Shared by VSCC District 1 Crew, as Guest Blogger.

Serving on a crew with the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps (VSCC) has been a unique experience. As a team of three, we are able to learn about and complete a wide variety of projects.

District One comprises six state parks that we travel to: False Cape, York River, Chippokes, Kiptopeke, and Belle Isle, with First Landing as the base of operations.

VSCC District 1 Resource Crew are busy on the conservation front in our parks

Kristi:

I moved out to Virginia from South Carolina with no experience in anything covered in the interview. I am so thankful that my site supervisor Erik took a chance on me and asked me to join his crew. As promised in the interview, I was willing to try and learn anything thrown at me, which I have done. Some of the things I’m not half bad at; others still need improvement, and that’s okay. This has been such an incredible experience for me. I have proven to myself that I can take risks and learn new things that I absolutely enjoy and love doing now.

Kyle:

I joined AmeriCorps to give my time and energy to something great, and in that quest found gratification in the little things. The often-overlooked minute wildlife that calls Virginia home have their own personalities and sometimes come with a little attitude, but deserve to be recognized as essential residents in our ecosystems. I am proud to work for their benefit.

Conducting prescribed burns

One of the benefits of serving in a crew is getting to know your fellow volunteers. Getting to serve alongside other AmeriCorps members means being part of a team and working together. It also means listening to others’ perspectives and what they are comfortable with. Playing to each person’s strengths is part of what makes serving on a crew such an enjoyable experience. Each member of our crew had a different reason for joining and different goals they wanted to achieve from the experience.

Shelby:

One of my favorite aspects of this service is the opportunity it’s given me to become comfortable with things I’ve never done before. I’ve been more confident in skills I already had along with gaining confidence in new skills such as operating a chainsaw or working as a firefighter on controlled burns. The skills I’ve gained and will continue to learn while serving will benefit me in the future as I continue to work in parks.

There are so many things to learn at the different service sites. We’ve become proficient using chainsaws, doing trail work, conducting wildlife inventory surveys, operating large machinery, applying pesticide, and conducting prescribed burns. But why do we do all of these things?

Some of the tasks you may see VSCC members doing may seem counterintuitive on the surface. For example, why do we cut down trees in a State Park? It could be that the trees are not native to the area and are hindering the growth of native plants. Or it could be to prepare for a new building in the park or to ensure that fire doesn’t spread outside of set parameters during a burn.

Burning is another example where it may seem opposite of what is good for the park. But burning certain areas ensures that there is better wildlife habitat that can grow, native plants have a chance to establish themselves, and the historical value of some areas is kept intact.

There are always reasons behind what we're doing. If you see one of us out on the trail or working on a project, stop and ask what we’re doing and why it’s so important to maintaining the natural beauty of Virginia State Parks.

Editor's note: We're happy to highlight a different Virginia Service and Conservation Corps service member or team and their experience serving in Virginia State Parks.

This is the third in a series of articles from AmeriCorps members serving in our Virginia Service and Conservation Corps. Members have been asked to share how they were called to service and what they are experiencing.

You may also enjoy: 

• The Virginia Service and Conservation Corps Experience: James River
• Spend Your Summer Outdoors: A Full Experience

To find out about our AmeriCorps programs, check them out here.