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 23^rd year, starting Nov 18th, 2019.

Twenty-two 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 (November – 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.

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 May - September. 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 1,000 environmental education lessons to over 2,000 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:

• Environmental Education Teaching Practices Training
• Curriculum and Lesson Plan Development Training
• Project Wet
• Project Wild
• Nature Camp Implementation Experience
• Teamwork, Leadership, and Conflict Resolution Skills Training
• Leave No Trace (LNT) Outdoor Ethics
• 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 during Conservation Season)

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 a 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.