Massachusetts AmeriCorps – Celebrating over 20 years of service!

Members of the SCA Massachusetts AmeriCorps program serve Massachusetts’s public lands from Martha’s Vineyard to the Berkshires each summer, and spend the winter providing environmental education to children at local schools in the western part of the state. The residential program, headquartered at Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest in Hawley, MA, is looking for members to join us for our 22nd year, starting Nov 26th, 2018.

Eighteen SCA Massachusetts AmeriCorps members begin their 10-month term serving at partner schools and education-related internships in Western Massachusetts during the fall and winter months (October – March). They engage students in science-based environmental curricula that create a broad learning context for students, improve their learning skills, and help foster an ethic of service and civic responsibility.

Eight more members are brought on in early March, for a 5-month term, bringing the total corps to 26 members. After trail training season in March, SCA Massachusetts AmeriCorps members provide much-needed assistance in improving the public access to and protection of the natural, cultural, and recreational resources of Massachusetts from April - August. SCA members travel across the commonwealth serving in small teams to complete conservation projects, implemented in dozens of communities.

Each year SCA Massachusetts AmeriCorps members spend five months teaching approximately 800 environmental education lessons to over 1,000 students. Our members also complete approximately 80 Conservation Service projects each year. Projects include new trail construction, invasive plant management, Universal Access Trail construction, school nature trails, historic site reclamation, and more.

Members of the Massachusetts Corps are eligible to receive the following trainings or certifications:

• Education and Service Learning Training
• Teamwork, Leadership, and Conflict Resolution Skills Training
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and CPR Certification
• Leave No Trace (LNT) Outdoor Ethics
• Defensive Driver Training

Environmental Educators also receive the following trainings and certifications:

• Leave No Trace
• Running and Implementing Filed Trips for School Groups
• Nature Camp Implementation Experience
• Natural History Trainings
• Curriculum Trainings
• Project Wet
• Project Wild
• Project Learning Tree

Conservation Stewards also receive or have the option to receive the following trainings and certifications:

• Comprehensive Trail Construction & Maintenance Skills including Native Timber & Stonework
• Carpentry*
• Game of Logging Chainsaw Certification*
• Basic Rigging*
• Back Country Living Skills
• Crew Management and Leadership

(* members will specialize in one of these skills)

Eligibility Requirements:

Members receive full room and board, health insurance, a weekly living stipend, and an AmeriCorps education award.

• Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 25.
• Applicants must be US citizens, as we are an AmeriCorps program.
• Applicants should be in good physical condition and should enjoy hard work outdoors.
• Applicants should possess the ability to live and work in small, close-knit group.
• Applicants must have good interpersonal communication skills.
• Outdoors or trail experience preferred but not necessary.

Want to know more about SCA Massachusetts AmeriCorps? Follow the Massachusetts Corps on Facebook, email staff at [email protected] or give the office a call - 413-339-6631.