Mt. Adams Institute Mt. Adams Institute
  • About Us
    • Programs
      • Overview
      • VetsWork Environment
      • VetsWork GreenCorps
      • Education Programs
      • Public Lands Stewards
    • About
      • Our Mission
      • Our Impact
      • Our Staff
      • The Board
      • Lodging
      • Program Partners
    • Our Members
      • VetsWork Environment Members
      • VetsWork GreenCorps Members
      • Public Lands Stewards Members
    • Contact Us
      • Reach HQ
      • Live & Social
      • Staff Employment
  • Internships
    • VetsWork Environment
    • VetsWork Greencorps
    • Public Lands Stewards
  • Summer Camps
  • Sense of Place
    • Lecture Series
    • Hear in the Gorge Podcast
    • Dear Neighbor Project
    • Community Workshops
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Gift A Scholarship
    • Capital Campaign
    • Volunteer
Close
  • About Us
    • Programs
      • Overview
      • VetsWork Environment
      • VetsWork GreenCorps
      • Education Programs
      • Public Lands Stewards
    • About
      • Our Mission
      • Our Impact
      • Our Staff
      • The Board
      • Lodging
      • Program Partners
    • Our Members
      • VetsWork Environment Members
      • VetsWork GreenCorps Members
      • Public Lands Stewards Members
    • Contact Us
      • Reach HQ
      • Live & Social
      • Staff Employment
  • Internships
    • VetsWork Environment
    • VetsWork Greencorps
    • Public Lands Stewards
  • Summer Camps
  • Sense of Place
    • Lecture Series
    • Hear in the Gorge Podcast
    • Dear Neighbor Project
    • Community Workshops
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Gift A Scholarship
    • Capital Campaign
    • Volunteer

With this being my second term as an AmeriCorps member in the VetsWork Environment program I had the privilege of being my district’s Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew leader for a second time this summer. From my experience last year, I’m not going to lie, I was slightly dreading the start of the summer. The responsibilities that come with being a YCC crew leader include being in charge of members that are ages 15-18. This doesn’t seem like much, but being in charge of 4 teenagers can be a handful at times. If you are not prepared mentally and physically for the challenges of being a crew leader it can easily wear you down, especially if the crew that you are in charge of is much younger than you are. The experience and lessons I learned from last year carried with me for this year and it paid off tenfold.

The 4 crew members that I recruited, interviewed, and hired were amazing. They were rock stars throughout the whole summer and I cannot say enough good things about them. The summer season came and went and the YCC crew was 100% why it flew by. I did change some of my leadership tactics from last year, but I didn’t have to change much with the 4 individuals I had the pleasure of leading. We all worked great together and got a ton of work done on the district. Our eight weeks weren’t all work with the educational requirements that are a part of the YCC program. We were able to visit some awesome educational museums to learn some local history and we learned more about various snake species that are native to the area. Overall I had a fantastic summer working with the crew as their leader, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of folks to finish the summer strong with.

Some of the projects we worked on this summer were:

– Mowing throughout the entire district on a bi-weekly basis

– Emptying trash cans across the district on a weekly basis

– Litter pick-up throughout the district on a daily basis

– Campground rehabilitation and facility maintenance on a weekly basis

– Trail maintenance: general forest and designated wilderness

– Partnered with the Chattooga Conservancy to rehabilitate native River Cane along the

Chattooga River by eradicating invasive species

– Partnered with the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS) Roving Trail

Crew to construct a supportive rock wall in Ellicott Rock Wilderness

– Rehabilitating our Russell Farmstead that was severely overgrown with thick brush

– Water well survey project: bushwhacking through dense brush to find and mark wells as hazards on the district

‹ › ×

    Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: WP Frank

    Share

    FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest

    Leave a Reply / Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Be sure to add your name to the roster, so we can send you latest news, jobs, events and resources.

    Make a Donation

    Make a Donation

    Recent Posts

    • VetsWork: Reflecting on the Year
    • VetsWork: Full Circle
    • VetsWork: A Transformative Experience
    • VetsWork: Opportunity During a Pandemic
    • Public Lands Stewards: Learning, Growth, and Good Times

    Categories

    • Bulletin
    • Cascade Mountain School
    • Fun & Miscellaneous
    • Mountain Talk
    • Public Lands Stewards
    • VetsWork Environment
    • VetsWork Greencorps

    Check Out Instagram

    View

    Jan 14

    Open
    Blue Hour at Mount Adams, The #bluehour is the period of #twilight when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade.
______________________________

#mtadamsinstitute  #mountainreflections  #explorewashstate #pnwonderland #cascadiaexplored #cascadia #wonderfulwashington #wonderfulwashingtonstate #pnwescapes #pnwadventures #pnwadventurers #pnwcrew #pnw_shooters #mtadams #giffordpinchotnationalforest #giffordpinchot #pnwphotographer #pnwphotography #leavenotrace #washingtonphotography #bluehourphotography #klickitatcounty #photography #blue #light #landscapephotography #landscapephotographer #mountains
    50 11

    View

    Apr 19

    Open
    She’s off for her school overnight trip! She handled all of her own packing and I am fully confident that means she’ll have at least 95% of the things she really needs. Girlfriend is on top of it! #urchinadventures #montessorikids #overnightfieldtrip #cascademountainschool
    33 1

    View

    Jun 13

    Open
    It's nice when the sun comes out #finallysunny #afewnicedays #vetswork #mtadamsinstitute #americorps #oregon #mttheilsen #pnw
    54 1

    View

    Aug 7

    Open
    Last week marked the end of our Mountain to Valley summer camp! For two weeks, students conducted meaningful ecological research while farming, backpacking, mountaineering, and camping. We hope that they left connected to themselves, with new skills and friends, and inspiration to become positive leaders and change makers in our world! #mtadamsinstitute #cascademountainschool #mountaintovalley #mtadams #troutlakevalley  #highschoolcamp #science #stewardship
    17 0

    View

    Aug 4

    Open
    Toad-ally in love with my job 🐸

#mtadamsinstitute
    103 4
    Load More
    • Back to Blog
    • Prev
    • Next

    Mt. Adams Institute collaborates with the following partners:

    © Copyright 2017 Mt. Adams Institute. All rights reserved.
    Mt. Adams Institute is an equal opportunity employer.
    contact us | partnership inquiries | site credit