AmeriCorps, PV Land Conservancy Partner for Community Day

By Arlo Tinsman-Kongshaug, Editorial Intern
 
AmeriCorps recently partnered with Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy to restore and renovate the White Point Nature Preserve.

The project, White Point Community Day, was conceived originally by AmeriCorps while visiting the area. AmeriCorps  is a government-sponsored program engaging adults in intensive community service.

During its eight-week visit to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and surrounding areas, AmeriCorps committed to working with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy to restore habitats, maintain trails and lead field trips. One of its goals was to host a large community event. Public outreach liaison Katherine Wallace said she noticed there was much work to be done around the preserve.

AmeriCorps got together with the conservancy and began to organize the event. With AmeriCorps members providing the much-needed extra labor, they would be able to do a large-scale renovation and beautification of the preserve. But AmeriCorps also wanted to reach out to the community.

“Why should we do all the work ourselves when we can get people in the community to volunteer and help us?” asked AmeriCorps member Isaiah Broomfield. “So, from there came the idea of ‘community day.’”

The workforce will be comprised mostly of volunteers, with AmeriCorps members training, coordinating and supervising them. One of the main things they will be doing is removing tumbleweeds, which block paths and get in the way of hikers. They will also be weeding the demonstration gardens and will perform general beautification around the preserve.

This is the third time Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy  has partnered with AmeriCorps. The groups plan to continue their relationship for many years to come.

Broomfield said some of Americorps’ future projects will also be working in Long Beach with Urban Community Outreach to feed the homeless.

“Wherever there’s a need, that’s where we’ll go,” he said.