by Bea Peterson
For three days, from September 10 through 12, a group of 40 young adults from the Student Conservation Association (SCA)/AmeriCorps that work throughout the Hudson Valley Region volunteered to build three miles of trails at the Bennington Battlefield in Walloomsac. During the trail building they removed invasive plants, protected critical habitat and plainly marked the new trails. They built them in memory of those who were lost on 9/11 and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of AmeriCorps. [private]The three day trail project could have taken years to build without their help. Though stationed in the Hudson Valley Region, the volunteers come from across the country.
The project, initiated by AmeriCorps members with NYSPRHS Laura Sears and Deb Brzozowski, was rejected last year. But the gals prevailed and submitted the plan again this year, and it was accepted. The volunteers camped near the Barnett Homestead. One evening, history interpreter Phyllis Chapman spoke to them of the importance of the Revolutionary War battles that took place on that site in 1777.
“We have always attracted those interested in history to the Park,” said Grafton Lakes State Park Manager Melissa Miller. “Now we can attract nature lovers as well.” Miller also oversees the Battlefield. Maps of the trails will be available by next spring.
According to the internet, the Student Conservation Association was founded by Elizabeth Titus Putnam who read of the lack of staffing to maintain the country’s National Parks. She thought to create a volunteer organization comprised of college students who would build hiking trails, maintain campgrounds and collect entrance fees to help pick up the slack. In 1957 SCA placed its first group of 53 volunteers in Grand Teton and Olympic National Parks to help the Park Rangers for the summer.
Today the SCA includes high school students and works on conservation projects in all 50 states through partnerships with the National Parks Service, The Nature Conservancy and a long list of other environmental organizations.
SCA has partnered with AmeriCorps since its inception and has partnerships in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and Idaho.
Every day in communities across America, AmeriCorps members are making a powerful impact on the most critical issues facing our nation. Whether improving schools, fighting poverty, rebuilding after disasters, providing health services, preserving the environment or supporting veterans and military families, AmeriCorps members are getting things done.
Grafton Lakes State Park Naturalist Liz Wagner, who received training through the SCA/AmeriCorps, and Sears and Brzozowski all agree that what they have learned through these organizations has been invaluable to them in their careers.
On Friday afternoon SCA Program Coordinator for SCA Hudson Valley, Libby Young, addressed the group before they took the AmeriCorps pledge in celebration of the 20th anniversary. She told them, “These last few days have been an inspiration. Watching everybody working side by side, creating an invaluable community resource, building friendships and enjoying nature, I feel that this group of people truly embodies the SCA/AmeriCorps vision.”
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