and San Luis Obispo corpsmembers are helping with both initial attack efforts and camp support on the Miguelito Fire.

Additional CCC crews stand ready to assist where needed.

EarthCorps Selected for 300 Year Long Habitat Restoration Stewardship Project in Washington

From EarthCorps

EarthCorps was selected by the Commencement Bay Trustees to be the stewards of a cutting edge restoration fund to provide long-term maintenance, monitoring and community engagement at 17 restoration sites in and around Tacoma’s Commencement Bay for 300 years.

This collaborative partnership is seen as a model for the rest of the country to look to for long-term environmental stewardship. Trustees represent NOAA, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Dept. of Interior, The Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and WA Dept. of Ecology. 

The restoration sites are part of an EPA cleanup and subsequent habitat restoration. In order for EarthCorps to conduct the work, we are EarthCorps has been entrusted with $4.9 million dollars to invest for the sole purpose of providing the annual funds required to ensure the long-term stewardship of these sites.

Read more on NOAA’s website. 

Southwest Conservation Corps Announcing Big Changes this Earth Day

From Southwest Conservation Corps President & CEO Harry Bruell

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Partners,

In celebration of Earth Day we are excited to make an official announcement about our organizational re-structure to better align the organization with its unprecedented growth over the past 15 years.

The new name of our overall non-profit agency is now Conservation Legacy, a national organization that supports local and regional conservation service programs from seven offices across America.  Southwest Conservation Corps remains the name for the Conservation Legacy program that operates conservation corps in Colorado and New Mexico from offices in Durango and Salida, CO and Pueblo of Acoma, NM.  Other Conservation Legacy programs include the Arizona Conservation Corps (conservation corps in Arizona and Southern New Mexico; based in Flagstaff and Tucson, AZ), Environmental Stewards(individual placements in 22 states; based in Durango, CO), Southeast Youth Corps (conservation corps across the Southeast; based in Chattanooga, TN), andVISTA Teams (individual placements in the Appalachians and Colorado/New Mexico; based in Beckley, WV).  Please see the attached document for more information about the new structure.

The new structure allows Conservation Legacy to better support its programs with shared resources while allowing each program to develop its own identity and to customize programming to the needs and assets of the communities it serves.   We couldn’t imagine a more fitting day than Earth Day to announce the next phase of the organization’s development.  Our mission is to empower individuals to positively impact their lives, their communities and the environment, and we hope this next phase of our organizational development will allow us to support more young people, veterans and communities to make everyday Earth Day.

Conservation Legacy began in Durango, CO in 1998 as Southwest Youth Corps and changed its name to Southwest Conservation Corps in 2006 after merging with the Youth Corps of Southern Arizona.  In 2013 the organization engaged 709 young people, veterans and crew leaders who completed over 350,000 hours of service maintaining recreational trails and open space, protecting communities from wildfire, and preserving wildlife habitat.

The new structure will allow Conservation Legacy to support emerging corps programs and to help lead and promote national initiatives such as the growing movement to engage more young Americans in conservation service through the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC).  Conservation Legacy is a co-founder of the Public Lands Service Coalition and Conservation Legacy staff and Board members served on the 21CSC Federal Advisory Committee (Chair) and the Partnership for the 21CSC (co-Chair).       

Thank you for your support of Conservation Legacy, its programs and, most importantly, the young people, veterans and communities the organization serves.  Please refer to our new website for further information, please connect with us on our new Facebook page, and please feel free to contact me atharry@sccorps.org or 970-403-0143 with questions, suggestions or ideas.

Thanks for all that you do to support conservation service corps,

Harry Bruell

President & CEO

 

Former Utah Conservation Corps AmeriCorps Member Honored as White House Champion of Change for Her Promotion of Solar Power

 

Today – Thursday, April 24, 2014 – the White House recognized Kate Bowman, a former 

Utah Conservation Corps AmeriCorps member, as a “Champion of Change.” Bowman was one of 10 people honoroed for their efforts to promote and expand solar deployment in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Bowman served two AmeriCorps positions with the Utah Conservation Corps as an individual placement at Utah Clean Energy. She served a 900 hour position in 2012 and a 1700 hour position 2013. Bowman completed outreach projects for the Community Solar Project. Her efforts expanded the program in Park City/Summit County to empower local communities to band together and negotiate bulk-pricing on solar rooftop installations.  

Congratulations, Kate! 

Read more about Kate:

Read about other Corpsmembers/former Corpsmembers who were recently honored as White House Champions of Change

Earth Day 2014


EarthCorps Corpsmembers “spread some Earth Month love” with students.

A Roundup of Earth Day News

Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, writes about green service opportunities in an op-ed for the Huffington Post. In the very first paragraph she mentions none other than Mike Bremer, a 2012 Corpsmember of the Year.

Like many transitioning service members, Mike Bremer was having a tough time finding work after he came home. Then he joined AmeriCorps, serving on the all veterans fire team with the Southwest Conservation Corps. With the skills he learned, Mike was able to secure a job with the U.S. Forest Service as a full-time firefighter. Read more

Watch an Earth Day video chat with Mike Connor, recently confirmed Deputy Secretary of the Interior (P.S. tune in at 2:35 to hear a question submitted by Harry Bruell, CEO and President of Conservation Legacy, and jump to 28:35 to hear a question from Levi Novey, Director of Communications and Marketing at The Corps Network).

A few highlights of Corps Earth Day projects…


EarthCorps
The entire month of April is Earth Month for EarthCorps. In total, they will host 22 events and mobilize more than 1,800 community volunteers in habitat restoration in community parks and green spaces.  Events will take place in the cities of Seattle, Everett, Mercer Island, Federal Way, and Tacoma. Activities mostly include invasive species removal. 

 


Kupu – Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps
On April 19th, volunteers with Kupu removed marine debris from Oahu’s dirtiest beach. Kahuku Beach has more plastic than any other shoreline on Oahu.

 


New York Restoration Project – NYRP
New York Restoration Project planted trees in Astoria park on April 22nd.


American YouthWorks – Texas Conservation Corps
In the days leading up to Earth Day, a Corps Network-AmeriCorps crew from the Texas Conservation Corps teamed up with a neighborhood group and Boy Scout troop to install a new trail through a native prairie landscape in a historic central city park and museum in Austin, Texas.  The new 300 foot accessible trail at the Ney Museum was built by the Corpsmembers using native materials, including a natural plant-based stabilizer that created a more accessible and erosion resistant trail.  The trail will be quickly put to use to interpret the natural history of Central Texas to the thousands of school children and other visitors who tour the historic site each year.

 


Western Colorado Conservation Corps – WCCC
On April 11th, Western Colorado Conservation Corps generated 87 volunteer hours doing rockwork on the Tabeguache Trails System. Putting in place large rocks to deter mountain bikers, the volunteers created a connector trail specifically for hikers. This is one of the first trails of its kind in the area. In total, the crew constructed 200 feet of new trail, 2 retaining walls, 2 staircases and 1 armored section of trail.

“It’s awesome that we were able to move two ton rocks and disguise it like nothing happened,” said Chi Yun Takaki, an Assistant Crew Leader.

 


Youth Conservation Corps – YCC
Youth Conservation Corps spent the day “greening” their location in Waukegan, IL.  They built raised beds, filled them with soil and compost, and then planted them with flowers and vegetables. They also planted native prairie grasses around the building, along with bushes and other plants. 

 

New Jersey Youth Corps Participates in HOPE Crew Volunteer Day at Historic Stadium

Written by Michael Muckle, Executive Director of the New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg.

Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey is a historic 10,000-seat municipal stadium built from 1931–32 on a dramatic escarpment above Paterson’s National Historic Landmark Great Falls. It is one of only a handful of stadiums surviving nationally that once played host to significant Negro league baseball during America’s Jim Crow era. The stadium was designated as a National Historic Landmark in March 2013 and a Paterson Historic Landmark in May 2013.

On April 16th, under the guidance of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Hands-On Preservation Experience HOPE Crew program, New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg & of Paterson, along with hundreds of other volunteers, helped paint Hinchliffe Stadium as part of the venues’ National Historic Landmark Dedication Ceremony. Over the years the stadium has hosted all types of sporting events, from baseball, boxing, wrestling…even auto racing! We were honored to be part of history and look forward to following the progress and eventual return of this historic venue to its former glory! More photos below.  #SaveHinchliffe  

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Volunteer Opportunities with Members of The Corps Network on Earth Day 2014

Arizona

ACE – American Conservation Experience

Location Flagstaff, AZ
Willow Bend Environmental Education Center
703 E Sawmill Rd, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Date/Time Saturday April 19th / 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Contact Brad Hunter, bhunter@usaconservation.org
Project Description Building new rainwater harvesting structure at Willow Bend Environmental Education Center. Volunteers will be engaged in digging holes, moving rocks, and spreading wood chips in creating this new structure. 

 

California

California Conservation Corps

   
   
   
   

 

   
   
   
   

 

   
   
   
   

Colorado

Western Colorado Conservation Corps 

Location Grand Junction, CO
 
   
   
   

 

Hawaii

Minnesota

Maine

Maryland

Oregon

Texas

Arizona Conservation Corps is Born: Coconino Rural Environment Corps and Southwest Conservation Corps Sonoran Desert Office become Arizona Conservation Corps

Southwest Conservation Corps Sonoran Desert Office (SCC) and the Coconino Rural Environment Corps (CREC) have recently joined forces as Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC). 

Additionally, Southwest Conservation Corps has created Conservation Legacy – a new parent organization that will continue to operate the SCC program out of Colorado, the AZCC program, Environmental Stewards, a VISTA Team and Southeast Youth Corps. 
 


 

“We are confident and already seeing signs of our organization being much stronger as one in Arizona,” said Rob Spath, AZCC Executive Director. “We will continue to operate two offices (Tucson and Flagstaff) with many satellite programs in the White Mountains, the Greater Phoenix area, Cottonwood and Safford.  We will also continue to support programming in Southern New Mexico and Southern Utah.  And most importantly, we will be offering up the same, if not better, programs and services.”

 

Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa Enhances Trails in American Gothic Town


Photo: Iowa corps members Sara Anderson and Derek Bean pose in front of
the famed American Gothic house in Eldon, Iowa

From the Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa newsletter – April 11, 2014

In mid-March, an Iowa crew cleared brush from a creek edge to enhance a trail running through the city of Eldon, Iowa, famous for the Grant Wood painting, “American Gothic.” They had a little fun while on site!

Utah Conservation Corps Featured in Nature Conservancy Magazine Cover Story about Escalante River Watershed Partnership

In their most recent magazine, The Nature Conservancy chose to make their feature story about their work with a broader group of partners, known as the Escalante River Watershed Partnership. The partnership is working to protect the Escalante River in southeast Utah. 

The cover of the magazine shows a Utah Conservation Corps AmeriCorps member, and within the article other Corpsmembers are quoted and shown in photos. Several other Corps have been involved with restoration efforts and joint trainings for the Escalante and Dolores Rivers, including Southwest Conservation Corps, Canyon Country Youth Corps, and Western Colorado Conservation Corps. Crews from the Corps are specifically helping to eradicate non-native Russian olive and tamarisk trees along the river. These invasive tree species thrive in poor soil and outcompete native plant species, damaging the river’s ecosystems. Late last year, The Nature Conservancy presented an award to several Corps for their work on the Dolores River, where restoration projects are also underway.

In addition to reading the article, you can watch a video about the partnership produced by The Nature Conservancy.