For six weeks in April and May, Patagonia’s first official team of Americorps volunteers made lasting contributions to local organizations, the town and the region—and they had a great time doing it!
Eight members of the Americorps National Civil Community Corps (NCCC) spent their time here working for main project sponsors Borderlands Restoration Network and The Nature Conservancy. They also pitched in at Patagonia Community Garden and the May Day event organized by Patagonia Area Resource Alliance (PARA).
NCCC is a full-time residential service program for 18-26 year-olds from a wide variety of socioeconomic, cultural, geographic and educational backgrounds. These team members came from Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, South Dakota and Oregon.
Teams are assigned to service projects in several communities over their ten-month terms. Variety is built in; this team’s first post was with the IRS in Pueblo, Colorado helping local residents prepare their tax returns. After that, they helped rehabilitate buildings at a 4-H center in rural Kansas.
Team spokesperson Zoe Warren joined NCCC as a gap-year activity. She valued the hands-on connections formed in the variety of work in different projects and communities. “You learn a lot about yourself working with different personalities, with both team members and the public,” she said.
Working for Borderlands Nursery and Seed here in Patagonia, the team helped establish a new milkweed plot, moved a greenhouse and replaced pallets supporting planting beds in the main nursery. “Having a team to work on big projects like these is so helpful,” said Francesca Claverie, Native Plant Program Director. “It means we can actually get them done.” The team also worked on projects with Borderlands’ Deep Dirt Farm and Watershed Restoration Program.
NCCC’s process to select sponsor organizations is competitive, and Borderlands teamed up with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to make a particularly strong proposal offering a wide variety of work. At TNC, the team worked on invasive species removal, trail maintenance, a firebreak for the town around the Cemetery Trail and a fish survey in Sonoita Creek. They also helped prepare areas of TNC’s Canelo Hills Cienega Reserve for future fire control steps.
Aaron Mrotek, manager of TNC’s Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, praised the NCCC program for helping get important projects done at “incredibly low cost for the organization. We just supply tools and materials. It’s also an awesome way to strengthen relationships between TNC, Borderlands and other organizations.”
Patagonia was popular with NCCC team members, too. “I love Patagonia,” said Zoe Warren. “There’s so much life here!”
“Everyone is so welcoming here,” said Samuel Selsberg.
“This [Patagonia assignment] is what I dreamed of doing when I joined NCCC,” said Ally Hartman.
“We’ve had a great welcome here,” said Kaylee Salter. “I’ve learned a lot, and it’s great to see our impact.”
There is a “multi-generational” effect happening here, too, in building careers in conservation and community service. Both Claverie and Mrotek got their starts in the field as young adults in Americorps conservation programs. Mrotek was glad this group met so many professionals who could give insights into career opportunities, including researchers from the University of Arizona and Bureau of Land Management staff.
This year’s Americorps members also spoke to students at Patagonia High School, whom Zoe Warren described as, “very interested and engaged.”
“I wish I had known about this before starting college,” she said. “I would have gone from high school into NCCC first.”
At the end of May, the NCCC team moved on to Santa Clara, New Mexico, a small town east of Silver City that is improving its tourism base, where they will help restore two historic adobe buildings.
A second NCCC team of 12 will arrive in Patagonia in June for another collaboration between Borderlands and The Nature Conservancy.