Repurposing a Former Mining Site


 

Story and pictures taken from the Mile High Youth Corps Facebook page

In summer 2012, 11 members of Mile High Youth Corps’ “Marmot Team” embarked on a unique trail construction project that helped convert a former mining site into a public park.

The Spring Creek Park Project is located in the Town of Brookside south of Canon City. Sitting on more than 18 acres of land, it was home to a mining operation during the early 1900s. The first phase of the Spring Creek Park Project was completed in 2010 by the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS), and was the launch of the town’s only public outdoor recreation area. That phase of the park development began with site cleanup and removal of dead trees, followed by parking lot construction, the development of handicap-accessible hiking trails, regrading of coal waste piles, revegetation of land and, thanks to funding from Great Outdoors Colorado, installation of a picnic shelter and park benches.


 

The final phase was the construction of trails – including the most difficult trails, which is where MHYC entered the project. The Marmots worked closely with Town of Brookside staff and local citizens to create a trail that conforms to the natural environment and provides a challenging way to enjoy the beauty of the park. This included the use of more than four tons of sandstone slabs for use as steps and retaining walls. In especially steep areas, the Marmots hand-chiseled steps into the native rock face of the mountain. In the end, the difficult trail measured about one-quarter of a mile in length, with an elevation gain of more than 500 vertical feet.

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Educating Children About the Importance of Water Conservation

Corps Members with Disney Characters

Taken from the Orange County Conservation Corps newsletter, Explore the Corps,
April 2013 
 

The Orange County Conservation Corps (OCCC) helped educate the next generation of environmentally-minded Orange County citizens at the 2013 Children’s Water Education Festival at UC Irvine on March 27-28. The “largest of its kind in the United States,” the festival has educated more than 95,000 Orange County students over the course of its 17 years.

OCCC Corpsmembers manned recycling stations throughout the festival, teaching the kids what to recycle and compost. The OCCC also recycled the donations to the Cans and Bottles for Kids campaign. Classes brought in bags of recyclables to compete for a free Inside the Outdoors Project Zero Waste Traveling Scientist Program, given to the class with the highest number of cans and bottles.  

This year, over 7,000 third through fifth-graders attended this free field trip, exploring over 60 booths and activities geared to teach them about water conservation and environmental preservation. From Disney’s Incredible World of Water Chemistry to environmental magic shows to the Litter Bug Relay, there was something exciting for everyone.

For more information and to get updates about next year’s festival, check out the Children’s Water Education Festival website.

Tangible Health Benefits of Community Gardening


The farm operated by SEEDS of Traverse City, Michigan

Information taken from UPI, United Press International

Many Corps – including Civic Works, NYRP, Conservation Corps North Bay, and Vermont Youth Conservation Corps – operate extensive community gardening and farming programs. These farms and gardens provide their communities with healthy food and are often used by Corps to help educate people about the food cycle and proper eating habits. It’s no secret that getting regular exercise and eating fresh, sustainably grown fruits and vegetables can be good for both people and the environment, but what are the specific health benefits of involvement in local food production processes?    

A new study from the University of Utah finds that people who participate in community gardening have significantly better odds of not being overweight or obese than people who are not involved in community gardening.  

The Key findings:

  • Female community gardeners had an average BMI 1.84 lower than their neighbors who didn’t garden (this equals an 11 pound weight difference for a 5’5” woman)
  • Male community gardeners had an average BMI 2.36 lower than their neighbors who didn’t garden (this equals a 16 pound weight difference for a 5’10” man)

Click here for more details

Combating Climate Change by Restoring Ancient Forests


College of Marin Gardener Rodney Craig, left, and students from the Conservation Corps North Bay, plants a coast redwood saplings cloned from some of the largest ancient trees in the world on Monday, April 22, at the College of Marin. College of Marin is one of eight locations in the world and the only location in the U.S. to receive the plantings in a global event spearheaded by the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive. Earth Day plantings will also take place in British Columbia, Ireland, Australia, Wales, New Zealand, Germany and England. (College of Marin photo/Shook Chung)
 

The College of Marin, a partner of Conservation Corps North Bay, is one of eight locations worldwide participating in an effort to expand the distribution Giant Redwood trees.

Taken from the Marin Independent Journal, marinij.com

The College of Marin became a focal point Monday as part of an effort by a nurseryman from northern Michigan and his sons who have snipped branches from some of the world’s biggest and most durable trees with plans to produce clones that could restore ancient forests and help fight climate change.

Now comes the most ambitious phase of the quest: getting the new trees into the ground.

Ceremonial plantings of two dozen clones from California’s mighty coastal redwoods took place Monday in seven nations: Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Germany and in the United States at the College of Marin as part of its Earth Day observance.

“I know the trees will thrive here,” said Tom Burke, landscape manager at the College of Marin. “We’ve had redwoods in this area since God planted them.”

The three small sprouts, arriving in hollow carpet tubes for their protection, were planted by students in the Redwood Grove on campus during a ceremony.

Among the speakers was broadcast journalist Dana King, a former CBS news anchor who serves on the board of directors of the Archangel project.

“This is a really simple thing to do — to plant trees to help the environment,” said King, noting the college was selected because of its existing trees. “If we want to start to reverse climate change, we can start by planting a tree.”

Although measuring just 18 inches tall, the laboratory-produced trees are genetic duplicates of three giants that were cut down in Northern California more than a century ago. Remarkably, shoots still emerge from the stumps, including one known as the Fieldbrook Stump near McKinleyville, which measures 35 feet in diameter. It’s believed to be about 4,000 years old. The tree was about 40 stories high before it was felled.

“This is a first step toward mass production,” said David Milarch, co-founder of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit group spearheading the project. “We need to reforest the planet; it’s imperative. To do that, it just makes sense to use the largest, oldest, most iconic trees that ever lived.”

Milarch and his sons Jared and Jake, who have a family-owned nursery in the village of Copemish, Mich., became concerned about the condition of the world’s forests in the 1990s. They began crisscrossing the U.S. in search of “champion” trees that have lived hundreds or even thousands of years, convinced that superior genes enabled them to outlast others of their species. Scientific opinion varies on whether that’s true, with skeptics saying the survivors may simply have been lucky.

The Archangel leaders say they’re out to prove the doubters wrong. They’ve developed several methods of producing genetic copies from cuttings, including placing branch tips less than an inch long in baby food jars containing nutrients and hormones. The specimens are cultivated in labs until large enough to be planted.

In recent years they have focused on towering sequoias and redwoods, considering them best suited to absorb massive volumes of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas primarily responsible for climate change.

“If we get enough of these trees out there, we’ll make a difference,” said Jared Milarch, the group’s executive director.

Archangel has an inventory of several thousand clones in various stages of growth that were taken from more than 70 redwoods and giant sequoias. NASA engineer Steve Craft, who helped arrange for David Milarch to address an agency gathering, said research shows that those species hold much more carbon than other varieties.

The challenge is to find places to put the trees, people to nurture them and money to continue the project, Jared Milarch said. The group is funded through donations and doesn’t charge for its clones.

The recipients of Archangel redwoods have pledged to care for them properly, he said. The first planting of about 250 took place in December on a ranch near Port Orford, Ore.

“A lot of trees will be planted by a lot of groups on Arbor Day, but 90 percent of them will die,” David Milarch said. “It’s a feel-good thing. You can’t plant trees and walk away and expect them to take care of themselves.”

California Conservation Corps Visits State Capitol

CCC corpsmembers debate budget items in a legislative hearing room.

Last week about a hundred members of the California Conservation Corps and 14 local conservation corps programs filled  the hallways of California’s Capitol building in Sacramento.  The occasion was Government Education Day, and the second year that the CCC and local corps programs joined efforts for the annual day.

The corpsmembers had a busy agenda, visiting more than 80 percent of the legislative offices as well as the Governor’s office and Natural Resources Agency.  The day was capped off with a budget exercise, with the corpsmembers holding forth in legislative hearing rooms in the seats normally reserved for members of the Senate and Assembly. 

The CCC’s participants were the elected leaders of the Corpsmember Advisory Boards at their centers.

Corpsmembers from Conservation Corps North Bay meet Natural Resources Secretary John Laird.

AmeriCorps Members from Civic Works Visit White House, Meet President Obama

 

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

On Friday of last week, 12 AmeriCorps members were invited to the White House to talk about National Service with President Obama and other senior officials. Among them were 2 Corpsmembers from Civic Works, Baltimore’s Service Corps. Leonard Chase (seen in the right corner) and Myeasha Taylor, we thank you for representing the Corps movement and National Service!

You can read more about their visit and the short biographies of all 12 AmeriCorps members who attended at serve.gov by clicking here.

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Summary: President’s FY14 Budget

 

The Corps Network’s
FISCAL YEAR 2014 PRESIDENT’S BUDGET SUMMARY

On April 10th, the White House released President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget.  The Corps Network has responded by preparing a summary of the budget with a focus on the information that most likely could affect youth, our Partners, and our member Corps. Our summary provides an overview of what the budget proposes for the Corporation for National and Community Service, as well as the Departments of Education, Energy, Housing, Interior, Justice, and Labor.  
 
Many of the proposals mentioned in the budget must be passed and funded by Congress, while some of the changes within programs and prioritizations can be carried by the Administration unilaterally. The President’s Budget provides insight into where the Administration and the federal agencies are going over the next year and where their priorities lay.

As you read, please let us know if you see anything of interest that you would like more information on, we are happy to discuss how your Corps might be able to be part of the discussion.
 

Questions or comments, please contact Tyler Wilson (twilson@corpsnetwork.org).

 

Generally, the Budget…

·         Proposes $1.058 trillion in spending for so-called discretionary domestic programs for 2014–spending other than for defense or entitlements such as Medicare. That honors a cap set by Congress and the President as part of the 2011 debt-limit deal.

·         Includes $1.8 trillion of additional deficit reduction over 10 years with the deficit being reduced to 2.8% of Gross Domestic Product by 2016 and 1.7% by 2023

·         Calls for nearly $300 billion in new spending on jobs, public works and expanded pre-school education and nearly $800 billion in new taxes, including an extra 94 cents a pack on cigarettes.

·         Would repeal sequestration fully through tax increases on the wealthy to offset the cost and also through more than $1 trillion in other cuts from a variety of programs across the federal government.

·         Proposes changes to Medicare and Social Security by:

o   Finding cost savings in the Medicare prescription drug program;

o   Proposing higher Medicare premiums for couples making more than $170,000 a year; and

o   Changing how Social Security benefits and Cost of Living Allowances (COLA) are determined by switching calculation of inflation called “chained CPI” which would slow COLA increases by about 0.3 percent per year over the prior measure of inflation. Chained CPI would affect a host of other government programs and calculations that uses a measure of inflation.

·         Expands the Pay for Success program which leverages philanthropic and private dollars to fund preventive services provided by nonprofits and other non-governmental entities up front, with the Government paying back investors only after the interventions generate results that save taxpayer money.

o   In 2014, the Administration will broaden its support for Pay for Success, reserving up to $185 million in the areas of job training, education, criminal justice, housing, and disability services. 

o   The Administration is also proposing a new $300 million Pay for Success Incentive Fund at the Department of Treasury to help State and local Governments implement Pay for Success programs with philanthropies, nonprofits, and other nongovernmental organizations. The fund will provide credit enhancements for philanthropic investments and outcome payments for successful, money-saving services.

 

EDUCATION & HIGHER EDUCATION ISSUES

The budget request proposes $71.2 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Education, which is an increase of $3.1 billion or 4.5 percent over the fiscal year 2012 level (most school funding is mandatory). Of this amount, $22.8 billion alone is designed to fund the Pell Grant program and its maximum grant of $5,785 for the 2014-2015 award year.

The Budget…

·         Proposes establishing a limited number of Performance Partnership pilots designed to improve outcomes for disconnected youth, including young adults who have dropped out of school and are not employed. 

o   Approved performance partnerships designed at the State or community level could blend discretionary funds for youth-serving programs across agencies, many of which work directly with nonprofits, in exchange for greater accountability for results. Performance indicators, such as education and employment outcomes, would be used to gauge progress, and evaluations would study what locally designed strategies work best. 

o   The Administration will work with community and nonprofit leaders – both secular and religious — to explore the potential for similar performance partnerships in other areas, like revitalizing distressed communities and reducing youth violence.  

·         Proposes a competitive fund to redesign high schools. The object is to strengthen college-and career-readiness by redesigning high school to focus on providing challenging, relevant experiences, and rewarding schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers to improve instruction and prepare students to continue on to postsecondary education or transition into skilled jobs.

·         Proposes to strengthen and reform career and technical education to better align programs with the needs of employers and higher education.

·         Proposes $260 million for a First in the World fund to spur the establishment, validation, and scaling-up of innovations that can decrease college costs and boost attainment rates; and reforms to Federal campus-based aid to reward colleges that set responsible tuition policy, deliver good value and quality to students, and serve low-income and Pell-eligible students well.

·         Includes a $1 billion Higher Education Race to the Top (RTT) Competition that would fund up to 10 states to carry out projects that focus on several reforms, including sustaining state fiscal support, removing barriers that prevent innovative methods of student learning and new degree pathways, enhancing transparency designed to improve consumer choice, and supporting transferring between institutions of higher education.

·         Proposes to fully fund the Pell Grant program for 2014-2015 and proposes a cost-neutral student loan reform that will set student loan interest rates based on market fluctuations by tying the interest rate to the 10-year Treasury note, and provide greater affordability for students in repayment by expanding the Administration’s Pay as You Earn Plan to all loan holders.

o   Payments would be capped at 10 percent of a borrower’s prior-year discretionary income and forgiveness of remaining loan balances would take place after 20 years.

·         Sustains funding for GEAR UP and TRIO to help provide support services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to prepare for, enroll, and complete postsecondary education. Using available funds in 2014 for GEAR UP, the Department will run a competition that funds projects that aim to ensure students enroll at colleges that will help them meet their fullest potential. 

 

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE

The Budget provides $1.06 billion for 2014, roughly even with the 2012 enacted level which would support the service of approximately 82,000 AmeriCorps members across the US. It also provides $346 million for AmeriCorps State and National grants which funds the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, the same as last year’s level. 

The Budget…

·         Invests $49 million in the Social Innovation Fund to test promising new approaches to major challenges, leverage private and philanthropic capital to meet these needs, and grow evidence-based programs that demonstrate measurable outcomes in the nonprofit sector.

·         Proposes to reactivate the Volunteer Generation Fund with a focus on strengthening nonprofits’ ability to recruit, retain, and manage volunteers, and using volunteers to tackle national priorities such as integrating returning veterans and supporting military families.

·         Continues support for School Turnaround AmeriCorps, a new partnership between the Department of Education and CNCS that places AmeriCorps members in the nation’s lowest-performing schools to help improve student performance. 

 

ENERGY ISSUES

The Budget…

·         Includes $200 million in one-time funding for Race to the Top (RTT) performance-based awards to support State governments that implement effective policies to improve energy efficiency and modernize the electricity grid.

·         Provides $615 million to increase the use and reduce the costs of clean renewable power from solar, wind, geothermal, and water energy

·         $184 million for the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES & INTERIOR DEPARTMENT

The Budget provides $11.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of the Interior, an increase of over four percent above the 2012 enacted level.

The Budget…

·         Provides $2.3 billion for the National Park Service, up from $2.2 billion provided last year

·         Interior’s land management operations would receive $4.7 billion total, including $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Land Management; $1.3 billion for the Fish and Wildlife Service; and $2.3 billion for the National Park Service.

·         For the first time ever, proposes mandatory funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) programs in the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture. These funds will assist in conserving lands for national parks, refuges, and forests, including collaborative projects for Interior and the U.S. Forest Service to jointly and strategically conserve the most critical landscapes while improving management efficiency. They will also support the President’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to promote job creation and economic growth by strengthening the Nation’s natural infrastructure for outdoor recreation.

o   In 2014, $356 million is proposed to conserve lands in or near national parks, refuges, forests, and other public lands, including $169 million in collaborative LWCF funds for DOI and the U.S. Forest Service to jointly and strategically conserve the most critical landscapes.

o   The Budget also proposes $15 million in LWCF funding to revive the Urban Parks Recreation and Recovery Program, which can help revitalize urban parks and increase access to trails, green space, and other recreational areas in the most underserved urban communities.

§  Other AGO programs include grant programs that assist States, Tribes, local governments, landowners, and private groups (such as sportsmen) in preserving wildlife habitat, wetlands, historic battlefields, regional parks, and the countless other sites that form the mosaic of our cultural and natural legacy.

§  They also include funds for operating national parks, refuges, and public lands, which are critical for conserving natural and cultural resources, protecting wildlife, and drawing recreational tourists from across the United States and the world.

·         Proposes $41 million in Forest Service research on climate preparedness and resilience, climate change mitigation, bioenergy and biobased products.

·         Proposes funding increases for DOI renewable energy development activities and related transmission infrastructure. This funding includes $100 million to maintain capacity to review and permit new renewable energy projects on Federal lands and waters.

·         Continues the practice of fully funding the 10-year average cost of wildland fire suppression operations. The Budget also targets funding for reducing hazardous fuels near communities where these treatments are most effective at reducing risks.

·         Supports Federal agency implementation of their first-ever climate change adaptation plans, which are helping agencies, under existing authorities and missions, better protect taxpayer investments and safeguard the health and safety of communities, businesses, infrastructure, and ecosystems in the face of extreme weather and other impacts of climate change. 

 

HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Provides $47.6 billion for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs, an increase of $4.2 billion, or 9.7 percent, above the 2012 enacted level.

The Budget…

·         Funds the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program at $2.8 billion to assist State and local governments (entitlement communities mostly) in addressing local priorities and needs.

o   CDBG is used for a wide range of community and economic development activities, such as public infrastructure improvements (approximately 33 percent of all CDBG funds), housing rehabilitation and construction (approximately 25 percent of funds), job creation and retention, and public services (e.g., child care). 70 percent of the CDBG formula grants are distributed to mainly urban areas (entitlement communities), and 30 percent is distributed to the States (non-entitlement communities).

·         Provides $400 million for Choice Neighborhoods to continue to transform neighborhoods of concentrated poverty into opportunity-rich, mixed-income neighborhoods. This funding level, which is $280 million above 2012 enacted, will be used to revitalize HUD-assisted housing and surrounding neighborhoods through partnerships between local governments, housing authorities, nonprofits, and for-profit developers.

o   A portion will be targeted to Promise Zones—high-poverty communities where the Federal Government will work with local leadership to invest and engage more intensely to create jobs, leverage private investment, increase economic activity, reduce violence and expand educational opportunities.

§  To further support Promise Zones, the Budget includes companion investments of $300 million in the Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods program and $35 million in the Department of Justice’s Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Grants program.

o   The Administration will designate Promise Zones through a transparent, competitive process that can draw on a number of resources in the Budget, including: using Department of Justice funding for local law enforcement and community leaders to reduce violent crime; leveraging Department of Housing and Urban Development grants to attract private investment to tear down distressed  public housing and build new mixed income homes, while ensuring that low-income residents do not get displaced; and using Department of Education funding to improve educational opportunities and provide students and their families  with a continuum of educational supports from cradle to college or career.

o   In addition, the Budget supports direct Federal partnership with local leaders, helping them to navigate Federal programs, cut red tape, and use Federal resources more effectively.

·         As part of the multiagency partnership between HUD, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Budget provides $75 million in Integrated Planning and Investment Grants to create incentives for communities to develop and implement comprehensive housing and transportation plans, such as updates to building codes, land use and zoning ordinances, that result in more resilient economic development, reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and increase affordable housing near public transit.

 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

The Budget…

·         Provides $332 million for the Department’s Juvenile Justice Programs and includes evidence based investments to prevent youth violence, including $25 million to fund the Community Based Violence Prevention Initiative, which would provide grants to replicate successful community-based interventions to control shootings and other serious gang violence, and $4 million for the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, which provides assistance for selected communities across the Nation to develop and implement youth violence strategies.

·         Provides $119 million for the Second Chance Act Grant program.

·         Proposes $20 million for a Juvenile Justice and Education Collaboration Assistance program to help reduce juvenile arrests (and the “school-to-prison pipeline”) while improving school safety.

·         Couples the formula Byrne Justice Assistance Grant and Juvenile Accountability Block Grant programs with competitive incentive grants that provide “bonus” funds to States and localities for better, evidence based use of formula funds.

·         Includes $20 million for the Juvenile Justice Realignment Incentive Grants, which, in tandem with the $30 million reserved for Juvenile Accountability Block Grants, will assist States that are pursuing evidence-based, juvenile justice system alignment to foster better outcomes for young people, less costly use of incarceration, and increased public safety.

·         Expands the Pay for Success initiative.

 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Provides $12.1 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Labor, an increase of more than $20 million from the comparable 2012 level. The Budget includes an $80 million increase for the WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth formula funds in recognition of the additional demands on state and local workforce partners. It also includes $847 million specifically for WIA Youth activities (an increase of $22 million) and $79.6 million for the YouthBuild program, a slight reduction over FY13 levels of $80.1 million.

The Budget…

·         Provides $150 million for the Workforce Innovation Fund. The Fund tests new ideas that States and regions bring forward to implement systemic reforms and replicate evidence based strategies for training and helping workers find jobs.

o   Within the Fund, $10 million is dedicated to building knowledge of which interventions are most effective for disconnected youth.

·         Proposes a $12.5 billion Pathways Back to Work Fund to make it easier for unemployed workers to remain connected to the workforce and gain new skills for long-term employment. This initiative will support summer and year-round jobs for low-income youth, subsidized employment opportunities for unemployed and low-income adults, and other promising strategies designed to lead to employment

o   $8 billion for subsidized unemployment for unemployed, low-income adults; $2 billion for summer employment and year-round employment opportunities for low income youth; and $2.5 billion for work-based employment strategies of demonstrated effectiveness.

·         Proposes an $8 billion Community College to Career Fund jointly administered by DOL and the Department of Education to support State and community college partnerships with businesses and other stakeholders to build the skills of American workers; this is a successor initiative to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants, for which 2014 provides the final year of funding.

·         Reforms Job Corps by closing a small number of centers that are chronically low-performing, identifying and seeking to replicate the practices of high-performing centers, and adopting cost-saving reforms. In addition, the Budget proposes steps to strengthen financial and contract oversight.

o   The final methodology and the names of the three centers to be closed due to chronically low performance will be published in the coming weeks.

 

VETERANS AFFAIRS

The Budget…

·         Supports the President’s proposed Veterans Job Corps initiative to put up to 20,000 veterans back to work over the next five years rebuilding and protecting America by leveraging our returning service members’ skills and talents as police officers, firefighters, and in conservation jobs.

·         Proposes a redesign of veterans’ transition assistance in over 20 years. This new program, Transition GPS (Goals, Plans, and Success), will help service members more effectively capitalizes on the skills they have developed through their service. DOL is also providing increased access to intensive reemployment services for post-9/11 veterans, helping employers take advantage of tax credits for hiring veterans, and continuing its work to connect veterans with disabilities or other barriers to employment. DOD is also working to help service members and veterans better communicate to civilian employers the skills they learned.

 

TRANSPORTATION & TRAILS

Provides a total of $76.6 billion in discretionary and mandatory budgetary resources for the Department of Transportation, an increase of 5.5 percent, or $4 billion, above the 2012 enacted level. It also fully funds MAP-21, the latest transportation bill reauthorization.

The Budget…

·         Requests $820 million ($808 provided in FY13) to support the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) to foster livable communities through policies and investments that increase transportation choices and access to transportations services.

o   TAP provides funding for on-and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities, infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public transportation and enhanced mobility, community improvement activities, and environmental mitigation; recreational trail program projects; safe routes to school projects; and projects for the planning, design or construction of boulevards and other roadways largely in the right-of-way of former Interstate System routes or other divided highways.

·         Proposes $50 Billion for “Fix it First” projects, to invest immediately in our Nation’s infrastructure with an emphasis on reducing the backlog of deferred maintenance on highways, bridges, transit systems, and airports nationwide.

·         Includes $200 million of innovation-spurring transportation investments to fund communities that include enhanced resilience to extreme weather and other impacts of climate change in their planning efforts. Planning by these communities will be supported by a broader Administration commitment to help communities improve their resilience through direct technical assistance, provision of useful data and tools on projected impacts, and support for planning.

 

DISCRETIONARY CUTS OF INTEREST

·         Brownfields Projects, Environmental Protection Agency – $10 million cut

·         Community Services Block Grant, Department of Health and Human Services – $329 million cut

·         HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Department of Housing and Urban Development – $50 million cut

·         Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Department of Health and Human Services – $452 million cut

·         National Wildlife Refuge Fund, Department of the Interior – $14 million cut

·         Pest and Disease Programs, Department of Agriculture – $19 million cut

·         Watershed Rehabilitation Program, Department of Agriculture – $15 million cut

·         Wildland Fire Program/Hazardous Fuels Reduction, Department of the Interior – $87 million cut

·         Conservation Stewardship Program, Department of Agriculture – $5 million cut

 

If you want to learn more about the budget, and read more in detail proposals from each agency, or line-by-line allocations, please the Office of Management and Budget website.

 

 

Sally Jewell Confirmed by Senate as Secretary of the Interior

Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Sally Jewell as Secretary of the Interior. With a vote tally of 87 to 11, Jewell was easily confirmed (more at The Washington Post).

As we wrote at the time of Jewell’s nomination, “Sally Jewell has been a vocal advocate of Service and Conservation Corps. In 2009, Ms. Jewell testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources in support of the Public Lands Service Corps Act. Sitting on a panel with two former Corpsmembers she said, ‘The young people represented up here and the organizations they represent…  the amount of work that they do is nothing short of amazing.’ Of the Public Lands Service Corps Act, she said, ‘We have a dearth of diversity on our public lands, our public lands are not represented by the people who represent this country, and we have parks, public lands and open spaces that are desperately in need of help, and so this bill represents a trifecta of opportunity to solve this.’”

“We congratulate incoming Secretary Jewell on her appointment, and look forward to working with her and agency staff on a range of projects relevant to youth corps, including the continuing effort to build a 21st Century Conservation Service Corps, getting young people and kids outside at a greater frequency, and improving access to our nation’s renowned public lands,” said Mary Ellen Ardouny, President and CEO of The Corps Network.

Jewell is only the 2nd woman to head the Department of the Interior (although Lynn Scarlet, led the agency briefly as an “acting” Secretary). Gail Norton was the first woman to serve in this cabinet-level position from 2001 – 2006. For additional information about Sally Jewell’s background, we recommend this Washington Post profile.

[Video] Outgoing Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Discusses 21st Century Conservation Service Corps in His Final Webchat

Earlier this week, outgoing Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recorded his final webchat. Among all that was discussed, he answered a question about how he hopes the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps will be viewed 10 years from now. The conversation occurs at the 28:30 mark of the webchat, which we have cued up below. Check it out!

We thank Secretary Salazar for being such a great supporter of Corps over his years and have enjoyed honoring him as a federal champion this year, and as the inaugural awardee of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Service and Conservation Corps Leadership Award.

 

The Education Corner

Check back here for education news and for information about the kinds of education reforms, initiatives and programs that might make a difference for your Corps’s educational programming. 

Date: April 9, 2014
Title: College Board/National Journal “Next America” Poll

 

Minority children are projected to comprise a majority of the K-12 population within this decade, and minority workers projected to provide all of the net increase in the workforce through 2030. As a result, many agree that increasing the skills and educational attainment of young, non-white people looms as one of the most pressing challenges to American competitiveness.

In an era of slow economic growth and tight public budgets, there remains considerable disagreement about not only the kind of intervention, but also the timing of intervention most likely to produce success. In other words, with limited dollars to spend, what is the point in the lifecycle of students and young workers where we can invest in them for the greatest return? Click here for the full post

Date: January 9, 2014
Title: Meeting Students Where They Are: Competency-Based Education and College Success

 

The Corps Network’s Tyler Wilson recently spoke at a Center for American Progress event on Competency based education. Read below for a description of the event. 

Boosting postsecondary education success is incredibly important for our ability to grow and maintain a strong middle class in an economy that increasingly relies on technology. A new Center for American Progress report will call for game-changing reforms to postsecondary education financing models to promote the adoption of competency-based education—which tracks student progress by measuring the acquisition of knowledge and skills—and stackable credentials—which allow students to leave and re-enter postsecondary education more easily—with the goal of enabling students to more readily complete programs and presenting clear pathways to the workforce.

Please join the Center for American Progress for this event, which will explore competency-based education as a driver of innovation with higher education. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter will speak about competency-based education as part of President Barack Obama’s plan to make postsecondary education more affordable and a better bargain for the middle class. A panel will discuss emerging approaches to reform that show promise for encouraging program completion, reducing cost, and improving quality. Click here to watch the video. 

Date: April 2, 2013
Title: The GED Test is Undergoing a Major Overhaul. Will the Changes Affect You? 

 

The General Education Development (GED) test has for decades been the most commonly accepted alternative to a high school diploma. Developed in the 1940s as a way to help World War II veterans complete the requirements needed to move on to college, GEDs have now been awarded to over 18 million people. The test has proven to be an excellent tool for adults who may have dropped out of high school many years earlier; the average age of test takers is 26. The market for the GED and other high school equivalency certificates has grown recently along with increased dropout rates (especially among minority populations), and as the changing job market has forced older Americans to improve their education in order to find employment.

After a major overhaul process, a new GED test with different content and a different format will be administered starting in January 2014. This change could create serious obstacles for many low-skilled and low-income adults throughout the country. The new test will be more difficult, more expensive, and will likely be offered in fewer locations. Read more. 

Date: March 29, 2013
Title: What is the Common Core Initative?

 

This week, members of The Corps Network staff attended an AEI (American Enterprise Institute) research conference on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The Common Core is an education initiative to align K-12 curricula across the country. The goal is that every student will receive a meaningful high school diploma that guarantees they have a certain level of ability that would be expected in college or desirable to an employer (see below for more information on what the Common Core State Standards entail).

So far, 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the initiative. With the new Standards, states will be required to administer new assessments to measure student achievement. Though a test has not been created, the first formal assessment is expected to happen as soon as the 2014 – 2015 school year. This compressed timeline leaves many educators questioning whether the Standards will be effectively implemented and how successful CCSS will be. Read more.