AMERICORPS FAST FACTS: 12,000 AmeriCorps members are currently working to make our environment better

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2 HISTORY OF EARTH DAY: Each year, on April 22nd, millions of people around the world celebrate Earth Day. The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, U.S. Senator of Wisconsin, after the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He was inspired by the anti-war movement and wanted to use the same energy with an emerging public awareness of water and air pollution. On the 1st Earth Day, 20 million Americans organized events around the country to advocate for a healthy and sustainable environment. In 1990, Earth Day went global. Environmental Leaders mobilized over 200 million people in 141 countries to participate in Earth Day events around the world. Earth Day helped launch the environmental movement and influenced the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Act, and gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide. AMERICORPS FAST FACTS: 12,000 AmeriCorps members are currently working to make our environment better AmeriCorps members have improved more than 14,130 miles of trails or rivers California Conservation Corps members educating children about local wildlife. As part of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) s initiative on environmental stewardship, several organizations have developed programs to respond to the environment s most critical needs. Programs range from improving at-risk public lands or waterways, providing green job training to economically disadvantaged people, creating awareness among communities of personal actions to benefit energy and water conservation, and much more. Through national service, these programs train youth and unemployed citizens for careers in conservation fields, reconnect Americans to the outdoors, build an ethic of environmental stewardship, and support successful sciencebased conservation strategies. In honor of Earth Day, AmeriCorps Environmental Stewardship programs, nationwide, implemented service projects or events in their own communities. They engaged members and volunteers on important projects while demonstrating the impact of this specific AmeriCorps focus area. Local programs chose projects that fit their organization, their members and their volunteers. While this report does not include every project affiliated with AmeriCorps, it connects local projects together in an effort to demonstrate the collective impact on the environment and communities.

3 PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS: CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS CONSERVATION CORPS MINNESOTA AND IOWA CONSERVATION LEGACY: ARIZONA CONSERVATION CORPS ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS SOUTHWEST CONSERVATION CORPS VISTA TEAMS EARTH CORPS HEART OF OREGON CORPS KUPU/HAWAII YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS LA CONSERVATION CORPS MILE HIGH YOUTH CORPS MONTANA CONSERVATION CORPS MONTANA ENERGY CORPS NEVADA CONSERVATION CORPS NORTHWEST YOUTH CORPS OHIO STREAM RESTORE CORPS ROCKY MOUNTAIN YOUTH CORPS- TAOS STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION THE CORPS NETWORK UTAH CONSERVATION CORPS WYOMING CONSERVATION CORPS Conservation Corps of MN & IA members volunteering at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. 26,762 Trees or shrubs planted on public lands 6.85 Tons of trash removed from public lands 22,000 Tree seedlings prepared for planting 3,099 Volunteers recruited by AmeriCorps members and staff 4,145 People participated in stewardship projects 10,102 People engaged through outreach/environmental edu. Earth Corps volunteer planting trees in Seattle. 32,635 Hours served during Earth Day projects!

4 STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION Location: Van Cortland Park- Bronx, NY Impact: 4 acres of invasive species removed As part of the Student Conservation Association s (SCA) ConSERVE NYC service initiative, SCA brought 410 Earth Day volunteers together to restore Van Cortland Park in the Bronx. In the woods along the park s cross-country trail, volunteers freed trees from invasive bittersweet vine and planted new seedlings to restore gaps in the canopy. In the wetlands, participants waded in to dig up invasive porcelainberry and phragmites and planted native wetland species in their place. In total, 4 acres of invasive species were cleared and 200 new trees were planted. MOUNTAIN SERVICE CORPS, CONSERVATION LEGACY VISTA TEAMS Location: Flight 93 Memorial- PA Impact: 22,000 seedlings planted Mountain Service Corps, Conservation Legacy VISTA Program staff, and AmeriCorps Members assisted staff from ARRI, American Chestnut Foundation, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, in counting and preparing 22,000 native trees to be planted as a part of the living memorial at the Flight 93 crash site, which is now a national park. AmeriCorps members also provided leadership to planting groups on the first day of planting. STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION Location: Kenneth Dubuque State Forest, MA Impact: 72 children engaged through environmental education Student Conservation Association Massachusetts AmeriCorps members hosted Hawley Nature Days on Earth Day. Over 70 local elementary school students spent the day at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation s Kenneth Dubuque State Forest. Students learned about the natural history of the state forest, learned how to track animals and searched for salamanders along the edges of Hallockville Pond.

5 ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS Location: Knoxville, TN Impact: 800 trees planted AmeriCorps Members volunteered at an annual event with the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE). This year, two local middle schools participated in the planting event. Both schools, Clairfield Elementary and White Oak Elementary provided 80 student volunteers. An additional 20 volunteers were present from the community including OSMRE staff, teachers, bus drivers, and coal company representatives. The tree planting was a great success with volunteer teams planting approximately 800 trees on 1 acre of reclaimed mine lands in 3-4 hours. CONSERVATION CORPS MINNESOTA AND IOWA Location: Polk County, IA Impact: 2 acres of invasive species removed Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa assisted in leading a group of volunteers from the League of Conservation Voters of Iowa and Des Moines Area Community College, in hand-picking garlic mustard at Browns Woods in Polk County. The group was very diverse and consisted of volunteers of all ages including children, college students, and adults. They cleared approximately two acres of garlic mustard. The group was even able to put the invasive species to good use. AmeriCorps Members made a garlic mustard pesto pasta dinner for volunteers after the event! OHIO STREAM RESTORE CORPS Location: Trimble, OH Impact: 190 trees planted Ohio Stream Restore Corps planted native willow and fruit trees along a stream bank that is impacted by chemical agricultural runoff from a nearby farm. The newly native sandbar willows will act to stabilize the stream bank as well as filter out some of the runoff toxins. Corps Members learned how to build a sustainable living structure from the willow cuttings and how to process willow to be used for basket making!

6 SOUTHWEST CONSERVATION CORPS Location: Mentmore Climbing Park- Gallup, NM Impact: 300 pounds of trash collected The Southwest Conservation Corps Ancestral Lands program, in conjunction with the City of Gallup, hosted a volunteer trash pick up to celebrate Earth Day. The crew and volunteers collected approximately 106 square feet (40 cubic yards) of trash from Mentmore Climbing Park in Gallup, NM. The Ancestral Lands program engages Native youth and young adults in meaningful conservation projects on Native Lands. With programs in Acoma Pueblo and Navajo Nation, Ancestral Lands members have been working on projects from historical preservation, chainsaw crews, hiking clubs, stream restoration, fencing, trail construction, and more. The Ancestral Lands program also aims to incorporate traditional culture and language as part of crew lifestyle and project work. ARIZONA CONSERVATION CORPS Location: Flagstaff, AZ Impact: 3 acres of parks 1 mile of rivers improved The Northern Office of Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC) organized the Flagstaff Earth Day celebration. During the event, 110 community volunteers joined AZCC AmeriCorps members to clean up Flagstaff s downtown area. Local volunteers and corps members divided into nine teams to collect trash and litter from public areas including sidewalks, streets, local parks, and the Rio de Flag waterway. After completing the service project, everyone was welcomed to Heritage Square, where vendors, live music, and educational booths were set up for an Earth Day celebration. During the cleanup, community members and Americorps volunteers were divided up into nine groups and sent to different sections of the total area. Each group patrolled the streets, sidewalks, parks, and other public areas in their sectors to collect litter and garbage. My students are so excited about the service. So we decided to take a bus down together from Massachusetts so they could all participate. This was a great chance for them to see the green side of New York City and realize that it s not all just buildings and pavement. -Mark Wager, Worcester State University In addition to building the trail, Heart of Oregon Corps crew members provided an excellent presentation that was so engaging to students! They taught the students about... how to be stewards of the land and protect natural resources. The 6th Graders at La Pine will be talking about this experience for years to come and the trail will serve as a way to education the public. -Teacher at La Pine Middle School This was the first tree I ever planted! -Kywayne (age 12), volunteer, Build On event

7 CONSERVATION LEGACY AND SW COLORADO AMERICORPS ALUMS Location: Durango, CO Impact: 4 miles of waterways improved Conservation Legacy and Southwest Conservation Corps teamed up with organizations in Southwest Colorado for a community-wide Earth Day cleanup. During the event, volunteers picked up 635 pounds trash along the Animas River in Durango, Colorado and improved 4 miles of waterways. Conservation Legacy operates and supports programs that provide national service and work opportunities for a diverse group of individuals to complete important conservation and community projects for the public benefit. Other participating organizations included Southwest Conservation Corps, Southwest Colorado AmeriCorps Alums, The Water Justice Project, and Animas River Days. SOUTHWEST CONSERVATION CORPS: 4 CORNERS Location: Navajo Nation Impact: 2 acres of Russian Olive removed Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) had 12 AmeriCorps Members perform invasive species removal and restoration work just north of Window Rock, Arizona on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Members focused on the removal of Russian Olive trees - an invasive species that if left unchecked, quickly takes over stream banks and chokes out native vegetation, interfering with nutrient cycling and taxing water reserves. The SCC crews were able to successfully clear 2 acres of Russian Olive on Earth Day, as well as collecting bags of trash from the creek bed. HEART OF OREGON CORPS Location: Bend, Oregon Impact: 2 acres of public lands improved AmeriCorps members from Heart of Oregon Corps tackled two projects as part of the agency-wide Dry Canyon service project. One involved limbing Juniper trees to remove limbs close to the ground that are tripping hazards. The other project involved felling dead hazardous trees in the park s forest that were posing a safety concern for park visitors. Altogether the 26 volunteers were able to improve two acres of the Dry Canyon area.

8 MONTANA ENERGY CORPS Location: Butte, MT Impact: 50 trees planted Montana Energy Corps held several events over the course of three days during Earth Week. They partnered with local government and the local extension agency to plant four types of trees with community members in a reclaimed/restored area of an EPA Superfund site. AmeriCorps Members organized a second event focused on garbage/recycling collection in an area that has overflowing garbage and recycling bins. The highlight of the week was giving a History of Earth Day presentation to 3rd and 6th graders at a local elementary school, followed by a tree planting activity on the school grounds.