Local AmeriCorps crews care for rare habitat to celebrate 30 years of national service

Iowa AmeriCorps members celebrated 30 years of the national service program Sept. 13 by partnering on a sand prairie restoration project.

Conservation crews with a mission to “get things done” helped restore some of Iowa’s rarest habitat in honor of decades of service across the country.

NCCC members Camille Fernandez, left, and Stephanie Cleveland and Tristan Hansen, right, are removing black locust shrubs from the sand prairie. Removing the shrubs means better habitat for the threatened ornate box turtle that live at the preserve.

More than 30 Iowa members of the national service program AmeriCorps, along with staff and local program partners, gathered Friday, Sept. 13 at Big Sand Mound Nature Preserve just south of Muscatine to use their conservation skills in the sand prairie.

Members from Bur Oak Land Trust and AmeriCorps National Civilian Conservation Corps (NCCC) North Central Region cut out invasive cedar and black locust trees that threaten the already fragile ecosystem and its inhabitants.

Iowa has very few sand prairies left, and like other Iowa lands that have been impacted by settlement, they require continual maintenance to protect native wildlife biodiversity. The 510-acre preserve is home to a unique variety of plants and animals including prickly pear cactus and the federally threatened ornate box turtle.

The project is one of many held across the country since last September in honor of AmeriCorps’ 30th anniversary. Millions of Americans have served in AmeriCorps over the last three decades and recite a pledge each year to “get things done” that reinforces members’ commitment to serve.

“Iowa has a long history of being a leader in national service and volunteerism amongst states,” said Adam Lounsbury, Executive Director of Volunteer Iowa, the state commission that oversees AmeriCorps and other service programs in Iowa, “We are proud of the important work AmeriCorps members do every day to make our communities stronger and Iowa, and our country, better.”

About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities, and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency places more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles; and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, short-term, or one-time volunteers. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.
AmeriCorps offers opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to be a part of the national service community, grow personally and professionally, and receive benefits for their service. Learn how to get involved at AmeriCorps.gov/Serve.

About Volunteer Iowa (Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service)
Volunteer Iowa and its partner agencies work with organizations and individuals on three main fronts. The first is to help agencies develop quality programs that use service as a strategy to fulfill their missions and address Iowa’s greatest areas of need. The second is to help engage Iowans in their communities by promoting service and expanding the volunteer base. Finally, the third area of work is to connect individuals with appropriate service opportunities by building the volunteer infrastructure. More information is available at volunteeriowa.org