Et cetera : AmeriCorps NCCC Team Assists at Muckross State Park with Day Camp and Invasive Species Removal

By Fisher Ream

On July 16, AmeriCorps NCCC team Maple 2 began their service with Vermont State Parks and All-4-One at the Muckross Day Camp. Maple 2 is helping the Vermont State Parks “to conserve and interpret on behalf of the people of Vermont their natural, cultural, historic and scenic heritage” and Muckross Day Camp “to provide a safe, natural area where any child, regardless of economic or social circumstance, can experience hands-on environmental and outdoor recreation”.

Maple 2 is facilitating outdoor education activities to Springfield public school students enrolled in the All-4-One Summer Daze program through Muckross Day Camp. The camp engages kids with nature in an informal, but direct way; catching and examining amphibians and insects from a pond, building tools which mimic animal adaptations, and playing a relay game about camouflage are examples of programs planned by AmeriCorps NCCC members.  There are also presentations by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, a wilderness school through which the kids learned to whittle and build a fire and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife department.

For the final two weeks of the project, Maple 2 is helping remove invasive species including Honeysuckle, Barberry, Bittersweet and Buckthorn, in three state parks - Wilgus, Ascutney and Muckross - in order to prevent erosion through green bank stabilization and promote biodiversity of indigenous species.

The team’s independent service projects in the area have included serving with the Springfield Humane Society, Springfield Public Library, and the Black River Action Team, an organization founded to promote the enjoyment of the Black River and maintain its health.