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Chester County Press

NCCC Helps to Conserve Southern Chester County’s Beauty

05/25/2017 10:25AM ● By Stone Lieberman
Kennett Square, P.A. – An AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team is serving with The Land Conservancy (TLC) for Southern Chester County from May 15 to June 2. The team is helping to preserve the natural beauty of Southern Chester County through service on several preserves.

The NCCC team of seven, Moose 6, from the Atlantic Region campus of Baltimore is assisting with maintaining TLC’s vast and varied preserves, including grooming trails, building bridges, removing invasive species and tending native plants. The TLC staff members are helping to teach team members applicable skills such as identification of regional flora and fauna, planting and grooming techniques and trail restoration procedures.
 
Through their service, NCCC members are helping TLC to achieve their mission of “ensur[ing] the perpetual preservation and stewardship of open space, natural resources, historic sites and working agricultural lands.” They are immersing themselves in the tasks assigned to them and in the community itself, gaining hands-on experience and empowerment through doing conservation work and being involved with the preservation of the local natural beauty.
Sequoia Rock, Land Manager for TLC, remarked, “We are grateful for the help that the AmeriCorps NCCC team is giving us. They have an upbeat attitude and a great work ethic. We are having a lot of fun and getting a lot done on the TLC preserves.”
 
The Land Conservancy of Southern Chester County has been actively promoting the preservation of natural spaces since the 1970’s, working to maintain six preserves for the enjoyment and education of the surrounding community. The staff of seven, alongside interns, volunteers and a Board of Trustees, establishes conservation corridors, offers educational programming and engages the community in hopes of “...providing meaningful, hands-on interaction with the land that not only feeds our bodies, but also nourishes our health, our creativity, and our spirits.”

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and its FEMA Corps unit engages up to 2,800 young Americans in a full-time, 10-month commitment to service each year. AmeriCorps NCCC members address critical needs related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, and urban and rural development; FEMA Corps members are solely dedicated to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery work. The programs are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). CNCS is the federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.