Et cetera : NCCC Team Grows With Buchanan County Conservation

Dani McDonald uses a staple gun to make a compost bin.

By: David Chernyshov

The AmeriCorps NCCC team of Maple 2 is working with the Buchanan County Conservation Board (BCCB) in Hazleton, Iowa for their first round project.

Since March, Maple 2 has received extensive training for prescribed burning and was able to put it to use by completing several prescribed prairie burns. They have also clear cut multiple nature areas, planted close to 4,000 trees, and removed invasive species such as honeysuckle.

The team also enjoys all the service learning opportunities that the BCCB has been able to offer them. Maple 2 has been on a very informative nature walk, visited a historical house in Buchanan County, and toured a farm.

Maple 2 has worked really hard to plan their three community days this project round. On April 19, they successfully completed a community day in Independence, IA. They worked with East Elementary School, working on maintaining a garden plot, building a compost bin, and going into classrooms teaching the children about NCCC as well as helping them grow their own plants. On April 20, Maple 2 had an earth day clean-up that included cleaning up trash and planting trees.  Coming up on April 25, the team, along with BCCB, is having an invasive species removal day.