BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Stewards Individual Placements applauds President Joseph R. Biden’s establishment of a Civilian Climate Corps initiative through an executive order, signed January 27, 2021, and is standing ready to assist the Administration in providing work opportunities, engaging Americans in addressing climate change and building community resiliency.
Stewards Individual Placements, a program of Conservation Legacy based in Beckley, WV, operates conservation and service programming in local communities across the US, working in close collaboration with public and private partners and funders. “We are excited for this opportunity to expand and promote conservation service throughout the local communities we serve. We are equally eager to engage local youth in these meaningful and critical projects, simultaneously developing the resilience of our community and our environment,” stated April Elkins-Badtke, Stewards Corps Director.
From ecological monitoring to fire fuels mitigation to watershed and wetland restoration, Conservation Legacy’s many programs align with the call to address climate change. The organization has programming regularly in operation in all 50 US states and territories, supporting a range of deeply impactful project work with local, state, and national land management agencies and environmental organizations.
As a local example of this work, Stewards local members helped create Butterfly Monarch Waystations in different locations at the Piney Creek Watershed Association (PCWA), supported local trail development, and conducted several water sampling efforts around Beckley.
Collectively, corps programs across the country annually enroll roughly 25,000 young people. In December 2020, a proposal was released to scale the existing Corps community to engage 500,000 diverse young people and recent veterans over the next five years to complete conservation, clean energy, resilience, and sustainable infrastructure projects. The proposal emphasizes that investments in scaling and expanding corps should be equitable, with a focus on intentionally enrolling and supporting women, young people of color, urban and rural youth, and communities who have been underserved. Stewards Individual Placements is part of the network of 130 corps across the country that are prepared to do this work.
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Stewards Individual Placements
Stewards Individual Placement Programs provide opportunities through service that build career- based experience, strengthen communities, and preserve our natural resources. Stewards Individual Placement Program (SIPP) places individual AmeriCorps and VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) Members in communities across America for a year of volunteer service by facilitating partnerships between federal agencies and community-based nonprofit groups. Unified in mission, each participant serves on a specific team distinguished by its unique focus and relevant private or public partner affiliation. Stewards Individual Placements is a program of Conservation Legacy. For more information, please visit www.stewardslegacy.org.
Conservation Legacy
Continuing the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Conservation Legacy engages individuals to complete important national service projects, envisioning a legacy of healthy lands, air and water; thriving people and resilient communities.
Conservation Legacy provides support for local conservation service programs under the leadership of a national organization, delivering high quality programming across the country. Local corps programs are embedded in communities to make the greatest impact by meeting on the ground needs. Working in close collaboration with partners, Conservation Legacy advances goals of increasing opportunities in conservation, stewardship, national service and workforce development. For more information, please visit www.conservationlegacy.org.
