How does your story begin? What brought you to joining LaCC?
“I graduated back in 2016 with a Wildlife and Fisheries Management Degree at a college in Michigan, then moved to Indiana with my mom. A friend of my mom’s told her about a website with community service position listings, and I found one for a disaster crew team with the Louisiana Conservation Corps program. It was seasonal work in a new environment – swamps and bayous!”

Were you always interested in national service?
“In a way. I didn’t know about American YouthWorks or about AmeriCorps, but I did know about the Peace Corps and it was something I took into consideration. I always kind of knew that I wanted to work in a nonprofit organization because that’s how I saw giving back to the community.”

Did you have an experience in the program that was personally meaningful?
“I’d say my whole first term here in 2019 on a Conservation & Disaster Crew was very meaningful to me. It was the first thing I was doing with my degree and it came after a really bad health crisis. So being outdoors and having the support of my team and the staff was a great experience. It was a big shift in my life and it was so nice to be doing something with my degree that I was frequently told that I couldn’t do with it.”

How different was it being in the field vs. studying it?
“In a way it is a whole other layer. A lot of what I learned was related to field work in Michigan, being taught for that area. It was really different in the sense that a lot of what I did was data collection driven, which is usually for people going into education and getting PhDs. Down here, it’s results driven based on the partner needs and the environmental needs of the area.”

Tell us about a project or activity you were involved in! What did you do? Where was it and was there a community partner involved?
“I’ve got stories upon stories! One of the first stories that usually comes to mind is when we did habitat restoration on a pitcher plant bog in Kisatchie District at Kisatchie National Forest. In Michigan our bogs are flat, and this was on a hill, which threw me for a loop – why was there standing water on a hill!? We were removing sweet gum, a native-nuisance plant in the area, in a forest of pitcher plants with chainsaws running for 8 hours a day. We’d be up early to avoid the afternoon heat. The project partner, David Moore, was a Forest Botanist for the US Forest Service, a lovely individual, and taught us all about the bog.”

Was there a memorable moment?
“A really memorable moment was at the end of the term. The Forest Ranger in Kisatchie had us build a bridge from scratch! They did have a small bridge across the creek, but it was in poor shape and the whole thing needed to be replaced with something that would last.

It took big equipment, making the base flat, drilling holes into I-beams, and we built a whole bridge, math and everything. The most memorable part about it was this huge, huge, giant oak tree, massive thing, just about the size of a 36” chainsaw bar. We had frequently worked with 20” chainsaw bars and did not have the equipment to handle this tree. Someone from the Forest Service came in, and we got to see them take it down, and when it came down it shook the earth.

That was our final project, so it was very bittersweet. It was such a big project for us to finish and required all the skills we acquired throughout our season. Only 10 days to get it done. The whole time building this, we were reconciling with the fact that it was our last project as a team.”

How does your experience in the program impact you and your life today?
“Well, I’m still here as a Program Coordinator! It’s definitely set a standard for the work I’m willing to do and the kind of people I’m willing to work with. I already knew I didn’t want to go back to retail and the food industry, and after one term, there was no way I could go back. I’m forever and for always going to be a field worker. It helped me establish myself as an adult, living on my own across the country from my family, financially responsible, and set up a good rhythm for myself. I met probably the nicest people I ever had the pleasure of working with, and they’re still good friends. I can’t see them not being my friends in the future, no matter how much time goes in-between talking, I know we have each other’s backs.”

Is there something you’d like to say to those thinking of joining?
“It’s going to be cliché, but your time spent here is really what you make of it. If you want to do the work just to say you did it, you can do that. If it’s just for a paycheck, it’ll be a struggle. If you want to be here to be helpful, this is something that will feel impactful.”
 

Conservation Corps Program

On August 27th, 2020 Hurricane Laura hit Lake Charles as a category 4 hurricane. As a result the area was devastated, buildings were in ruins, downed trees were everywhere, and the area in general was just destroyed. To help give relief to the area, on March 17th, 2021, the GulfCorps crew of Louisiana Conservation Corps (LaCC) traveled to Tuten Park in Lake Charles, LA. We were given the task to clear the perimeter of the park’s pine loop trail. This portion of the park had little work done prior, and there was much to be done. The objective was to clear a path wide enough for vehicles to get through in order to further the restoration process. Armed with chainsaws, our team spent the next week sawing through downed trees and more vines than you can imagine. The trail was dense with debris, there were instances where you couldn’t see the path ahead of you. Walls of vines 8ft tall and 12ft deep were common obstacles we faced. We met our objectives safely and effectively, and at the same time exceeded the expectations of our project partner. This is one of the most memorable hitches I have been on yet, and I am happy to have been a part of the restoration process!

Conservation Corps Program