Exploring Your Backyard Through Service

Hello friends, family and fans of AmeriCorps! I’m Jocylen Fox. I am serving as the Outreach and Stewardship Coordinator at the Antrim Conservation District through the Huron Pines AmeriCorps program. It has been a pleasure to serve you and your communities throughout Michigan with my fellow AmeriCorps people.

First, let me tell you about this program. The Huron Pines AmeriCorps program is designed to serve the northeast portion of the Lower Peninsula in regards to conservation projects and environmental education. In my position at the Antrim Conservation District, I implement their mission statement, Explore your backyard," into my service through community events, education projects and volunteer opportunities.

The District’s backyard is the Cedar River Natural Area. When I came into this position in May 2012, this area was full of trails inviting people to get lost. Seriously. The trail maps were merely watermarked pages with bleeding colors, the trails had down branches and hadn’t been managed in years. What trail markers existed didn’t match the colors of the trails provided on the map. I’ll be honest, my first time back there, I got to a point when I had to stop and figure out where I was. I walked along the banks of the Cedar River following foot trails of the fishermen before me, but this was not apart of the actual trail system. I walked back and forth until I decided I needed to turn around, though I had not even covered half the trails nor was I sure I was headed back in the right direction.

Luckily, I found my way back through the woods and was able to start my service and really strive to make a difference in the Natural Area. I created interpretive signs for the area, maintained the trails, created trail maps to put at the crossroads in the natural area and told the community about what a great resource this area really is.

My favorite part of my service and being in the Cedar River Natural Area is the Conservation Kids Club we host every July. I take the kids to the area teaching them different environmental topics and help them learn to enjoy being outdoors. We collect bugs, look for salamanders, build survival shelters, bird watch, etc., anything to get their eyes off of a screen for two hours.

As I’m ending my service and looking forward to my next chapter at graduate school, I will definitely miss all the great friends I have made and wish I could do more to help Antrim County explore their backyards. There really is so much to explore, and I can’t wait to promote this mission in my new community.

An NCCC Ameri-Story

Kaitlyn Sargent is a Michigan native whose AmeriCorps service has been much different than that of our Michigan's AmeriCorps members. Read on to learn about her service with AmeriCorps NCCC.

Hi! My name is Kaitlyn Sargent and I am currently wrapping up my second year of service as an AmeriCorps*NCCC Team Leader for the Southwest Region in Denver, Colorado. My first year of service was spent as a Corps member, also in Denver. AmeriCorps*NCCC is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women age 18-24. Members are assigned to one of five campuses — Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, California; Perry Point, Maryland; Vicksburg, Mississippi; or Vinton, Iowa. In ten months, members complete four different service projects (called “spikes”) within their region.

My first year of service was spent in Arkansas, Texas, and at two different sites in Colorado. I got to camp and serve at a state park, assist in a first grade classroom, build trails, construct a fence for a pet shelter, and work with children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities at a summer camp. I had an amazing first year working on a wide array of projects and was part of a very close-knit team. I enjoyed my year so much that I decided to come back for another year as a Team Leader, which has also been amazing, but extremely different.

My Team Leader year was a bit more chaotic as there are several added tasks and responsibilities in comparison to Corps members. I started the year with my first-choice project building homes with Habitat for Humanity in San Antonio, Texas. Next, we were off to Casa Grande, Arizona to build trails. What was supposed to be a ten-week spike was abruptly cut short after three weeks when we got called for Super Storm Sandy disaster relief in New York and New Jersey. The team had mixed feelings as we were all really enjoying our Arizona project, but also knew the need was greater out east. 

The five weeks in New York and New Jersey were without a doubt the most stressful of the year, but also the most rewarding. We were mucking and gutting/mold suppressing destroyed homes in Staten Island. We also removed damaged insulation and installed new insulation in trailers that could not otherwise afford it. For my third project, I returned to Denver to work with at-risk sixth-ninth graders. I recently finished up my fourth and final AmeriCorps*NCCC project in Nogales, Arizona, where I was once again building trails.

Looking back on the last two years of my life, it is difficult to articulate the impact NCCC has had – and will continue to have – on my life. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into prior to joining AmeriCorps; but I would strongly recommend NCCC to anyone who is even slightly interested because, regardless of the challenges, it is a life-altering experience. In the last 21 months, I have lived in 6 different states, gained two Ameri-families, crossed paths with amazing people, and did things I never could have imagined. NCCC tested me physically and emotionally, repeatedly pushed me in and out of my comfort zone, strengthened my passion for community service, and has opened me up to countless possibilities in life. 

I am thankful for every minute spent in AmeriCorps, including the difficult times, as those were the times I grew and learned the most. I look forward to continuing to "get things done" as I return to Michigan to pursue a career in education.