Updates & Stories

As with anything in life, working on a field crew with Conservation Corps has taught me many lessons. Some I can use in my everyday life while others don’t transfer so well. With the help of my crew I have created a list of some of the most important. Read More

“Wow, it’s a bee just chillin’ on my glove,” I thought to myself as I stared at the yellow jacket! I tried not to disturb it while I looked down to find my next stump to spray. By the next time I looked up five more yellow jackets had joined the glove party. I got a little concerned about this gathering once I noticed that they were trying to sting me through my gloves.  Read More

The impact of bees on agriculture, ecosystems and the environment as a whole is a topic with ever-increasing importance. On August 4, the Saint Paul summer youth program EcoRangers, along with the Restoring Relations crew from Conservation Corps, had the opportunity to join executive director and founder of Pollinate Minnesota, Erin Rupp, at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary for a honeybee education day. Read More

The NPS roving crew had the opportunity to work with the Midwest Archeological Center again this month, using ground-penetrating radar to search for human remains in an old cemetery at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield near Republic, Missouri. The Edgar family used this cemetery to bury their loved ones back in the early 1800s, before the Civil War battle at Wilson’s Creek in August of 1861, and the National Park Service has been eagerly waiting to locate the bodies within the cemetery in case they someday need to reinter the remains. Read More

Ah, vacation. Such a beautiful word. Conservation Corps gave us 10 days off over the Fourth of July holiday this year, and since we just can't get enough of each other, my co-workers and I decided to go on a road trip together. Read More

Take a moment to picture a scene... it's a sprawling prairie, part of the Midwestern landscape as it was a long time ago. Tall native grasses sing that song of swishing blades in the wind. In the distance, perhaps there are bison. Now imagine the people who would live there, and imagine yourself as one of them. Most likely you would see a homesteader, a man or woman who came to start anew in such a place.  Read More

During my time with Conservation Corps we have worked entirely with plants. We’ve cut buckthorn and cleared firebreaks, planted natives and picked weeds. It’s been great learning to identify things we haven’t seen or heard of before but one thing we have all been missing is wildlife. That said, we have recently had the opportunity to rescue some animals!  Read More

No tree is sacred. These were the instructions national game refuge staff gave my crew during a ten-day work stint in eastern North Dakota. Staring up into the branches of an enormous cottonwood, that claim reverberated dubiously between my ears. After carrying my chainsaw and a backpack full of fuel and oil a half-mile under the hot Dakota sun, the shade of the cottonwood grove engulfed me like a cool towel.  Read More

A week for the water trails crew is quite a bit different than the other crews located in the Central District. Learn more in Melissa Gearman's photo blog post. Read More

Deployed in Texas working on flood relief was hectic. I didn’t realize that it was all just smoke preparing to become fire. “It’s time to say your last words to Louis, the doctors say he won’t make it through the night,” I heard from my close friends. My best friend and brother had been hit by a car. He was in critical condition in my hometown of Benicia, California.  Read More