Thank you, AmeriCorps members!
/Our AmeriCorps members are wrapping up their terms of service this month and we want to thank them for their contributions to our work and community! This year, we had both a crew and a Habitat Restoration Project Assistant through the Washington Conservation Corps.
October 2022 marked the beginning of their Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) service year. Snohomish Conservation District has been partnering with the WCC since 2013 to contract a six-person crew to implement riparian restoration projects throughout Snohomish County.
The WCC is a state-wide job training program for young adults aging from 18-25, and military veterans of all ages, that provides hands-on experience in the environmental field. These corps members are AmeriCorps volunteers that receive an education award upon finishing their year of service. They can either use this award to attend an accredited post-high school institution, or pay on their school loans if they have already completed a program.
This year’s crew contributed to over 11 acres of riparian planting, 43 acres of weed suppression, and planted over 8,000 plants throughout Snohomish County.
Read on to learn about their experiences at the District with WCC, in their own words.
Delaney Anderson
What inspired you to serve with AmeriCorps at SCD?
I was drawn to serve an Americorp term with SCD because I knew what a great opportunity WCC is for networking and experience/education in the environmental field. I reached out to SCD specifically because I am inspired by the work of conservation districts around the state. I also really appreciated how varied the work can be here from salmon to beavers and farms to riparian habitat. There was a lot of potential for me to learn a variety of approaches to conservation.
Top 3 favorite experiences:
Some of my favorite experiences from the last year reflect those hopes I had coming into the term; I loved the variety. Doing work in streams with notch exclusion fences on beaver dams, or pebble counts and culvert assessments were definitely highlights. I of course enjoyed the events that allowed me to explore new areas or meet new people like the WADE conference, the WCC curpina spike, or the plant sale. I also really enjoyed getting to work with the crews for planting, educational days, outreach, or vegetation monitoring.
Biggest surprise during service?
More than anything it's surprised me how fast this year has gone by.
Something you learned or experienced while here that you plan to carry forward with you:
I've learned a lot about critical area regulations. That is one aspect of project planning that I didn't often consider, but realized throughout my term as being a very interesting piece that I got to learn a lot about.
If you know what's next, would you like to share? (no pressure!)
I don't yet know what is next for me, but I'm sure something just as exciting as this year is right around the corner.
Anything else you'd like to share about your AmeriCorps service term?
I'm very grateful for all the time and effort everyone here at SCD has done to make my experience a positive, educational, and worthwhile experience. You all have gone above and beyond and it is felt in how bittersweet my last month here is proving to be.
David Feldman
What inspired you to serve with AmeriCorps at SCD?
I wanted to work outside and learn about habitat restoration.
Top 3 favorite experiences:
Livestaking, notch exclusion fences, education days
Biggest surprise during service?
Seeing how much sites change with the seasons
Something you learned or experienced while here that you plan to carry forward with you:
Plant ID and noxious weed best management practices
Anything else you'd like to share about your AmeriCorps service term?
SCD (especially Ariana) has been amazing at supporting us with education days and great project planning, and supporting us in operating without a supervisor.
Kaila Akina
What inspired you to serve with AmeriCorps at SCD?
I wanted to get my foot in the door for habitat restoration related careers.
Top 3 favorite experiences:
Installing a PALS, Beaver work with Ariana Winkler, Learning about forestry
Biggest surprise during service?
So many cute birds and nests!
Something you learned or experienced while here that you plan to carry forward with you:
Plant identification
If you know what's next, would you like to share? (no pressure!)
Going back to CWU
Margaux Ranson
What inspired you to serve with AmeriCorps at SCD?
I wanted to learn more about restoring different habitats in Washington and gain more experience in habitat restoration and field work.
Top 3 favorite experiences:
Working on beaver coexistence projects, vegetation monitoring
Biggest surprise during service?
I was surprised by the variety of projects that we worked on.
Something you learned or experienced while here that you plan to carry forward with you:
I learned about lots of different restoration tools and gained more plant ID skills.
Anything else you'd like to share about your AmeriCorps service term?
I really liked being involved with SCD and getting to work on a variety of interesting projects and having so many learning opportunities.
Kendra Warwick
What inspired you to serve with AmeriCorps at SCD?
I wanted to learn about riparian habitats and restoration.
Top 3 favorite experiences:
Planting season/vegetation monitoring/Bobbi's (probably)
Biggest surprise during service?
The amount that I learned about varying topics and aspects of restoration.
Something you learned or experienced while here that you plan to carry forward with you:
Confidence in myself and plant ID knowledge.
Anything else you'd like to share about your AmeriCorps service term?
SCD made this experience extremely enjoyable (especially Ariana). I appreciate the amount of time spent on quality project planning. I also appreciate the education time allotted, and the flexible schedule to fit in things that we all were interested in.
Leah LacSeul
What inspired you to serve with AmeriCorps at SCD?
There is cheese involved.
Top 3 favorite experiences:
Doing the art designs with the blackberry canes on the cages, nursery days, and working with PALS.
Biggest surprise during service?
Being told that we serve and not just work here.
Something you learned or experienced while here that you plan to carry forward with you:
My knowledge about riparian buffers.
If you know what's next, would you like to share? (no pressure!)
I'm applying to be supervisor for my current crew.
Anything else you'd like to share about your AmeriCorps service term?
Y'all are cool.
