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Overview
of program
 The Marin Conservation Corps' AmeriCorps
Environmental
Restoration
(ER) Program assists community partners in developing strategies for successfully engaging the interest and participation of the Bay Area's diverse, multi-cultural community in caring for our various sensitive urban and open space ecosystems. A continuing goal of the ER Program is to help youth and adults develop an ethic of environmental stewardship and appreciation for Marin's local parks and public lands through environmental education in schools and service-learning projects that restore habitat, while providing meaningful training opportunities to AmeriCorps members. The ER Program is comprised of the Restoration and Ecosystem Management (REM) and the Youth in Environmental Service (YES) crews.
During this one-year program, members of the AmeriCorps ER Program serve on a team and also are partnered with a mentor from a local land management agency, local environmental non-profit organization and/or a local school to address critical environmental and educational needs and to inspire volunteers to engage in environmental restoration. The program is designed to offer AmeriCorps members with an introduction to field research, ecological monitoring, sustainability, recycling and waste reduction, environmental education, civic engagement and public outreach. Integral to the program is member development and training, which is conducted by staff from the partnering agencies and local experts to give the AmeriCorps members a well-rounded educational experience.
In addition to the AmeriCorps
ER Program, MCC also offers
an AmeriCorps "Educational
Award Only" program
that allows corpsmembers participating
on MCC's Community
Recycling Crew (CRC) and Natural
Resource Crews (NRC) to earn
an AmeriCorps
educational award.
Check
out MCC's Frequently
Asked Questions
to learn more about AmeriCorps
programs at the Marin Conservation
Corps. You will also find
out more by visiting the AmeriCorps website.
Learn more about our crew programs:
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Restoration
and Ecosystem Management (REM)
Crew
The AmeriCorps members serving on the REM crew are paired with the large-scale public land managers of Marin at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore or Marin Municipal Water District. Members assist resource managers with implementing restoration projects, providing ecological monitoring, and recruiting volunteers to restore regional public lands and waterways.
Because
positions are specialized throughout
the 12-member REM crew, the following
list is an example of job responsibilities
one might have as an ER Program
Specialist on the REM Crew:
- Outreach
and recruit
new volunteers
to assist with
various Natural
Resources Division projects.
- Lead
community volunteers
in restoration projects.
- Conduct
vegetation monitoring.
- Coordinate
GIS map
development and
prepare all
maps for
habitat restoration
presentations and
program planning
needs.
- Conduct
water quality
sampling and
record all
data into
database.
- Design
and implement
waste reduction
plans and
deliver recycling
presentations in partnering
agencies.
- Conduct
wildlife monitoring,
including Coho
salmon and
snowy plovers
surveys.
- Conduct
photomonitoring, outplanting,
invasive non-native
species removal,
ecological monitoring
and database
entry for
assigned projects.
Youth in Environmental Service (YES) Crew
The
AmeriCorps
members
serving
on
the
YES
crew
work
in
middle
schools
and/or
high
schools,
as
well
as
in
after-school
settings
to
provide
environmentally-focused
enrichment
activities
for
students.
In
the
junior
high
and
high
schools,
AmeriCorps
members
deliver
environmental
service-learning
curriculum,
coordinate
and
host 'eco-projects" with classrooms, organize student environmental service clubs and create a youth volunteer program. AmeriCorps members also assist local environmental organizations in their work engaging youth in habitat restoration and food security though school gardening projects. In the summer, YES members assist with the implementation of MCC's
summer
environmental
service
camp,
Project
ReGeneration,
for
youth
ages
11-17.
Because positions are specialized throughout the 8-member YES crew, the following list is an example of job responsibilities one might have as an ER Program Specialist on the YES Crew:
- Present service-learning and environmental curriculum to classrooms
- Design and implement waste reduction plans and deliver recycling presentations in schools and throughout local communities.
- Conduct in-school environmental clubs and service projects, including gardening projects, recycling systems and/or campus restoration projects.
- Conduct environmental restoration projects in partnership with local conservation groups.
- Lead community and school volunteers in environmental restoration projects.
- Recruit new school groups, youth volunteers from schools, and community volunteers to join volunteer restoration projects.
- Assist in planning, leading and coordinating community volunteer work days and events.
Community
Recycling Crew (CRC)
Eligible
corpsmembers serving on the Community
Recycling Crew (CRC) may participate
in MCC's "AmeriCorps Educational Award Only" program.
The CRC implements a wide variety
of recycling outreach and collection
projects with parks, schools,
businesses and neighborhoods.
Recyclables are collected from
over 300 parkland sites and the
CRC provides recycling services
and public outreach to several
large-scale and small-scale public
events and fairs. The CRC corpsmembers
continuously assess the need for
recycling services throughout
the county through the evaluation
of public waste systems and outreach
to organizations through MCC's For
Earth's Sake (FES) project. The FES project is a unique creative reuse project that bridges businesses and schools, where corpsmembers collect "waste" material from businesses and redistribute to organizations and schools via a mobile resource van. Corpsmembers also provide recycling education and "waste consulting" to
the businesses. During off-peak
months,CRC corpsmembers construct
recycling bins from recycled plastic
lumber for collection sites in
the
county.
CORPSMEMBER
POSITION DESCRIPTIONS
Frequently
Asked Questions about AmeriCorps
What is AmeriCorps?
AmeriCorps is the national service program that provides thousands of Americans of all ages and backgrounds with educational awards in exchange for a year or two of community service. AmeriCorps members help meet the nation's critical needs, and the environment. Through more than 400 sponsors, AmeriCorps involves 25,000 people in result-driven community service.
What do AmeriCorps members do?
The work that AmeriCorps members do is as diverse as the sponsors and the individuals that make up AmeriCorps. You can apply to any one of the hundreds of organizations in AmeriCorps' service network -- in rural and urban areas across the nation. In any of the programs, you will make a real difference.
As an AmeriCorps member, you might:
- tutor teens or lead elementary school children in community service activities
- assist crime victims or walk the beat with community police officers
- recruit and train volunteers
- renovate low-income housing
- help homebound seniors or people with disabilities
- immunize children against preventable diseases
- provide immediate and long-term relief in areas affected by natural disasters
- restore national parks and coastlines
- develop community-based health care programs
- develop plans to revitalize neighborhoods and the environment
- establish credit unions in low-income communities
What do AmeriCorps members receive?
AmeriCorps members receive a modest living allowance and health coverage while participating in the program. After completing a year of service and a minimum of 1,700 hours, you'll receive an education award of $4,725. This award can be used pay existing or future qualified student loans or educational expenses. Beyond these benefits, you will learn new skills, take on new responsibilities, and know the satisfaction of building a community and helping our nation be everything it ought to be.
Are
AmeriCorps members "paid
volunteers?"
Simply put, AmeriCorps members are not volunteers. They are full-time, national service members who earn a small living allowance - about $1200 a month - and receive limited health care and child support benefits.
AmeriCorps
members in MCC's ER program
must complete a minimum
of 1700 hours in order
to receive an education
award of $4,725. The award
may be used to pay existing
or future qualified student
loans or educational expenses.
AmeriCorps "Education Award Only" participants
(eligible Marin Conservation
Corps CRC or NRC members)
may elect to participate
in a part-time scholarship
and upon completion
of a minimum of 900
hours members receive
an education award
worth $2,362.50.
Who joins AmeriCorps anyway?
- AmeriCorps members are everyday average citizens who want to improve their communities. They are feeding and clothing homeless veterans; they are counseling teenage mothers and fathers, helping them find jobs and become more responsible and better educated parents; they are creating safe havens for school children; and they are serving countless neighborhoods throughout the state and across the country.
- AmeriCorps members come from all backgrounds, ages, incomes, races, regions, abilities, and religions. AmeriCorps members include those who are college-bound; veterans who want to continue service to their country; retirees who want to share a lifetime of skills in a substantial way; people with highly developed skills with advanced degrees; and other college graduates.
- AmeriCorps members work alongside teachers, pastors, police officers, and volunteers - supporting their work, not displacing it. AmeriCorps members are not political operatives. By law, they are not allowed to lobby or engage in political activity or to displace workers.
Is it like the Peace Corps?
There
are some similarities
and AmeriCorps is often
referred to as the "domestic Peace Corps".
Both agencies are committed
to service, and both offer
challenging and rewarding
full-time opportunities.
Peace Corps assignments
are all overseas, and
for two years, a service
commitment in AmeriCorps
lasts one year. Some AmeriCorps
members serve more than
one year but AmeriCorps
provisions prohibit members
from receiving more than
two educational awards.
Would I get paid?
AmeriCrops
members with MCC's ER program will receive a monthly living stipend, and health insurance. Upon successful completion of a minimum of 1700 hours of service, members will receive an educational award of $4,725 to pay existing or future qualified student loans or educational expenses.
"Educational Award Only" AmeriCorps
members with the Marin Conservation
Corps (eligible CRC and NRC
corpsmembers) receive an
hourly wage and upon completion
of a minimum of 1700 or 900
hours of service, members
will receive an educational
award of $4725 or $2362.50
to pay existing or future
qualified student loans or
educational expenses.
What if I am out of school and not interested in the education award? Can I get that money in cash?
No. The education award can be used to pay off existing loans or it can be used to attend school in the future, including living expenses. The award is good at many trade schools, and, why not take a pottery class in the evening?
How long are the assignments, and are they full-time?
The AmeriCorps program with MCC is one year in length. Our program begins in the beginning of September, and goes through until the following August.
Can I join if I am not a U.S. Citizen?
You must be a U.S. Citizen, national, or legal resident alien of the U.S. to be an AmeriCorps member.
Is there an age requirement?
Although most AmeriCorps programs do not have an upper age limit, to be an AmeriCorps member with the Marin Conservation Corps, you must be between the ages of 18 and 30.
What skills do I need?
The
requirements for each
position in MCC's AmeriCorps ER program vary. Generally, members should have experience and/or interest in science, environmental issues, community service, and working with and leading diverse groups. Refer to MCC's
AMERICORPS
POSITION DESCRIPTIONS for general qualifications.
Can I defer student loans during my service with AmeriCorps?
Yes, you may qualify for forbearance during your year of service. Contact your lender for more specific information or to confirm your loan status during AmeriCorps service.
Will I get any training before I start?
Yes, all AmeriCorps members attend an orientation, and the ER program includes two weeks of pre-service training.
* * * * *
For more information on AmeriCorps:
Go to www.americorps.org
For more information about programs at Marin Conservation Corps, please contact:
Human Resource Manager
(451) 454-4554
To apply for AmeriCorps positions with the Marin Conservation Corps, please send a cover letter and resume to:
Human
Resources Manager
27 Larkspur Street
San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 454-4554
(415) 454-4595 fax
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