Member Bios

Growing up in the Green Mountain State, my early years were spent enjoying the fresh air and soft rolling hills of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom countryside. From an early age, being outside in the neighboring woodland was one of my favorite things to do. The rural countryside offered small, trickling creeks, beautiful mountains views, and a wide variety of wildlife. This was where my love for science took root. I spent many summers camping, hiking and fishing with friends. While in junior high and high school I volunteered at the Green Mountain Conservation Camp, where I helped 12-16 year old kids develop an appreciation for the outdoors through camping, canoeing, hiking, hunter firearm safety and various other outdoor activities. This was my favorite place to spend a few weeks of my summer vacation. Throughout high school I worked at a local nursery and began to learn about plants and to appreciate have to offer.
My continued interest in the biological sciences remained strong as I entered college. I pursued a degree in biology at the University of New Hampshire for a few years, concentrating in marine biology. I finished my Bachelor of Science in Integrated Biological Sciences at the University of Vermont, concentrating in ecology, wildlife biology and Spanish. I continued working at a nursery where my interest in plants developed further. It was at UVM that I discovered the career path I wanted to take. I am now working toward building my career as a wildlife biologist/ecologist.
My first SCA experience I was in June of 2012. I was offered a position as a team member of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Trails Inventory Program. This position was the most enjoyable job I’ve had to date. Taking inventory of trail features on hiking trails at National Wildlife Refuges all over the country was the best way I could have possibly explored this country. I traveled through states as far east as Tennessee and Alabama, all the way to the final frontier of Alaska. During this time I had so many experiences with great people in places I will remember forever. Because of this experience I decided to continue working with the SCA, this time to develop my leadership skills while working with the Army Corps of Engineers in Nashville, Tennessee for the 2013 season.

A wonderful member of the Georgia crew is Mr. Clayton Buffer. Clayton is originally from Ohio, and is very proud of his roots! He has a Bachelors Degree (BA) from Ohio State University in Comparative Studies focusing on Folklore. Although he is somewhat bummed that he is not using his degree, he has really enjoyed his past experiences with The SCA, and thus decided to continue forward by entering this wonderful program. Clayton had his first SCA experience by being a member in the eight-month long Desert Restoration Corps team. He completed conservation work- specifically focusing on trail closures, fence building, and habitat restoration. Clayton also participated in a leader team for The SCA in Dinosaur National Monument, which is located on the border of Colorado and Utah. In this crew he worked mainly on trail building and campsite rehabilitation. His personal goal for this program is to be more aware and improve his physical fitness throughout this season by taking better care of his body. His professional goal for this program is to learn how to lead in a way that all of his future members will benefit from his knowledge and skills.

Michael Cocquyt is one of the fantastic members of this riveting Georgia crew, and is originally from Upstate New York where delicious apples flow like water. He has a Bachelors Degree (BS) in Physical Education from SUNY Brockport. He also has a Masters Degree (MA) in Adaptive Physical Activity from KU Leuven. Michael brings a background that is varied in Education (both traditional and non-­‐traditional settings) A big part of his past has been working with preschool aged children where he used to be known as "Mr. Mike". Mike has led a National High School Crew in Fairbanks, Alaska. Here they worked on water removal and drainage systems. Mike was also a part of a leader team for The SCA. On this Lake Tahoe crew they completed rockwork, built bridges, fences and did other forms of trail work that focused on fixing erosion issues. His personal goal for this program is to immerse himself as much as he can with the North Georgia community. His professional goal is to expand his knowledge in conservation by working both with The SCA and Army Corps of Engineers.

Originally from Tempe, Arizona Stacy left the sonoran desert for southern California to attend California Lutheran University (CLU). While there she received her B.S. In Environmental Science with a minor in Biology. Throughout her time spent at CLU, Stacy began to appreciate both the field and research aspects of her degree, spending time pretty evenly split between leading an inorganic marine pollution research program, and attending wildflower hikes in the chaparral. This love of knowing how natural systems work, and wanting to see them in action lead Stacy to the SCA.

Stacy first served as a member of the Native Plant Corps, in both Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Cowpens National Battlefield restoring native ecosystems. These experiences solidified her love of conservation work, living and working in the outdoors, and of course the SCA. Most recently she spent a year working throughout the state of Connecticut to the help communities reduce energy use and implement residential and municipal efficiency projects.

Stacy hopes to bring her love of botany and restoration work to her team, as well as put her community outreach experience to good use. She is looking forward to living deep in the heart of Texas and exploring a new area. She also hopes to gain leadership skills that will enable her to lead a summer team and create fun and meaningful experiences for the next round of conservationists.

Sterling joins the DRC WildCorps halfway through the season with hopes of complimenting and contributing-to an already impressive team of desert restoration champions. This is his fifth SCA endeavor but first purely-restoration experience after primarily trail-maintenance crews. He looks forward to expanding his pallete of conservation techniques as well as practicing data collection and mapping.

Sterling grew up in Maine, went to school in New York, moved to Los Angeles and then Portland, Oregon before taking full time work on the nation's public lands affording him the opportunity to travel The West in a variety of pickup trucks. In his free time Sterling enjoys hiking, making art, eating, not hiking and live music.