Clearing the way
By Robert Wolfington IIIArticle Photos
LAKE BENTON - They're here from Georgia, New York, California and Minneapolis, all to help where they can.
Members of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps are working this week to clean up a portion of Hole-in-the-Mountain Park that could eventually lead to a camp ground expansion.
AmeriCorps, in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy of South Dakota, has been working across the state line on another project while sleeping at Hole-in-the-Mountain park. The AmeriCorps NCCC is part of the AmeriCorps network of national services programs focusing on the environment, education, public safety and disaster relief.
Members working in Lake Benton this week are part of the western region group.
Neill Minish, a member of the AmeriCorps NCCC, said the group is repaying Lincoln County for allowing them to stay at the park with a week's worth of service.
"We're here on our fourth phase project working with the Nature Conservancy in South Dakota," said Minish. "Mainly we're here to remove the invasive species, but while we've been here we've been staying at Hole-in-the-Mountain.
"Part of our agreement, we agreed to come out here and help out the campground for one week," added Minish.
The group has been working with the Nature Conservancy of South Dakota during a five-week stay in the region.
"We're just clearing out this area, it's full of an invasive species called buckthorn," said Cassie Buck, a representative for the Nature Conservancy. "(Lincoln County is) eventually going to try to make this a camping area and maybe open it up for horseback riding and things like that."
Buck said the AmeriCops group has been working in South Dakota on similar restoration projects in various nature conservancy areas.
"We've got these guys out doing work in some of our preserves," said Buck. "We did a joint effort with the park here to put a weeks worth of work in helping them out with the same problems we have been dealing with in our preserves. It's kind of two-sided - they help us and we help them."
Minish said the group of about a dozen members has been working around the country in a four-part process, starting in the Mississippi area on Hurricane Katrina restoration.
Our first project was in Bay St. Louis, Mo., and we did Hurricane Katrina recovery work with the Habitat for Humanity group there," said Minish. "We were there roughly for eight weeks from November through January.
"After that we went to Biloxi, Miss., where we work with Hands On Gulf Coast with their recovery work. We worked in several different facets with the organization; we worked in their spring break program."
The third phase of the group's work sent them to California where they worked on improving a camp for special needs children.
"Sonoma County in northern California, where we worked with St. Dorthy's Rest which is an old Episcopal camp up there for children with special needs," said Minish.
"It wasn't camp season, but we were doing some construction projects to help those guys out."
After finishing the project at St. Dorthy's Rest, Minish said the group learned they would be working in South Dakota and spending time in Minnesota.
Minish said working with small communities like Lake Benton and Lincoln County is important for the AmeriCorps members.
"(To be able to give to a community) is huge; we have been privileged to work in small towns for every project that we've had," said Minish. "It's really nice to see the impact you can have on these towns because you can really feel that in the smaller communities."
Christina Asselin, an AmeriCorps member from up-state New York, said her experience working in the organization has been exciting.
"It's huge, you learn a lot about living in an intentional community, working and living together, hanging out and being friends with one another," said Asselin. "Getting to know how to work together and become leaders, step back to let others shine and learn how to step forward yourself."
Information provided by the group said members of the group are 18 to 24 years old and complete 1,700 hours of community service during the 10-month program. After completing the community service, members receive $4,725 to help pay for college or for school loans.
