Impact Story: Forty Years of Opening Outdoor Access and Careers in the Bay Area with Conservation Corps North Bay

In 1981, while on a run in the Marin Headlands, Richard Hammond noticed the disrepair of the trails. After a successful summer project engaging his teenage sons and their friends in trail maintenance, Richard went to local leaders with the idea to create a program to engage more young people in projects to benefit the community and environment. His idea became Marin Conservation Corps – now Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) – the first local, non-profit Conservation Corps.

More than 40 years later, CCNB annually engages more than 180 Corpsmembers in job training, education, and conservation projects across California’s Marin and Sonoma counties.

CCNB launched their successful Zero Waste recycling crew program in the late ‘80s, but their roots are in the Natural Resources Crews.

“All of the projects we do are in some way related to how humans interact with nature. We are really lucky to be in an area where there is so much access to natural spaces. A lot of work we do is in that in between of urban spaces and natural spaces,” said Elise Eifler, Natural Resources Lead Supervisor for CCNB’s Marin program. “I think access to the outdoors is so important…So thinking about it in terms of ‘I get to expand this trail or make this trail more accessible for people.’ Trails are just one way humans can connect to the land and, in turn, hopefully fight for it.”

The intersection of people and the natural world is a particular interest for Elise: her college education focused on environmental justice and political ecology.

“Environmental justice is looking at the different populations of people who are disproportionately impacted by environmental inequities, whether that be pollution, contamination, the climate crisis. Those kinds of inequities can predominantly be found in communities of color and low-income communities…In terms of what we do, [our work helps address] the lack of resources and access to natural spaces.”

During the 2020 – 2021 field season, CCNB Corpsmembers maintained more than 50 miles of creeks, restored over 200 acres of habitat, and improved or maintained over 100 miles of trails. Through their service, Corpsmembers gained hands-on work experience that can translate into a job. CCNB’s mission focuses not just on expanding outdoor access, but expanding access to career paths and providing young people the opportunity to advance their education.

“The community we work in is one of the largest communities of Guatemalans outside of Guatemala. A lot of our Marin Corpsmembers are first generation immigrants. A large reason Corpsmembers come here is to get their high school diploma and learn job skills while they’re going through the process,” said Elise. “Some of our members have a background working outside and are interested in learning about different tools and gaining access to the many different programs we have, but I think the main pull is the opportunity for education and learning English while having a job that is flexible and works alongside going to school.”

While 73% of Corpsmembers during the previous program year were unemployed prior to their service, more than three-quarters entered a job or further education upon completing their term. The average wage for exiting 2021 Corpsmembers was $18.46 per hour.

As Elise noted, Corps alums have gone on to work with the Corps’ project sponsors, like Marin County Parks and Open Space, or adjacent companies like Bartlett Tree Experts.

“When we work with Marin County Open Space, or different counties, or the fire departments, you end up talking to people who tell you ‘I used to work at CCNB.’ This program, started 40 years ago. In the scheme of things, there are people now in their 40s and 50s who used to be in this program and went on to good careers. There definitely are pathways.”

Among other credentials, Corpsmembers in the Natural Resources program can earn chipper and sawyer certifications. A lot of the Natural Resources projects involve using chainsaws and pole saws. CCNB’s Sonoma program has recently been hard at work helping build a new park, where their day-to-day projects included clearing and re-establishing an old logging road to allow public access. Other frequent projects are closely tied to climate change.

“We do flood control, clearing out debris from the creeks and flood zones. Or doing fire fuel reduction, which is often in a border space around peoples’ homes,” said Elise. “We are doing projects where there’s just so much fuel and undergrowth because areas haven’t been burned in a timely manner.”

While some Corps projects – like disaster mitigation or recreation access – center on people, other work centers on benefitting native plants and animals. For example, recent work has included pulling broom and reintroducing native plants in the Marin Headlands, which is one of the only mating grounds for the Mission blue butterfly. Another important project involves helping promote native plant growth at the Hamilton Wetlands: a former Air Force base, later turned into farmland, that is now being reclaimed as wetlands.

One of Elise’s favorite projects was working at Point Reyes National Seashore.

“We worked in an area that had been burned before in the ‘90s. Then it burned again…We were working on invasive species removal, removing pampas grass. I think we were working about a year after it had burned. It was really remarkable to see all this regrowth and see the life that still exists. To see how this specific natural area persevered, and what grew, and how fire can cleanse and bring about new growth and new life. That was pretty special.”

Growth and new opportunities are part of the day-to-day at CCNB. As the Corps enters its fourth decade, they look to continue to expand and advance their mission to “develop youth and conserve natural resources for a resilient, sustainable, and equitable community.”

 

Impact Story: Corps Alum James Ossman

James Ossman, Rockland Conservation & Service Corps Alumni, was a Corpsmember for a summer in 2003 in early college. Always led by the willingness to be of service to the community and make an impact, he continues to pursue these ideals in his current role as Vice President of Strategic Sourcing and Marketplace Initiatives at Etsy. He shares his story and an example of how Corpsmembers become the nation’s leaders in sustainability, conservation, and more.

“When it really comes down to it the ability to make a difference is right at your doorstep.” 

How long did you serve with Rockland Conservation & Service Corps? How did you first hear about the Program?

One summer between my junior and senior year of college. I heard about the program in the local newspaper. 

Can you tell us a bit about your background? What were you doing prior to the program and what made you want to join?

I was at George Washington University as an International Affairs major. I wanted to spend a summer working outdoors with a purpose. I also worked a part time retail job at the time. I knew I wanted to work at a nonprofit after college and have an impact on the world, I wasn’t sure exactly how. I knew the program would be a good way to get hands on experience and be outside for the summer. 

What projects did you work on while there?

We worked for the highway department, there were a couple projects. One was around keeping litter out of waterways, so part of that was picking up trash around sewer systems and also putting stickers on sewers to educate the public that litter would go straight into the streams. There was also an educational component to it. We went to some camps, did a workshop at a library, so we’d get the word out particularly to young people about the importance of keeping trash out of our waterways. On rainy days, we organized all of the old town sewer system maps, creating a library organizational system. 

What were some of your favorite parts about this program? What were some of the challenges?

I loved being outdoors, working with my hands, feeling like every day I was accomplishing something with value and that served a purpose. The biggest challenge had to do with the age I was when I was a Corpsmember.  I thought I was capable of changing the world and accomplishing everything. It was a lesson in tempering my expectations around what I was capable of and learning that I could actually make a meaningful day to day difference doing smaller things. 

What training, resources, and support were you provided through this program?

They had a great onboarding week at a community center in Rockland County. It was a whole week of facilitated trainings on basic environmental skills, CPR and first aid, team building activities, training on how to blaze trails and do different types of trail maintenance. Also, once or twice a week all Corpsmembers from different sites came together to do something as a team. The trainings were really helpful. 

What was your favorite experience during the program?

One funny memory in particular sticks out. Because we worked for the highway department, they gave us what appeared to be an old, repainted police car to drive around in. It still had lights on the side, and I remember that cars would slow down when we would be behind them.  At least they did until they saw it was three teenagers driving the car. 

What were your original goals for after the program and what resources did the program provide to help you get there?

Because I wanted to get a job working at a nonprofit, my goal was to get some experience on my resume related to doing something that made a difference in the world. At the time I didn’t know what particular area I was going to go into. It turned out, that following my experience as a Corpsmember, I was able to get my first internship the following semester at a nonprofit called American Farmland Trust.  They focused on preservation of farmland in the U.S. and I think they appreciated me having had some experience in conservation work. 

What type of work do you do now and how did your Corpsmember experience help you get there? Did it affect your trajectory in any way?

After my Corpsmember experienced I worked at a non profit focused on microfinance, and eventually spent a year working at an NGO in India.  I think came back to New York, and Worked at the Earth Institute at Columbia University.  While there, I got my masters in Sustainability Management, and eventually moved on to work at Etsy. At Etsy, I lead our social and environmental impact work and our procurement function. Reducing the environmental footprint of Etsy is a core part of my role.  

It’s been a very roundabout journey, but one specific thing I took away from my AmeriCorps experience was the importance of getting in the weeds and doing hands on work.  Really understanding a challenge from the ground up, and experiencing the lowest level of detail provides the foundation to understanding what the much larger strategy is going to be. Looking back, at the time I was frustrated that we were just picking up trash or putting stickers on sewars, because I had all of these grander ideas. Being much further along in my career, I understand the importance now of having done that nitty gritty work. I look back and see that it was really valuable. 

Why is it important for young people to be involved in this type of work? What is the impact for those serving and the communities they serve?

I think it’s very essential that at as young of an age as possible people start to recognize the role that they can play in making a difference in their community. Having worked at large organizations to address global challenges, I realize that when it really comes down to it, the ability to make a difference happens most easily right at your doorstep. You can be on the town council or can organize a trash pickup at your local park or you can make a public space near you more beautiful. That work is so gratifying, essential, and needed. What we need is every single person thinking at that level versus counting on a few people at the top to do the work that’s needed everywhere. It sets the tone for the way people interact with their community for the rest of their lives. The sooner we can get people interested and involved, the better. 

What would you say to others who are considering their next steps or a program like this? Do you have any advice for young people looking to be a part of this work?

You may not be picking up trash or blazing trails or testing stream water for rest of your life, but there are lots of lessons to draw from this type of experience and take with you. When thinking about your future work and what type of career you hope to have, think about what you’re doing day to day and the underlying skills it requires. 

When you want your career to involve some sort of greater purpose, there are so many ways to achieve that. Let’s say your purpose is environmental conservation, you can do that by testing stream water, or communicating about conservation, or developing strategy and programs, or even by doing financial analysis. You have to go that extra step and think about not just the cause you care about but what makes you happy to do day in and day out and what you’re actually good at. That’s how you build a career and in my case the AmeriCorps experience helped me get my feet wet in one possible way to make a difference and test out one set of skills.  

In your role now you focus on sustainability on a large scale. How do you see programs like these alongside the possibility of a Civilian Climate Corps playing a role in this larger movement? What do you think about the national and global impact of these sustainable programs and operations?

The more exposure I have to complex problems and large-scale organizations, the more convinced I become that the way to make change is at the local, grassroots, community level. That’s what’s beautiful about Etsy, there are millions of sellers that are collectively able to earn income doing what they’re passionate about and pursuing their own creative interest. The same concept applies to the CCC, where putting the progress in the hands of those who live in these communities and are invested in their improvement. 

Impact Story: Preserving Historic Sites and Trade Skills in the Upper Midwest with Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps

During the month of May, The Corps Network is highlighting historic preservation programs at Corps. Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps (NBHPC) is a Minnesota-based program supported by The Corps Network’s AmeriCorps Education Award Program.

At Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps (NBHPC), an AmeriCorps program based in Duluth, MN, their work focuses on not only preserving historic structures, but maintaining the knowledge around historic preservation trade skills.

Every year, from May – October, Northern Bedrock engages young adults ages 18-25 in preservation projects across Minnesota and Wisconsin. While the only main requirement is that participants have a high school diploma or GED, many Corpsmembers join NBHPC in hopes of rounding out their college or graduate-level studies in history.

“We’re often that bridge between academia and the workforce,” said Beatrice Dornfeld, Program Manager and a Northern Bedrock alumna. “Our Corpsmembers almost always cite significant interest in history, but they don’t have a lot of hands-on experience; we usually have applicants that are more used to the academic side of things. They have a real fondness for visiting historic places and are eager to get their hands dirty and try out the preservation skills themselves.”

NBHPC’s projects are typically collaborations with the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, or a county historical society. The work varies from season to season, but common projects include cemetery restoration, scraping and painting, window restoration, masonry restoration, and log structure maintenance. Occasionally the Corps assists with documentation of artifacts or historic buildings.

“We do a lot of scraping and painting. It might seem easy and simple, but it’s also very impactful for the building that gets painted. Really one of the easiest ways to preserve a building is to keep up on the painting,” said Sadie Young, Project Manager.

To list just a few accomplishments from 2021, NBHPC members applied over 20,000 square feet of finish, replaced more than 6,800 square feet of roofing, repointed over 1,700 square feet of masonry, installed 900 square feet of flooring, reset 85 monuments, and restored 42 windows.

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Beyond practicing technical skills, Corpsmembers also practice communal living. NBHPC follows a camping model in which members have nine days on and five days off. The experience of living and working together can be a particularly meaningful aspect of a term of service.

“Corpsmembers learn the value of team-building, communication, goal-setting, and effective conflict resolution,” said Sadie.

This current field season includes a project in rural Kittson County in Northwestern Minnesota that will involve fully replacing logs on a cabin built by Swedish settlers. The Corps has extensive experience with “chinking and daubing” – the process of filling the spaces between logs with a mortar-like substance – but entirely replacing logs will be a new experience. They are partnering with a specialist from Utah to provide technical assistance.

NBHPC has in-house knowledge to teach many technical skills, but a lot of the training Corpsmembers receive is provided by project hosts. An important element of the Corps experience is also learning the significance of the sites where they serve.

“We work with one instructor in particular who typically doesn’t use any power tools,” said Beatrice. “People are used to power drills, but with rural sites it’s not always a feasible option. He’s a great resource to explain ‘these are the tools that would’ve been used at the time,’ and ‘this is how this door might have been built back in the 1800s with this hand plane.’ The Corpsmembers get a good experience learning about the history of the skills themselves.”

NBHPC is committed to keeping trade skills alive and relevant. The Corps provides a unique opportunity for experienced craftspeople to transfer knowledge to students and young professionals.

“A big part of why Corpsmembers are interested in this program is the networking,” said Beatrice. “A lot of people with trades experience are getting to retirement age. For our project hosts, it’s really helpful for them to see young people engaged in these trades…There seems to be a false narrative around younger people not being interested in hands-on work. I think for a lot of people it just hasn’t been offered as an option. We’re kind of changing that framework to say anyone can go into the trades. These are great career paths.”

Some alums have translated their Corps experience into apprenticeships, while some have pursued jobs in outdoor guiding, window restoration, masonry, archaeology, cultural resource management, and other fields associated with preservation and conservation. As Beatrice noted, environmental sustainability is an important element of their work.

“We often say that the most green or eco-friendly building is the one that’s already built. In this era of seeing a lot of new buildings coming up, it is nice to reaffirm that we can work with the buildings we already have.”

Among other locations, this year’s AmeriCorps members will serve at Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Superior National Forest, Chippewa National Forest, Voyageurs National Park, and Grand Portage National Monument. The projects include log structure restoration, roofing, painting, cemetery preservation, and more.

“We fill a hole where there’s a historic site that may not have the money or staff required to do the preservation. That’s where we can come in,” said Sadie. “We can make it to sites that are difficult for contractors to make it to, like in the middle of the Boundary Waters. And we can do it fairly affordably for the host. These projects benefit the Corpsmembers because they’re getting a chance to learn, but it benefits the host in that the site might not have gotten the attention that it needed without our crews available.”

Impact Story: Northwest Youth Corps Community Wildfire Protection Crews

Northwest Youth Corps, based in Eugene, OR runs service programs for young adults ages 15-26. Among their many programs are Youth Corps Camping , Leadership Development, Conservation Internship Programs, and more, including a Community Wildfire Protection Corps.


Community Wildfire Protection Crews are more important now than ever with the ongoing surge in wildfires across the United States. This program engages young adults aged 19-26 in workforce training and in career building. In 2022, Northwest Youth Corps aims to run 10 crews with the goal of reducing wildfires in high-risk areas through fuel reduction.

Corpsmembers will complete several trainings including USDA Chainsaw Operation and Maintenance certified, Brush Cutter Operation and Maintenance Training, Entry Level Wildland Firefighter trainings, among many others. Corpsmembers also gain skills in resource management and in conservation. After serving with this program, Corpsmembers have gone on to become wildland fire fighters, arborists, Crew Leaders, and more.

Recently, the Crew partnered with a local utility called EWEB to install erosion mitigation structures in the aftermath of a wildfire that destroyed 175,000+ acres of land, homes, and businesses in 2020. These structures will protect buildings and land from devastating landslides.
The Crew’s engagement with the communities they help has a direct impact not only on the environment they protect, but on the people in the communities, they are protecting.

Alumni Stories: Ben Alexandro

Corpsmember experiences, however long or short, often have a lifelong impact. Ben Alexandro, a Rockland Conservation & Service Corps alum, recalls his memories from his summer program and how it led him to his current career at the League of Conservation Voters. 

How long did you serve with Rockland Conservation & Service Corps? How did you first hear about the Program?

I only served for a summer, around 2004-2005, either right before or after my freshmen year of college. Although, looking back, I should’ve done more. I think it might’ve been a teacher that told me about it. It was my first gig in the environmental world. 

Can you tell us a bit about your background? What were you doing prior to the program and what made you want to join?

I liked the idea of just wanting to help, doing some service, and the adventure aspect of it. I liked being able to do a lot of different things.  

What projects did you work on while there?

I helped out at a sustainable farm, learned how to milk a cow, and how to ride a horse. Day in and day out I worked with the drainage agency at Rockland County doing a lot of the clean-up and getting rid of obstructions in streams. We reported on chemical spills, or when a tree fell down and garbage piled up, causing flooding.  

What were some of your favorite parts about this program? What were some of the challenges?

My favorite was doing the trail work and being paired with a friend. I guess what it did do was give me a taste of the fieldwork and environmental work. It definitely had ups and downs; some things were great and some things were frustrating. Some of the challenges were keeping my team motivated with tedious tasks, not cutting corners, and looking at the big picture. It was hard to deal with the other young people who might not be as into it or have similar goals as I did. 

But I think it was a great first launchpad for me. Definitely not the same as what I’m doing now by any means, but I think it was a great program and I wish they had more of it in other areas. 

What training, resources, and support were you provided through this program?

Kathy was so encouraging and supportive, helped with references, and was a mentor for me, so I had a great launchpad. I really liked how the program provided a scholarship, that was great.  

What type of work do you do now and how did your Corpsmember experience help you get there?

At the time I was an undeclared major, but from that and other things it led me to doing wildlife conservation and ecology. 

After that I did a lot of fieldwork, like doing research on black bears in Georgia and bats in Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and was a biological tech up in the Colorado Rockies. Those were some awesome experiences, too. I learned the hard way that all the research in the world doesn’t matter the day the bulldozers show up. So, I realized how important the policy side of things was to actually save and preserve these places.  

I went on to receive a master’s degree in science and a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Maryland. After that I worked with the Maryland League of Conservation Voters as a Program Director. Recently, I became the Senior Government Affairs Advocate for the League of Conservation Voters in Washington D.C., working on federal advocacy and policy. One of our big wins was the Great American Outdoors Act. 

What would you say to others who are considering their next steps or a program like this? Do you have any advice?

I’d say do it! It was an adventure but one that makes a difference. It is so easy to get downtrodden but personally I feel better when I am doing something about it and contributing. Especially for students and folks just starting out, it’s a great ‘trial by fire’ experience. Cut your teeth. 

Impact Story: Ben Holt – Conservation Legacy

The Corps Network is collecting short stories from Corps about their projects and the Corpsmembers that put them into action. Read our “Impact Stories” collection for a picture of the people and hard work behind the Corps movement.  

In addition to crew-based programs, many Corps work with state and federal resource management agencies to offer internship and individual placement opportunities. These service positions give young adults leadership experience and the chance to more deeply explore career opportunities.   

This story features Ben Holt, an Environmental Education Distance Learning Intern with Conservation Legacy. This internship was part of the Stewards Individual Placement Program (SIPP) which places AmeriCorps and VISTA Members in communities across America for a year of volunteer service by facilitating partnerships between federal agencies and community-based nonprofit groups. Ben served from May 2021 through November 2021 in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Ben served as a member of Rocky Mountain National Park’s education and outreach team throughout his service term. This included supporting distance learning opportunities for pre-K-6th grade students, leading field trips for local school groups, host Junior Ranger programs, develop and lead “pop-up” programs, and update curriculum for programs to align with state standards. Through all these programs, Ben enhanced the national park experience for more than 1900 people.  

With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the high visitation in Rocky Mountain National Park, Ben’s impact extends beyond the number of people. Ben used creative tools to reach the community in the area through site-visits to schools and virtual field trips. These educational efforts connect with new audiences, especially school-aged children, with Rocky Mountain National Park remotely making a learning experience accessible to students who may never be able to visit the park in-person. This is underscored by the fact that over 1000 individuals Ben reached through his program came from underrepresented communities. Additionally, the “pop-up” programs Ben developed allowed visitors to the park to participate in interactive programming, despite not being able to host traditional Park Ranger-led events during the pandemic 

Furthermore, Ben’s impact continues even after his service through the curriculum updates, new programming, and at-home activities he completed. The curriculum updates will ensure programming meets the need of local second-grade classrooms, as school trips ramp up after the pandemic. The new programming will be utilized to educate visitors about ecosystems, wildlife, and mapping into the future. The science activities continue to provide opportunities for students to learn about geology and climate science in Rocky Mountain National Park from their own homes or schools.  

Ben’s service to Rocky Mountain National Park was noticed by his site supervisor. “He is hands-down the best intern I have ever worked with.”  

With this success, he was able to continue to work with Rocky Mountain National Park through the winter and hopes to transition into a staff position on the education team over the summer. 

A Statement from The Corps Network on the Domestic Terrorist Attack in Buffalo

“Our goal is to create a beloved community, and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

 

A message from Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President & CEO of The Corps Network

My heart goes out to the friends and family of the victims of the hateful May 14 attack in Buffalo, NY. My heart goes out to all those feeling the reverberations of this event.

But what can I say? There really are no words to adequately capture how I am feeling, and I can’t imagine how so many Black people are feeling at this moment. Who am I to speak about any of this? I do know that I cannot be silent.

Silence is deafening and silence speaks volumes. Silence does not bring us any closer together or closer to healing. I think of the 2021 book by Stuart Lawrence, Silence is Not an Option: You Can Impact the World for Change.

In writing this, I also recall the words of Howard Beale, a fictional character from the 1976 film Network: “All I know is that first, you’ve got to get mad…I’m as mad as hell.”

In order for us to heal, however, we need more than anger. Where we must start is by taking an honest examination of our current situation. As a white woman, I would not even begin to speak for Black people, but here are some of the realities of our times. The first anti-lynching bill was introduced in Congress in the year 1900. It is appalling that it took until the twentieth century for such a proposal to come forward; it is abhorrent that it took until 2022 for anti-lynching legislation to pass.

Today, in the 21st century, we are also still discussing voting rights. As of January of this year, legislators in at least 27 states had introduced, pre-filed, or carried over 250 bills with restrictive voting provisions. If enacted, most of these proposals would disproportionately impact communities of color.

These facts cut to the heart. And yet, in the recent Supreme Court confirmation hearings for incoming Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sen. Cory Booker reflected, “[Black people] didn’t stop loving this country, even though this country didn’t love them back.”

There are so many actions we still need to take as a country to demonstrate that we value racial equity, but there are also so many smaller actions we can take as individuals. To my colleagues in the Corps world, I thank those who are working with intention to create safe spaces for Black and Brown young people to process, discuss, and grieve while feeling supported by their community.

As we sadly know all too well, while this latest act of white supremacist violence happened in Buffalo, it could have happened anywhere. This was not only an attack on the Black community of Buffalo, but on Black people. It is easy to stay quiet and want to look away, but we know this was not an isolated incident. We have a responsibility to examine and counteract the currents in our society that can drive people to such a place of hatred. We need words as well as action in order to heal and better prevent future senseless tragedies. It’s through actions that we can help honor the lives and legacies of the victims of this terrorism.

In challenging times, I look to the thousands of youth and young adults in our Corps. I remind myself, that our young people are a force for good. A force for change.

At our recent annual conference, we were honored to be joined by Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director of UPROSE, the oldest Latino community-based organization in Brooklyn, NY. She highlighted how young people have always played a significant, leading role in fighting for justice for Black and Brown people. As we look to take action, we must turn to our young people. Go to the community, listen, and then do.

Resources for action and learning:

 

Corps Story: SCA’s Historic Preservation in Public Lands Program

During the month of May, The Corps Network is highlighting historic preservation programs at Corps. The Student Conservation Association (SCA) runs a Historic Preservation in Public Lands Program with AmeriCorps and Massachusetts Service Alliance in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and Boston National Historic Park. The program teaches Corpsmembers leadership skills while training them in historic preservation trades skills.

Program Background

SCA started the Historic Preservation in Public Lands Program with the goal of, “Preserving historic places across Massachusetts, introducing young people to the field of historic trades, and highlighting the effects of climate change on the built environment.” Launched in 2017, the program ran a residential 12-member crew, but recently switched to its current commuter model in which they recruit locally and offer a higher living allowance. Corpsmembers are AmeriCorps members and many have a background in history.

The program has a 100% retention rate of their Corpsmembers who serve a 10-month service term. So far, the program has worked on projects in The Charlestown Navy Yard, Bunker Hill Monument, the Boston Harbor Islands, and other historically significant places, including an ongoing project restoring windows in the U.S.S. Constitution Museum. A relatively new program, SCA’s goal is to continue this work and expand into more long-term projects.

“SCA hopes to work on bigger projects that will sustain our calendar for a few years at a time,” said Janina Peppers, the Project Manager. She hopes expanding the program will allow Corpsmembers to help improve more historic structures and sites, giving members a variety of unique skills and experiences that they can bring to their next position.

Program Duties

A day on the program begins around 7:30 a.m. Corpsmembers arrive at either SCA’s two-story workshop in Braintree, MA, or the shipyard where they get on a boat, head off to the islands, and pick up where they left off the day before. In the shop, crews review their cut lists, turn on table saws and begin working.

In the upstairs of SCA’s shop, Corpsmembers work on window restoration for the on-going U.S.S. Constitution Museum and other projects. Built in the late 1800s, the museum has 122 windows in need of restoration. Each window takes time and careful work to restore; SCA’s program restores an average of 15 windows per year from the U.S.S. Constitution Museum and around 60 per year from their other project sites.

When beginning a new window, Corpsmembers go to the site, take the window out, and cover the opening with plywood or a storm window to ensure the correct lighting. Next, Corpsmembers bring the windows back to the shop where they remove lead paint. All members are lead-safe certified. After paint removal, they begin the process of assessing damage. Repairs involve filling holes and fitting new pieces to old pieces in what’s called a “Dutchman repair.” They then replace the glass and treat the window to a “glazing process” to smooth it out, before painting and reinstalling the window into the museum.

The first-floor crew is currently building life jacket boxes to make a historic ship accessible to visitors. On the islands, crews work on restoring a 110-year-old building through brick repointing. Peppers says the goal is to, “make spaces a bit more accessible, a bit safer. You can’t go into a building that has a rotted floor…which then offers more opportunities for learning and growing.”

Corpsmembers

Though SCA does not require a college degree to join, Peppers notes that most Corpsmembers that join SCA’s Historic Preservation program have a degree in history or historic preservation and are generally between the ages of 21 and 27. Many members are looking for experience in historic trades and find the paid training opportunity a great segue into the historic preservation field. The niche nature of historic preservation allows for many members to land profitable careers in the field after completion of the program.

Corpsmembers have a five-week training period where they earn certifications in Lead Safe Renovator, Wilderness First Aid, Chainsaw Use and Safety, Carpentry 101, Window Restoration, Historic Landscaping, and more. SCA provides Corpsmembers with professional development including resume building, interviewing skills, and a USAjobs workshop. Peppers believes Corpsmembers also gain skills in leadership, communication, and teamwork throughout their term. At the end of the year, the program hosts a historic preservation career fair with employers that talk about job openings in the field.

Alumni have gone on to work as museum guides, preservation craftspeople, masonry specialists, park rangers, and more. Alums can be found across the country in places like Great Smokey Mountains National Park, California State Railroad Museum, and Preserve Rhode Island.

Impact

In addition to making history more accessible for all, Peppers says that historic preservation helps to fight climate change in ways people don’t always consider.

“I think that what we do is very directly preserving our built environment. We can’t as humans remain here without structures and things we’ve built,” she said. “Our work in historic preservation all over the country and all over the world, keeps the buildings around so they don’t get demolished and sent to the land fill and make a need for new buildings using more materials. There’s a quote by an architect that the greenest building is the one that is already standing, so that is the quote that I use.”

SCA’s Historic Preservation in Public Lands program is one of the few historic preservation programs in the Corps community. Pepper’s notes that it is an exciting place to be, with lots of networking opportunities and areas for growth. As the importance of historic preservation becomes more recognized, SCA hopes to continue expanding their program and introduce historic preservation into additional organizations across the Corps community.

We Are the Civilian Climate Corps: A CCC for a New Generation