Enhancing and preserving wetlands large and small making critical difference

Washington Conservation Corps AmeriCorps members team up to plant native trees and shrubs throughout 9-acre wetland restoration site in the city of Monroe, recently renamed Foothills Wetlands Preserve. Photo courtesy Nikki Johnson.

With just a few days left in May, American Wetlands Month is winding down. We wanted to share our role in protecting, restoring, and managing Washington’s wetlands resources.

In Washington, wetlands cover about 2 percent—or 938,000 acres—of the state’s local land area. That may seem like a lot but in the past 230 years, Washington has lost about 31 percent of its wetlands, the places where water covers the soil, or is present at or near the soil surface either permanently or seasonally.

Filtering water, controlling erosion, and offering habitat refuge

Wetlands provide tremendous environmental and economic benefits. They help control flooding and erosion caused by stormwater runoff. Wetlands filter our water, keeping pollutants such as nutrients and heavy metals from our streams, rivers, lakes, and underground sources of drinking water.

These areas provide habitat for salmon that our endangered orca need to survive, and offer refuge for other fish and wildlife species. We depend on wetlands for fishing, boating, swimming and other recreation activities.

Ecology is committed to protecting the quantity and the quality of the state’s remaining wetlands, especially through the 1974 state Shoreline Management Act designed to protect and manage development along Washington’s 28,000 miles of freshwater and marine shorelines.

Programs focus on large-scale wetland restoration

While we work diligently to protect our remaining wetlands using strategies to avoid, minimize, and compensate for adverse wetland impacts, we are also investing in large-scale restoration projects such as Floodplains by Design, Wetland Mitigation Banking, and the Chehalis Basin Strategy. These programs are designed to restore, enhance, and protect our floodplains, watersheds, and wetlands, boost aquatic habitat, and reduce flood-related damages to our communities.

Washington Conservation Corps restoring, enhancing wetlands in Snohomish County

WCC AmeriCorps member plants native shrub at Jennings 

Memorial Park in Marysville. Photo by Bethany McAuliffe.

Smaller projects to restore, enhance, and preserve state wetlands are also critical. Through AmeriCorps, our Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) program offers young adult and military veteran members a wealth of hands on experience, field skills, and training opportunities—including helping restore, enhance, and protect local wetland resources.

To complete trail and environmental restoration projects, WCC collaborates with a wide range of sponsors from around the state including local and tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and public-benefit nonprofit organizations.

Restoring Jennings Memorial Park wetland

For the past six years, Snohomish Conservation District has sponsored a WCC crew to support habitat restoration projects on private and public spaces throughout the county. Among the 2019 projects our crew has been focused on includes restoring a wetland area at Jennings Memorial Park in Marysville. These activities are funded through an Ecology grant through the Centennial Clean Water Program.

The 30-acre city park features walking trails, picnic areas, shelters, and ballfields. There is also a 16-acre wetland area dominated by invasive plant species including reed canary grass and bittersweet nightshade. Allen Creek, part of an 11-mile watershed that drains to Ebey Slough in the Snohomish River estuary, runs through the park. The creek’s wetlands offer important habitat for chum and coho salmon as well as other fish and wildlife species.

Jennings Memorial Park is the centerpiece of the city’s parks system where the public can enjoy nature and other outdoor recreation activities. In winter 2019, our six-person WCC crew planted more than 10 acres of trees in the park’s wetland area—a total of 16,500 willow stakes! On Earth Day 2019, the city and conservation district hosted an event in which volunteers planted another 1,500 native trees and shrubs to help restore and protect the wetland.

This summer, our crew will evaluate the site and take care of the 18,000 new plantings. And for the next two years, our AmeriCorps members will also continue planting native trees and shrubs at the wetland.

Kelli Sheldon, supervisor for the WCC crew serving Snohomish Conservation District, said: “This wetland restoration project is especially rewarding because so many members of the public approach us to ask questions and give their gratitude.”

North end of Jennings Memorial Park is now home to thousands of live staked willow trees, marked with flags to aid teams returning this summer to maintain the wetland site. Photo courtesy Kelli Sheldon.

Enhancing Monroe's Foothills Wetlands Preserve

The WCC crew serving the conservation district is also supporting another wetland restoration efforts at a 9-acre Foothills Wetlands Preserve in Monroe. Cripple Creek, a tributary to French Creek in the Snohomish River basin, runs through a portion of the wetlands serving as habitat for coho salmon and beaver. Unfortunately, invasive reed canary grass and bittersweet nightshade also dominate the wetlands park.

In 2016, our WCC crew began their wetland restoration effort at the park by installing beaver exclusion fencing along Cripple Creek. The fencing surrounds the majority of the project site in order to prevent beaver damage. In the three subsequent winters, AmeriCorps members have planted a whopping 25,025 native trees and shrubs and removed more than 8,000 square feet of bittersweet nightshade from the area.

“Due to its visibility from very busy State Route 2, this wetlands project has been very important to show what active restoration looks like to all who pass through the area,” Sheldon said.

This year, the city and Snohomish Conservation District worked together to rename the wetlands park through a contest for children age 9 to 14. The top suggestions were submitted to the Monroe City Council to make the final decision, and the park was officially renamed Foothills Wetlands Preserve on May 14!

By Kelli Sheldon, WCC AmeriCorps, and Curt Hart, Ecology communications

Boots on the Ground: WCC deploys 37 to assist flood response efforts, 35 more on standby

WCC crew readies sandbag berm near Pend Oreille River at Newport.

Today, Friday, May 18, we will have 37 Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) members deployed to Eastern Washington to help communities in Okanogan and Pend Oreille counties respond to the most severe flooding the region has seen in more than 40 years.

Late last week, rain and high daytime temperatures caused significant snowpack melt, pushing many rivers out of their banks. Many local governments directly affected by flooding requested emergency assistance from our WCC AmeriCorps members and staff.

Our WCC crews are deployed to the following communities to help fill, stack and place sandbags to keep floodwaters out of people’s homes:

• 16 members and staff in Newport in Pend Oreille County.
• 18 members and staff in Okanogan in Okanogan County and Cusick in Pend Oreille County.
• Five members and staff in Tonasket in Okanogan County.



WCC members and staff filling sandbags

 in Cusick.

In addition, we have six more members and staff actively supporting a Department of Natural Resources base camp in Okanogan where more than 225 DNR, regional fire district, and other interagency staff are staying during the current flood response. Our responsibilities at the camp include organizing and loading supplies like pumps and hoses, loading trucks, and supporting facilities.

Should we receive additional assistance requests, we have another 35 members and staff on standby ready to deploy to help with flood response efforts.

On Friday, May 11, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a state of emergency to make resources available as flooding and high-risk conditions continue. A total of 20 Eastern Washington counties face potential flooding.

When local disasters such as flooding occur, local and tribal government partners and state officials often request on-the-ground assistance from our WCC.

The National Weather Service is predicting more flooding as hot weather drives more snowmelt to various river systems – especially the Okanogan, Similkameen, Kettle, and Pend Oreille rivers.

The WCC provides hands-on experience, field skills, and training opportunities to young adults between 18 and 25 and military veterans. Our 300 members and 53 field supervisors across the state restore critical habitat, build trails, and protect the state’s natural, historic and environmental resources. They also respond to out-of-state and local disasters.

Learn more about WCC

Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program, consists of three subprograms: the original WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps. We are currently recruiting for three-month AmeriCorps members positions. Recruitment for the 2018-19 year will begin in July! See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC Projects Flickr set and WCC Featured Projects Story Map. Learn more and apply online today.

Boots on the ground: Two deployments, two different roles

By Eric Rushton, Washington Conservation Corps AmeriCorps member

WCC AmeriCorps members have been serving in Puerto Rico for 30-days at a time since October 2017, assisting communities after Hurricane Maria made landfall in September 2017. WCC AmeriCorps members will return home this month from deployments to Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

An avid hiker, I joined the Washington Conservation Corps last fall to learn how to build and improve trails around my hometown of Issaquah. During the recruitment process, I learned my crew would be supporting more than trail projects: We were set to deploy to the U.S. Virgin Islands in the first week of our 11-month term to assist with hurricane relief efforts.

The prospect of being away from home for a month didn’t concern me, especially since I had served five years in the U.S. Navy where I only saw my home on occasion. Helping communities on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John proved to be rewarding, illuminating, and challenging. WCC AmeriCorps members are serving with a local volunteer organization, All Hands and Hearts. Together we assisted homeowners who needed storm-damaged materials and trees removed from their homes and properties.

A second mission: Puerto Rico

WCC AmeriCorps member Erin Harris uses her
Spanish skills to set up assessment appointments.
Photo contributed by Eric Rushton.

Two months after returning home from the U.S. Virgin Islands, we got another opportunity to assist communities affected by hurricanes, this time in Puerto Rico. We arrived on Jan. 12 as part of WCC’s third mission assignment in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Similar to my previous deployment, the local residents are facing damaged property and a variety of other challenges.  Our team of 48 WCC AmeriCorps members is serving alongside AmeriCorps members from St. Louis, SBP, and the California Conservation Corps.

Unlike my last deployment, where I served in the field interacting directly with the community, I have been given the opportunity to serve in the command center, or Joint Field Office (JFO), as public information officer and deputy operations chief. I’ve experienced how the command staff bears the brunt of responsibility in handling incoming information and requests from the community, issuing daily work orders, and generally ensuring the mission is a success for everyone.

Embracing responsibility
Day after day, responsibility is the word and feeling of the day. My colleagues and I take to heart the responsibility we have to Puerto Rico and our fellow citizens who have been affected by the hurricanes. We have the responsibility to equip our AmeriCorps members with the supplies, information, and direction they need to help as much as possible before this whirlwind of grit and sweat comes to an end.

This responsibility drives each of us minute by minute, and the stress wears on us as the days go by. But the great thing about being part of a team is that we get to lift each other up throughout the day!

We can only be successful if everyone is successful. Every day I hear conversations and see actions by each one of us that builds up our team. This was true when I was serving in the field removing debris in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and I’m happy to report that it’s true as I serve in a command staff position in Puerto Rico. Does it trickle down, or does it trickle up? It’s both. We all can affect the success of this or any mission by the individual actions we take, no matter which role we find ourselves in.

WCC AmeriCorps members gather for a briefing on how to properly re-seal a concrete roof.
Photo by Liz Esikoff.

Join the WCC
Do you want to help the environment, meet great people and make a difference in your community? We are now accepting applications for six-month WCC AmeriCorps members! Learn more and apply online today. See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC projects Flickr set and WCC featured projects story map.

Boots on the Ground:

Staying mentally healthy during disaster deployment

Twenty-four Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) AmeriCorps members just finished up a 30-day deployment to Texas assisting communities affected by Hurricane Harvey. We served alongside numerous other programs including the Texas Conservation Corps at American YouthWorks, Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa, AmeriCorps' Corporation for National and Community Service, and American Red Cross.

This week, we will send 12 WCC staff and AmeriCorps members to both Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands to help with the response to Hurricane Maria. Six more AmeriCorps members and staff are heading to Florida to assist communities affected by Hurricane Irma, and a new wave of 30 AmeriCorps members and staff will head for a second 30-day deployment to Texas.

AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams capacity expands

It's amazing how fast 24 hours can go by. When you’re serving on an AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team assignment, so much happens in 24 hours it feels like an entire week. It’s hard to believe that our WCC disaster response team members arrived in Austin just three weeks ago.

We have been serving 13-hour days, seven days a week, to maintain and support the overwhelming amount of donations and volunteers. If you were to ask anyone on the WCC response team how long they’ve been deployed to Texas, they might reply, “between 45 to 60 years.” That’s how long three weeks can feel during an emergency response.

A little more than a week ago, 38 Texas Conservation Corps (TxCC) and 52 Minnesota and Iowa Conservation Corps (CCMI) members arrived in Austin and we have been providing disaster response training and hands-on experience for the projects our new colleagues will support.

WCC AmeriCorps members Kelly Lewis (L) and Kayla Seaforth
(R) lead the AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team planning section.

Training new teams through
 peer-to-peer dialogue

As part of the training, we engaged in an exercise that meant a lot to me when I received it as part of my WCC service. We divided the group into two sections: Those who had previous disaster response experience and those who did not.

The seasoned responders wrote down the top five things they wish they had known before embarking on a response assignment. We asked those serving on their first disaster assignment to write their top 10 questions about what it's like to serve on a disaster response team. After much deliberation and conversation, representatives from each group reported back.

Our Texas colleague Byron Zuniga kicked off the session sharing a pointer from someone with response experience: “Remember to take a token or a favorite snack from home because it truly cannot be expressed how comforting a little bit of home can be when you're away for this long.”

As things got rolling, the dialogue opened up, turning into a conversation that helped those with any jitters about heading out to be deployed. The questions reminded more seasoned responders how much advice they had to offer.

WCC AmeriCorps members train with other A-DRT programs
to prepare for upcoming projects across Texas.

Taking time to focus
on mental health and self-care

I think everyone in the group soon realized they would be able to make it through a deployment alongside their friends and fellow AmeriCorps members. We also discussed a few light-hearted issues like ways to spend our down time such as reading books, learning new card games, and engaging in general relaxation activities.

Some of the questions were more serious – such as the best strategies to help people feeling overwhelmed by the disaster and sympathetic stress. That answer wasn't so cut and dried. We discussed taking time to get in touch with loved ones at home, talking with a close member of your crew, or asking for a day off to help with mental health. The atmosphere in the room was one of genuine kinship. The knowledge that everyone there really wanted to help felt supportive and encouraging.

Focused trainings worthwhile across programs

All too often in times of distress, mental health is pushed to the side. However, talking about these issues is one of the healthiest, most important things we can do to help people lower their emotional and physical stress during a disaster. Some of the things that happen during a disaster may not hit a responder until days or even weeks after they’re home and away from the incident.

Providing space for those feelings and talking with people with similar experiences helps responders process the experience. It was extremely reassuring to be in a room full of people telling everyone these feelings are normal and OK.

The issues surrounding mental health during and after a disaster was a critical part of my second- year disaster training as a WCC AmeriCorps member. I was excited to bring some of the same curriculum to a larger audience.

At the end of our training session in Texas, we handed out feedback sheets. Among the questions: “What was your favorite part of disaster training?” I was thrilled to see that overwhelmingly, people said the group discussion about what to expect and how to take care of yourself during and after a disaster response deployment was one of their top sessions.

Trained, geared up, and ready to assist communities in need

WCC AmeriCorps members utilize safety gear when entering homes for debris removal and other projects. Photos by Rob Crawford, Alex Wunder and Dillon Benitez.

CCMI is headed to Houston to begin home assessments and gutting projects while TxCC is off to Corpus Christi to do the same. I was honored to provide training for my colleagues in these amazing programs. I wish them all the best as they head out to their assignments, armed with a little more information and ability to better serve affected communities of Texas and themselves.

By Alex Wunder, WCC AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team public information officer

Join the WCC

Do you want to help the environment, meet great people and make a difference in your community? Recruitment for six-month WCC AmeriCorps positions will open in February 2018! Lean more and apply online today. See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC projects Flickr set and WCC featured projects story map.

Learn more about serving as a WCC AmeriCorps member: www.ecy.wa.gov/wcc

Boots on the Ground: WCC responds to Hurricane Harvey

By Alex Wunder and Paris Jackson, WCC AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team public information officers and edited by Laura Schlabach, WCC outreach coordinator.

Below is a first-hand account from two of our Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) AmeriCorps members, currently serving a 30-day deployment to Texas to assist communities after Hurricane Harvey hit in late August. They are serving alongside numerous other programs including Texas Conservation Corps at American YouthWorks, Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa, AmeriCorps' Corporation for National and Community Service and American Red Cross.

Although Hurricane Harvey was named a tropical storm Aug. 17, the category 4 hurricane eventually made landfall near Rockport, Texas, late on Aug. 25. The federal government declared a national disaster and WCC AmeriCorps members were already mobilizing to assist communities in southeast Texas wracked by the largest storm on record in the continental United States.

 

Arriving safely in Austin Aug. 29

 

On Aug. 26, 24 WCC staff and AmeriCorps members loaded into four trucks and headed for the Lone Star State, awaiting more specific directions on assignments. After two different changes to our final destination, we arrived in Austin on Aug. 29 ready to implement our Incident Command System or ICS. ICS is a standardized approach for coordinating a large-scale response to an emergency or disaster. The system provides a structure that allows multiple responding teams and agencies to function effectively together. It was first used by the U.S. Forest Service as a way to organize the response to wildfires.




WCC AmeriCorps members finally reach Austin Aug. 29. Photo by Rob Crawford.

Step one: Assign roles and responsibilities

After dividing up tasks and roles for the response, we started collaborating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to organize and find donations and volunteers. WCC supervisor Kelly Gilchrist was picked to lead the donations task force and began setting up systems and procedures for his team. Having standard operating procedures helps integrate new task force members quickly and efficiently.

WCC supervisor Aurelio Elliott is leading the volunteer task force. He and his team started researching and selected volunteer reception centers, enabling them to find and activate volunteers in different areas of Texas.

Our members not involved in the volunteer or donations task force are serving directly in or with the incident command or operations staff preparing for up to 200 members from various disaster response team programs across the country to arrive throughout the next two weeks. They are making progress putting housing, food and training in place to create a smooth arrival for incoming service members. Arranging upcoming operating bases in Houston and Corpus Christi will soon be a priority so crews can get started on providing direct assistance to affected populations.



WCC AmeriCorps members serving in Austin settle into to their incident command post at local hotel. Photo by Rob Crawford.

Step Two: Find a home base

 

 
Amidst all this planning we have been trying to locate a permanent place to house our incident command post and task forces. During the first two days, we operated out of a meeting room in the basement of a local hotel. Not long after, WCC AmeriCorps member Hunter Bowen located an office space that we could utilize with a mortgage company for whom previously worked. Once we arrived, we quickly hung maps and infographics on the walls to assist with research and project flow.

We spent about two days in the new space before FEMA asked us to move to their joint field office. We packed up and arrived at an empty golf supply warehouse that had been refilled with hundreds of people all working to help communities in Texas. We nicknamed our new space the “Ice Box” because it was a big air conditioned room, resulting in everyone wearing jackets despite being 90-plus degrees outside.

Once we had established a presence there, our incident commander Luke Wigle determined the original office that Hunter had found for us was the most effective incident command post location for us in the end, a little farther away from the hustle and bustle of FEMA's joint field office. We packed up and finally set up a stable incident command post that we can operate out of for the foreseeable future. We are still keeping things flexible and easily mobile in the event that we have to transition our command post once more.
 


Elizabeth Weimholt (left) and Jessie Cadigan (right) created a website, www.volunteertx.org, to promote

volunteer and donation opportunities in Texas

What do all these moving parts mean for the team's logistics chief?

I spoke with WCC AmeriCorps member Stephen Fuller, serving as logistics chief, about the challenges presented by moving 24 people and their command post four times in four days. The difficulty is in figuring out organized, efficient ways to move 24 people while still maintaining full task force operations from a technology standpoint. Some of the things I have to constantly keep in mind include internet quality and ability to connect, amount of electrical outlets and a need for power strips to power computers, and even quiet spaces being available to take conference calls," Stephen said.

 

Ready to meet current and future challenges

Disaster response is one of the most fluid and fast-paced aspects of the WCC. Change is constant, which requires everyone involved to be flexible and ready for whatever situations arise. Fortunately, our team is one of the best and everyone has been handling the challenges and curveballs well. The multiple incident command post locations and setting up for future teams has been a great challenge that all of us are rising to meet head on.





Elizabeth Weimholt created recycling program for WCC disaster response team serving in Texas. WCC AmeriCorps member Keith Kaneshiro pictured on the right.

 

Join the WCC

 

Do you want to help the environment, meet great people and make a difference in your community? WCC is now recruiting for the 2017-18 AmeriCorps year! Learn more and apply online today to become a WCC member.

 

See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC projects Flickr set and WCC featured projects story map.

 

 

 


    
         
 

 

 

 

 

WCC members serve local communities through AmeriCorps program

A series of storms caused many Eastern Washington streams and rivers to flood last month. On March 17, Gov. Jay Inslee issued an emergency proclamation for all 20 counties east of the Cascades to free up state resources in case wet weather and flooding risks continue.

When disasters occur, local and tribal government partners and state officials often request on-the-ground assistance from Ecology’s Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) AmeriCorps members and crew supervisors.

The WCC provides hands-on experience, field skills, and training opportunities to young adults between 18 and 25 and military veterans. Our 300 members and 55 field supervisors across the state restore critical habitat, build trails, and protect the state’s natural, historic and environmental resources.

During disasters, however, WCC members and supervisors respond to assist communities in Washington and beyond.

2017 flood response in Sprague and Yakima

March 18, WCC crews help keep rising flood waters from Sprague.

City officials and the state Military Department requested help battling flood waters in the Lincoln County town of Sprague on March 17, and WCC was able to respond the next day. WCC members based in Spokane, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Yakima and Ellensburg filled and placed about 3,500 sandbags to protect Sprague homes and businesses. Members also reinforced and fixed sandbags to stay ahead of rising water levels.

The crews received a warm welcome. “It was refreshing to see the community come together and help our crews and each other,” said WCC supervisor Matt Cone, who was deeply moved by the experience. “The people volunteered their time, labor, supplies and food so that everyone was taken care of. Even in a stressful situation, this community showed a lot of heart.”

WCC crew in removing sandbags in Yakima

On March 20 and 21, another WCC crew responded to a similar request from the city of Yakima. Members took a day off from their regular duties with the North Yakima Conservation District to help the city clean up after widespread flooding. The crew removed nearly 4,000 sandbags from a previously flooded interchange.

WCC disaster response program

Our WCC crews have responded to local floods, wildfires, oil spills and landslides and have also been deployed to provide disaster relief and recovery assistance for floods, hurricanes and tornadoes around the nation. Four WCC crews are designated disaster response crews but any crew has the potential to be deployed.

Members and staff are trained to safely and effectively:

• Clean up homes, roads and structures
• Install emergency repairs such as roof tarps
• Manage volunteers and donations
• Remove trees and debris
• Set up and operate emergency shelters

WCC AmeriCorps funding in jeopardy

The WCC was created in 1983 and became an AmeriCorps program in 1994. The federal Corporation for National and Community Service administers AmeriCorps. The proposed federal blueprint budget would eliminate funding the agency’s funding. For the 2017-18 federal budget year (Oct. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2018), AmeriCorps provided Ecology’s WCC program:

• $1.8 million in grant funding – about 20 percent of WCC’s budget.
• Authority and funding to support Ecology WCC AmeriCorps federal disaster and response and recovery efforts.
• A $5,775 education award to each WCC member who completes a year of services. They can use the AmeriCorps award to pay for future college expenses or toward existing student loans. This year the awards, paid directly to post-secondary institutions, will provide more than $2 million in tuition income to trade schools, college and universities attended by WCC alumni.

Since it is still early in the federal budget-making process, it is unknown what the full effects could be on Ecology’s WCC AmeriCorps program in the future.

Learn more about WCC

Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program, consists of three subprograms: the original WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps. Recruitment for the 2017-2018 year will begin in July!

See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC Projects Flickr set and WCC Featured Projects Story Map. To become a member of WCC, learn more and apply online today.

A day in the life of a WCC AmeriCorps member

Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) is seeking young adults ages 18-25 and military veterans for six-month positions on our crews across the state! The WCC, an AmeriCorps program run by Ecology, provides opportunities for young adults and veterans to gain hands-on environmental experience, field skills, formal training and funds for education.

But don’t take it from us! Learn what a WCC position is like from our current WCC AmeriCorps member Steven Quick:

My first few months in WCC

I’ve been interested in Washington Conservation Corps positions for a long time. WCC seemed like a great opportunity to be outdoors, learn about environmental careers and grow professionally. So, late last year I was thrilled by the opportunity to join a spike crew supervised by Junior Fuimaono as a 12-month WCC AmeriCorps member. So far, we have served mostly on planting and wetland rehabilitation projects for Dash Point, the city of DuPont and the city of Orting. We’ve also participated in eight-day service spikes for the Kitsap Conservation District (KCD).

Wait, what is a “spike?”

There are a number of different WCC crews throughout Washington state. A spike crew is intended to support short-term projects where a sponsor needs extra hands on deck or fill in if the normal crew is deployed on disaster response.

We’ve only spiked at KCD so far, planting tree plugs and live stakes. During spikes we are allotted money for meals, and lodging is arranged by the WCC program. During our KCD spikes we stayed at a local, family-owned inn in Poulsbo that offered breakfast every morning. I’m told the experience will be a lot different when we spike at places like Mt. Adams or Mt. Rainier as we’re likely to be roughing it in the backcountry.

What’s a typical week like? 

For every spike week so far, we arrive at our crew base in Tacoma at 7 a.m. like any other day and pack up the truck with tools based on what services we’ll be providing (planting, falling trees, etc). Tools could include a chainsaw, Pulaskis, rock bars, stake pounders, loppers and shovels. Then we head out to the project site together in a WCC truck to meet the sponsor, put in a good day’s worth of service, and get groceries before checking into the hotel or other lodging accommodations for the evening. I like to try to enjoy the local scenery or art if possible after a day in the field, but the crew normally brings a board game or something that occupies our time as well.

The services we undertake in the city are just as valuable to our personal enrichment as our spike assignments. Serving in the city of DuPont was an extremely enlightening week because it was the first week of the crew year, and it broke every single standard I had set. It was something to get used to, considering I’ve never had a position this laborious, but I adapted quickly. It was fun to mingle with other public service workers, make connections and create relationships for the future. Junior said on our first day, “Treat these people well, they could be your future employers.” After meeting so many different people through the projects we’ve accomplished, I’m already delighted by the idea of working with them more one day!

What else does the program offer?

I’ll never forget orientation week at Cispus Learning Center. It was a tremendous learning experience and a great chance to meet hundreds of other WCC AmeriCorps members from all walks of life. Orientation training involved a four-day spike week in the woods near Mt. Rainier, where we received the rundown on AmeriCorps expectations and attended additional courses to prepare us for our year in the WCC.

We go back to Cispus Learning Center again in March and June for extracurricular training courses on environmental topics for resume enrichment, which everyone is really excited for. Orientation, though, was particularly fascinating to me because of the sheer diversity of people and the chance to network and hear ideas.

WCC is already teaching me lessons for life

Ultimately, the lesson I’ve learned during my application process and over the last three months is to prepare and persevere. My supervisor, Junior, told me to take advantage of the networking opportunities this position offers. I encourage prospective applicants to do the same, even if they haven’t been interviewed yet. Find someone willing to share about the program and answer your questions!

Before WCC, I met two corps members that offered their recommendation, I spent time researching online to piece together what the next year would look like, and I spoke to people about what else I could do to put my best foot forward. I volunteered, wrote and researched. I think anyone can really grow in this program; it is what you make of it.

By: Steven Quick, WCC Pierce County spike crew AmeriCorps member

Do you want to help the environment, meet great people and make a real difference? Join Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps Program consisting of three subprograms: the core WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps.

See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC Projects Flickr set and WCC Featured Projects Story Map. Learn more and apply online today to become a member of WCC:

www.ecy.wa.gov/wcc

WCC disaster response: Looking back on Louisiana

In August, 72 Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) AmeriCorps members and crew supervisors deployed to the Baton Rouge area to assist communities affected by devastating flooding. Below, five recently-returned WCC AmeriCorps members reflect on their disaster response experience in Louisiana.

A dispatched WCC member guts walls and floors rotted by floodwaters in Louisiana. Photo by: FEMA/J.T. Blatty

WCC supervisor Ernie Farmer served as Incident Commander for the first month of AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team efforts, with WCC supervisors Rob Crawford, Phill VanKessel and other supervisors also holding key leadership roles. WCC AmeriCorps members organized volunteer reception centers, helped muck and gut homes, cleared debris from homes and much more.

The initial group of WCC staff and AmeriCorps members returned to Washington on Sept. 20. WCC supervisor Adam Hein and five WCC AmeriCorps members returned Oct. 14 from the second wave of response efforts. Thank you to all who have served and supported this response!

Andrew Hacker, WCC AmeriCorps City of Bellingham crew member 

Having the opportunity to participate in a Washington Conservation Corps disaster response has been something that I had wanted to do since I started my year of service. Finishing off my first year as a WCC AmeriCorps member aiding survivors of flooding in Louisiana for a month has been a unique and enriching experience that I will never forget. I entered the state expecting to see a community full of misery, hopelessness and sorrow but what I saw was completely different. Instead, I found a community full of hope, graciousness and hospitality.

Throughout the houses that I aided in mucking and gutting, there is not a single person that I will not remember. From the cheerful pleasantries of Jimmy to the hilarious joviality of Benny, each person had a positive outlook on life and a unique perspective of the flood that frankly surprised me. Looking past themselves, almost all of the people we assisted were genuinely interested in our Louisiana experience. Most days we had meals supplied to us by these community members in an effort to make us more comfortable and satisfied. This was something I wouldn’t have expected. Each day might have been long, smelly and arduous but there is not one moment in this experience that I would take back.

Maia Gurol, WCC AmeriCorps City of Bellingham crew member 2015-2016 

Louisiana is an amazing place full of culture, delicious food and warm-hearted people. It is also full of guns, churches and lots and lots of bugs. Mold grows quickly in the humidity. Rural poverty is hard to grasp without seeing it in person. I have seen people at their absolute worst, sitting in a shelter with only the possessions under their cots to remind them of what they lost. The few days I spent hearing people’s stories of survival and loss while visiting shelters were some of the hardest, most emotional days of my life. I have also seen people at their best, persevering with a smile on their face and laughing with people who—only hours before—were strangers. Every day was a different challenge, plans changed every few hours and quickly we all learned to expect the unexpected.

Overall I am extremely grateful for having been given the opportunity to be part of this disaster deployment. This experience has been long, hot, sticky, overwhelming, delicious, disgusting, exciting, sad, interesting and heartwarming. I have learned far more than I ever expected about myself, about my crewmates, about construction and so much more. It is hard to put into one paragraph, but to sum it up I think I have become a better, more informed and empathetic person because of this opportunity. I have laughed a lot and bonded with both my crewmates and homeowners. I have also cried, knowing that we can only help so much. I am glad to being going home, but I will remember this month for the rest of my life. Also, our supervisor Lyle is an amazing human being.

Riley Thorpe, WCC AmeriCorps City of Bellingham crew member 2015-2016 

Louisiana is great. The people are warm and welcoming, there are crazy animals and bugs everywhere, and I’ve never had so much good food in such a short of time. Southern Hospitality is real, and it is delicious. It’s also really, really hot out here. Come lunchtime, we usually have already sweated through the clothes and Tyvek suits we wear to protect us from the mold and muck. It’s not as bad as it sounds though. As gross as the cleanup can be, this whole trip has been immensely rewarding. All the homeowners are so grateful and loving towards us that it gives tasks an immediate feeling of purpose. There’s a mutual feeling of appreciation between us and the homeowners, and I think that’s what makes the whole thing worthwhile.

And I think I speak for all of us when I say that I am extremely impressed by our supervisor Lyle. He keeps his cool through all of the ridiculous jobs he is in charge of, and has always been there for us. I don’t know how he does it, that guy’s unstoppable!

Nicolas Holmquist, WCC AmeriCorps City of Bellingham crew member 2015-2016 

Ending the WCC service year on disaster response was an opportunity I am glad I took. I have wanted to have an experience like this for a while. I plan to join the military. When I do, I intend to choose a career that—to some extent—provides a similar chance to help out with various disasters. Being able to help out the folks in Louisiana has not only opened me up as a person, but has allowed me to truly see how strong and hopeful a community can be when all are united in a similar cause.

Mucking and gutting in no way has been a pleasant task, but the after effect of it has been far more rewarding than I originally thought it was going to be. Seeing how grateful and generous the people are here continually enriches the spirit to do more for them and get the project done. The experience I have had here has been like no other. I am thankful that I was able to be a part of the service that’s going on here. It not only gives further initiative to help communities in the future, it inspires me not to take things for granted.

Kaitlyn Hammond, Whatcom Land Trust WCC AmeriCorps individual placement 2015-2016

If you had told me on Monday that I would be leaving on Saturday for a 30-day deployment to Louisiana to respond to catastrophic flooding, I would have laughed. I never thought I would do anything like this, but I am so grateful to have participated in this deployment, interacted with locals and learned new skills—about other cultures and about myself.

The first thing I learned is that Southern Hospitality is real. Oh, so real. From day one we were greeted with, “Mornin’ darlin’! Can I get ya’ll anythin’ to eat?” Even if we weren’t hungry, we knew better than to say no to these incredibly thoughtful people and miss out on some of the best food in the country. From gumbo to jambalaya to fried chicken, homeowners who had lost everything went out of their way to provide us with hot meals to ensure we got the real Louisiana experience. Our crew spent most of our time mucking and gutting homes. While the worst was over for these people, helping them sort through what was left of their possessions brought us immediately into an intimate relationship with a stranger.

The projects were hard, and I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much in my life. Our assignments changed like the weather (sometimes with the weather!), and we were able to see a lot of the area around Baton Rouge. I’ve always thought of myself as a flexible person, but I realize now that I really like knowing the plan! Amidst these minor irritations, I was fortunate enough to get to know a lot of incredible WCC AmeriCorps members and supervisors, and feel like I have a greater appreciation for the program as a whole. The resiliency of people—both AmeriCorps members bouncing back from the hard work and heat, and survivors offering us blessings and love despite having lost so much—was overwhelming. This resiliency will continue to give me hope far into the future. I aim to one day be a part of such an important response team again.

WCC’s disaster response program

Four of our WCC crews are designated disaster response crews, though any crew has the potential to deploy. Deployments range from national to local disasters, supporting flood response and prevention, wildfire operations, hurricane assistance and more.

Dispatched WCC members join FEMA to assess flood damage in a Louisiana home. Photo by: FEMA/J.T. Blatty

Twenty-four of our WCC AmeriCorps members and staff deployed to Florida on Sunday, Oct. 16, to assist communities affected by Hurricane Matthew flooding. With several thousand requests for assistance already on file, members and staff will stay busy with Volunteer Reception Center set up and command, debris removal, mucking and gutting homes and more. We're proud that our team is willing to give to those in need after natural disasters.

Join WCC!

Do you want to help the environment, meet great people and make a real difference? The 2016-2017 AmeriCorps year just kicked off, but check back in February to apply for six-month positions with WCC! Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps Program, consists of three subprograms: the original WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps.

A dispatched WCC member removes wall panels damaged by flooding in Louisiana. Photo by: FEMA/J.T. Blatty

See the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC Projects Flickr set and WCC Featured Projects Story Map.

Story compiled and written by: Laura Schlabach, WCC outreach coordinator

Learn more about WCC at: www.ecy.wa.gov/wcc