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AmeriCorps NCCC and Up With Trees Increase Urban Canopy and School Safety

A team of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) members is helping increase the number and safety of trees on the grounds of Tulsa Public Schools. The group of 10 young adults arrived on January 6 and will be serving here through February 20.

This AmeriCorps NCCC team is serving with Up With Trees, whose mission is to beautify greater Tulsa by planting trees and to create urban forestry awareness through education. Up With Trees has planted at more than 70 schools, 60 parks, 15 neighborhoods, 20 private properties, and 600 public streets and highway locations in Tulsa County.

Over the course of this six-week project, this AmeriCorps NCCC team will work with Up With Trees staff to remove hazardous trees and overgrowth at 15 schools.  Some team members will also support Up With Trees’ program Tree School, an environmental education program in Tulsa Public Schools that culminates with students planting trees on their school campus.

AmeriCorps NCCC first served with Up With Trees in 2017.  Since then, two teams previously served 4,303 hours with the organization.  Some of the cumulative accomplishments of those teams includes planting 349 trees, removing an estimated 140,000 pounds of vegetative debris, and teaching 160 people in environmental education classes.

Prior to traveling to Tulsa, members of this team served with other organizations across the nine-state Southwest Region, including a Boys and Girls Club of Topeka, Kan., Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, and assisting with long-term Hurricane Harvey recovery in Texas. They began their term of service on October 16, 2018 with three weeks of training at the Denver regional hub.  They will continue to complete other 6- to 12-week projects for communities in the central and southwestern United States until they graduate from the 10-month program on July 18, 2019.

AmeriCorps NCCC (N-triple-C) is a full-time, residential, national service program in which up to 2,200 young adults serve nationwide annually.  During their 10-month term, Corps Members – all 18 to 24 years old – work on teams of eight to 12 on projects that address critical needs.  Traditional NCCC members work on a variety of different six- to 12-week-long projects related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Members of FEMA Corps, a branch of NCCC, focus their projects exclusively on emergency management work in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The Southwest Region campus in Denver is one of four regional hubs in the nation and serves eight states in the central and southwest parts of the country. The other campuses are located in Vinton, Iowa, Vicksburg, Miss., and Sacramento, Calif.  

In exchange for their service, Corps Members receive $6,095 to help pay for college, or to pay back existing student loans.  Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, travel, leadership development, increased self-confidence, and the knowledge that, through active citizenship, people can indeed make a difference.  AmeriCorps NCCC is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  The Corporation improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit the website at www.americorps.gov/nccc.

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