final report - sca adirondack winter corps 2020-2021

FINAL REPORT – SCA Adirondack Winter Corps thesca.org

FINAL REPORT

SCA Adirondack Winter Corps

2020-2021

Program Dates: 11/2/20 – 2/26/21

Program Manager: Jeremy Burns

Project Coordinator: Rebecca Kambic


Summary

In 2020-2021 the SCA Adirondack Winter Corps Program continued the partnership between the New York State Commission on National and Community Service, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and SCA. The Winter Corps completes priority conservation, trail, and infrastructure projects throughout the Adirondack Park.

About SCA

The mission of SCA is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of our environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land.

SCA was founded in 1957 by Elizabeth Putnam, a college student with a big dream. While at Vassar College, she developed her senior thesis around the concept that a commonsense solution to the abuse and under-maintenance of America’s treasured public lands would be putting to good use the energy, talent and hard work of a force of youthful volunteers. In the intervening 63 years, SCA has deployed a force of more than 75,000 members, completing 26 million hours of conservation service in 550 parks, forests, wildlife refuges and urban green spaces at the national, regional, state and municipal level in all 50 states.

About SCA Adirondack Winter Corps

The Student Conservation Association’s two Corps programs in New York State, the Hudson Valley and Adirondack Corps, are funded through a partnership between the SCA, the NY State Commission for National and Community Service, and State or non-profit partners in conservation. Young adults serving in these programs are NY AmeriCorps members, and are a part of the national service movement, making a commitment to support their country though service and volunteerism.

For the past 22 years the SCA Adirondack Corps has fielded teams of like-minded young adults performing critical outdoor conservation projects throughout the Adirondack Park during the summer. For the third year in the winter of 2020-21, the Adirondack Corps fielded a stewardship team during the winter season. The 3 members of the Adirondack Winter Corps in 2020-21 served the land by carrying out such responsibilities as trail construction and maintenance, trail marking and clearing, and carpentry and construction projects. The Adirondack Corps program is building the next generation of conservation leaders in our country while accomplishing important stewardship projects throughout the Adirondack Park with the support and continued partnership from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.


By The Numbers

In 2020-21, the 3 members of the SCA Adirondack Corps served 17 weeks from November through February.

During this time they were trained and supported by Program Coordinator Rebecca Kambic. The members of the

Adirondack Winter Corps devoted over 1,600 hours to training and service to the local communities and natural

areas of the Adirondacks. Collectively the crew members earned $5,034 in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards

during their terms of service.

Trainings and certifications provided were:

Trainings

Stone Construction

Stone drilling and splitting

Tool Use and Maintenance

Sustainable Trail Design

Carpentry skills


Adirondack Winter Corps members performed service work in the backcountry and frontcountry, commuting

daily from their basecamp in the Whitney Wilderness, from November through February.

Project Accomplishments:

Quarried and split 233 stones on the Mt. VanHoevenberg East trail in preparation for construction next summer

Cleared blowdown and signed 1.1 miles on Coney Mountain trail

Brushed and signed 2 miles on the 3 rd Lake Creek Trail in the Fulton Chain Area

Brushed and signed 2 miles on the Tooley Pond Trail

Brushed, cleared blowdown, and signed 2 miles on the Bridgebrook Pond Trail

Split and stacked a 3 year backlog of firewood at the DEC Whitney Headquarters

Prepped materials and renovated 4 rooms in SCA residences at the DEC Whitney Headquarters


Work projects were planned, supervised, and supported by the SCA Program Coordinator who worked closely

with NYS Department of Conservation staff to address priority land management projects that could not have

been accomplished without the efforts of the SCA Adirondack Corps. These accomplishments are underscored

by an emphasis on designing and constructing high quality structures that will last for many years, help reduce

further degradation to the trails/ecosystems and be enjoyed by generations of visitors to the Adirondack Park.

Geographically, the Adirondack Corps performed conservation work in Regions 5 and 6 of the Adirondack Park,

traveling to project locations in SCA vehicles.


Safety

Staff and crew members of the Adirondack Corps consider safety and risk management on a daily basis. SCA

promotes a strong culture of safety, including but not limited to: performing a Job Hazard Analysis before each

project to identify and mitigate risks specific to a project, such as working at heights. Crew members research

and complete Emergency Response Plans for each project location in case of a workplace incident. Staff and

crew members also complete daily ‘tailgate safety sessions’ to discuss possible hazards and how to mitigate

them. Crew members are also strongly encouraged to hold each other accountable for making safe judgement

calls in the field, and to monitory safety throughout the day.

2020 also presented the unique risk management challenge of managing a residential trail crew during the

Covid-19 pandemic. ADK Corps staff took many steps, in line with SCA and NYS guidance, to mitigate the risk of

infection. Upon arrival at ADK Corps basecamp, crew members received Covid-19 tests and isolated from each

other for a period of 2 weeks. After the quarantine period and negative testing, crew members and staff

adhered to SCA and NYS PPE guidelines during worktime including wearing masks, regular sanitation of work

surfaces, and physical distancing when able. Throughout the season, the crew acted as a ’family unit’ who

quarantined together, as they both worked and resided together.

Partnerships

The SCA Adirondack Corps has a successful 20+ year partnership with the New York State Department of

Environmental Conservation. The Winter Corps is a reflection of that partnership. Recognizing the ability of the

ADK Corps to get things done, and the value of their work, the DEC extended the partnership to be year round.

Working with DEC Foresters and Operations employees, the Winter Corps tackled projects backlogged projects

such as trail brushing and firewood processing, which may not have been completed until additional resources

became available. The Winter Corps was also able to assist the DEC in increasing their infrastructure output.

Below are comments from DEC partners who worked with the 2020-21 Winter Crew:

In November of 2020 SCA Adirondack Corps Winter Crew did some great work on the Mt. VanHoevenberg

East Trail Project in the High Peaks Wilderness. During our annual, motorized window, in the fall, they

worked on quarrying and splitting rock for use in upcoming construction seasons in 2021. Working in

weather that spanned from single digits to almost t-shirt weather, they worked at the site through a lot of

snow, rain and ice. When seasonal crews are normally ending this crew was able to do this important work

that will allow more efficient trail construction during the summer.

The crew was in good spirits each time I interacted with them and worked to produce a quality product and

follow good safety practices, while working on a mountain side in shoulder season weather.

Thank you to the crew members for all this work.

-Tate Connor, High Peaks Land Manager


Member Experience

For the crew members, the Winter Corps experience is defined by a close team dynamic, and overcoming the environmental challenges around them. The crew is based out of the William C. Whitney Wilderness area on Little Tupper Lake. The location is remote from the nearest town, about a 30 minute drive, and can feel isolating in the deep winter conditions of the Adirondacks. As a small, three-member team, the success of the Winter Corps depends not only on hardworking crew members, but members who are willing to work on improving crew dynamics when they become challenging. The smaller team size also allows for more one-on-one mentoring by staff.

The Winter Corps is a unique opportunity for growth. All 3 Winter Crew Members in 20-21 had previously served in the summer crew, and made the decision to stay through the winter and continuing serving and learning the Adirondacks. Highlighted below are some first-hand experiences from the crew members.

Kay Emery

After the Winter Corps, Kay moved to Utah to serve

as a Trail Crew Leader with Utah Conservation Corps.

‘Learning to work outdoors in the winter weather

took some trial and error. When you’re a crew of just

a few people, you all feel and respond to each

other’s mood and emotions a lot more readily so you

have to learn to compartmentalize or communicate

those feelings. But learning to do that also prompts a

lot of personal growth. I’m actually kind of surprised

by how much I feel like I’ve grown as a person this

winter. Something about wintering over in the

Adirondacks prompts you to look inward and think through some things you might not otherwise. We learned a

lot of new skills and got to try our hand a lot of new types of work-sometimes frustrating work, but always still

fun in the end. I’m proud of a lot of the work we did.’


Kaitlyn Gunter

After the Winter Corps, Kaitlyn secured a

position at a veterinary clinic close to home,

and hopes to go to school to be a veterinarian.

‘During the winter program I learned how to be

at peace with solitude. The work we did along

with where we lived forced me to look inward

and work on myself in new ways in order to

arrive to work each day engaged and

energized. With that being said, I believe the

winter program has helped me gain not only

more self-confidence but has also allowed me

to find more happiness in the small things that

happen every day.

I am most proud of the amount of rocks we split at Mt. VanHoevenberg and the amount of tools (and

generators) we carried up that mountain on our backs. It was an unusual project that I would definitely do

again…but I would prefer for the generators to already be at the top.’

Jake Westrich

After the Winter Corps, Jake returned to his

home in Houston, TX, and hopes to find

another conservation position with SCA in the

near future, preferably in Alaska.

‘I have definitely learned how to stay warm. I

gained valuable knowledge of carpentry, the

use of different power saws, and the rock drill.

I had forgotten how cold and snowy winters

can be after living in Texas, but I definitely

remember now. Sometimes I grew tired of

doing monotonous work. However, I realized

that all will be well if I persevere. I'm really

most proud of the rooms we renovated. During demolition and reinstallation I got frustrated at times, but after

all was said and done, the rooms looked very good and I'm glad to say that I helped make them look that way.’


Young people today have so many serious challenges that need to be faced head on. I believe it is vitally

important for the young to realize they can each do something positive with their lives-that they can go for their

dream whatever that is. We all are needed to work together for the future of this planet.

-Elizabeth Titus Putnam, Founder of SCA

final report - sca adirondack winter corps 2020-2021

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