Joining us on September 8, 2026 as an AmeriCorps VISTA, in partnership with Conservation Legacy Stewards Individual Placements, is Kali Mellin. Kali is an anthracite region local, having been born and raised in Jermyn, Pennsylvania. A graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania in December of 2021, Kali holds a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in STEM-H (the H stands for Humanities!). Her degree comes with three minors: Biology, Geography, and Science Education. She also holds a Certificate in Desktop GIS from Pace University as of 2025. Kali will serve as a Stewards VISTA: Digital Mobilization Coordinator for a one year term with the goal of building capacity for EPCAMR to expand their education and awareness efforts in relation to abandoned mine lands reclamation, watershed assessments, and abandoned mine drainage (AMD) monitoring of flows, chemistry, and macroinvertebrate populations and stream health around the EPCAMR Region. Storytelling about our work and building databases of regional artists that we’re looking to pull together in the future to utilize our iron oxide pigment to create enough pieces of work to hold an Art Show highlighting the various mediums used for art will are just two examples of service work that are in her Volunteer Activity Description (VAD).

Graphic by Kali Mellin. A rundown on how her position falls under all of these different organizations at one time.

EPCAMR actively works toward the reclamation and redevelopment of land affected by past mining practices. This includes reducing environmental hazards to health and safety and returning land affected by past mining practices to productive use, thereby improving the economy and livelihoods of those living in the region.

EPCAMR’s current initiatives include, but are not limited to, illegal dump site cleanups (with tire recycling!), Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful “Open Your Eyes to Litter” Program for elementary students, participation in Trout in the Classroom through a partnership with PA Fish and Boat Commission and PA Council of Trout Unlimited, and water quality monitoring programs such as that at the Rocky Run Headwaters in State Game Lands 260.

Clip originally from The Times-Tribune, October 2009. Scan courtesy of Scranton Public Library.

Kali’s first impression of EPCAMR was in October of 2009 when they attended Lakeland Elementary’s “Water Festival” and introduced 4th grade students to AMD with iron oxide tie-dye. She was re-introduced during the pandemic year of 2020 through a Facebook post from PA Environment Digest, then followed EPCAMR’s Facebook page to keep up with the great work they were doing locally with hopes to get involved. Building a career in an environmental field has been the natural progression of Kali’s life; she grew up in Pennsylvania’s forests, streams, and ponds getting dirty and, most importantly, asking questions. Most recently her education has continued through volunteering as a Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward and substitute teaching at her local high school. Both opportunities have offered a wealth of experiences to “teach the teacher”! Kali considers her insatiable thirst for knowledge a main personality trait.

“I’m looking forward to assisting EPCAMR in serving my community by participating in education and outreach and building capacity by creating, improving, and expanding the reach of EPCAMR’s educational and informational materials” says Kali. “This opportunity allows me to use my strengths in research and organization combined with my passion for improving environmental literacy to serve my community in a way that can cause great impact.”

Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director went on to say, “I just love finding out that there are students that still remember pivotal core memories of working with us over the last 3 decades when we had conducted an outdoor environmental meaningful watershed experience when they were in elementary or high school and come to find that they continued to have a passion for the environment as they got older. Knowing that Kali was a part of a program that we ran 17 years ago is heartwarming and makes me feel very proud and happy to know that she’s found a way back to EPCAMR in this capacity as an AmeriCorps with us. She’s a coaltown kid herself. She can relate. She’s lived it and is still living with the legacy and now gets to play an active role in helping us to address these environmental issues within our most underserved communities by helping us build capacity, provide environmental education opportunities, and encourage environmental stewardship of our youth, much like I did for her when she was younger at Lakeland Elementary as a part of the Watershed Festival. She’s a natural teacher and I can see that already in her. I told her she has the same name as my only granddaughter, except she spells it with a C and not a K, and she has a lot more sass to her at the ripe old age of 6, and she gives my oldest and only daughter, Hayley, a run for her money. I’m looking forward to her service term with us over the next year and am excited that she’s hear with us. She’s off to a great start and has already become certified in our NAACC Stream Continuity Aquatic Organism Passage training program for when we go out and assess culverts and bridges for aquatic passage as a part of our development of coldwater conservation plans.”

Formed in 1995 by concerned conservation districts, EPCAMR represents a coalition of watershed organizations and reclamation partners. Members range from individuals to the active anthracite mining industry and co-generation power plants, to non-profit organizations, 16 county conservation districts, and other organizations in the anthracite and bituminous coal region of eastern Pennsylvania that are involved with abandoned mine reclamation issues. Counties covered by EPCAMR in Northeastern and North Central PA include: Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Dauphin, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne, and Wyoming. As of the last census (2020), the population we serve equates to approximately 1.7 million people. 

The post EPCAMR Brings on Kali Mellin as AmeriCorps VISTA Digital Mobilization Coordinator through Conservation Legacy and Stewards Individual Placement appeared first on epcamr.org.

Maria Gereda, Kingston, PA  from the Wyoming Valley, and Dennis Dukinas, Dallas, PA, from the Back Mountain, both natives of Luzerne County, will be hosted and supervised by EPCAMR until the end of December 2025 to work with us to provide volunteer services to add some capacity to the organization starting yesterday.

Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director exclaimed, “We are thrilled to have both of these environmental and conservation professionals join us for the 20 plus weeks through the end of the year to assist us with a number of direct service projects that we currently have underway with a limited staff, who have the passion and commitment to follow through on a number of our awarded grants and professional services throughout the EPCAMR Region.”

Bobby went on to say, “I can’t say enough about Conservation Legacy, OSMRE, and especially AmeriCorps (State and National) and AmeriCorps VISTA and their support for our work. April Elkins Badtke has been a long-time friend and colleague for over 2 decades when the original Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team was formed to provide similar support to non-profit environmental organizations that were and are still working in coal country up and down the Appalachian Mountain Range. She is a consummate professional at Conservation Legacy who never has had a problem responding to my emails or messages at all hours of the night or on weekends and listening to my concerns about AmeriCorps and the funding cuts that we had to endure several months ago. We currently have Morgan Romanowski, Scott Township, Lackawanna County working with us through the end of September 2025 to finish up her year term as an AmeriCorps (State and National) volunteer fellow GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist and Mark Jones, who initially was an Energy Community Assistance Program (ECAP) Community Development Coordinator volunteer with AmeriCorps VISTA, who had to placed into Conservation Legacy’s AmeriCorps VISTA Program. He will be volunteering with us until the end of December 2025.”

Maria will continue her work with EPCAMR as a GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist through the Stewards Individual Placement Program. In her new role, she will help promote food security by encouraging the creation of community gardens in coalfield communities and working with local organizations to plant, maintain, and harvest them as one project that EPCAMR has already started on with the distribution of biodegradable Waterboxxes from Groasis that we have been giving away for free to groups that are interested. Community gardens were very common in what were called “patches” in the coal towns around the Anthracite and Bituminous regions. She will also support affordable housing development by advocating for new housing developments to consider being built on reclaimed abandoned mine lands. She will also continue to engage and assist with  environmental education experiences for students in school districts throughout the region that are under the poverty level.

Dennis and Maria are “kicking for macroinvertebrates on Little Shickshinny Creek in Shickshinny Borough as a part of our Coldwater Heritage Conservation Plan where we are developing a watershed assessment for the Shickshinny Creek Watershed and Paddy and Rocky Run.

Bobby said, “Maria, a Luzerne County native, from Kingston, PA in the Wyoming Valley, joined EPCAMR just two months ago as a part-time Summer Watershed GIS Outreach and Education Intern. In that short time, she has gained a wide range of hands-on experience that will serve her well in her expanding role. She was a natural fit for this longer term position that could give her full-time hours under this program.” 

During her internship, Maria earned a certification in the Non-Tidal Streams Protocol through the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC). She worked closely with EPCAMR Staff to scan and catalog both surface and underground mine maps for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Mine Subsidence Insurance Program. She also participated in field watershed assessments, surveying bridges and culverts across the Shickshinny Creek, Paddy Run, and Rocky Run tributaries in the southern Wyoming Valley—work that directly supports EPCAMR’s ongoing watershed assessment efforts in the Northern Anthracite Coal Fields funded by the PA American Water Charitable Foundation and the PA Council of Trout Unlimited‘s Coldwater Heritage Planning grant program. 

Maria also contributed to community outreach by assisting with water quality monitoring, stream flow measurements, and abandoned mine drainage (AMD) evaluations. She also helped engage local youth in environmental learning during educational events like tie-dye workshops. Her professional network has expanded by attending conferences, including the Abandoned Mine Pools as Beneficial Resources event at Bucknell University and the 2025 ARIPPA Annual Conference.

EPCAMR Staff conducted an AMD Tie Dye T-shirt Workshop for PA Inclusive in Pittston with our recycled iron oxide pigment. Dennis assisted Morgan Romanowski, Mark Jones, and Bobby Hughes in putting on the workshop for the youth and adults.

In addition, Maria will contribute to the development of “land that channels rainfall” resource maps, combining data on demographics, economic indicators, and workforce development with information on local trade schools and community colleges. She will conduct short community surveys and polls via EPCAMR’s social media platforms, update and expand the EPCAMR Partnership Database across 16 counties within our region alone, with our Community Development Coordinator Mark Jones, and will assist in identifying grant opportunities and other organizations and foundations that might be suitable for preparing future grant applications. Her work as well and Dennis’s work will be closely aligned with the goals and objectives laid out by EPCAMR’s Strategic Planning and Education/Science Committees.

Currently enrolled in an online GIS course through Austin Community College, Maria is eager to apply what she’s learning to the real-world challenges facing Pennsylvania’s coalfield communities. Her passion, commitment, and growing expertise make her a valuable asset to EPCAMR’s mission of revitalizing the region through education, outreach, sustainable redevelopment of our abandoned mine lands, and restoration of our watersheds impacted by abandoned mine drainage (AMD).

Maria participated in an AMD Tour in Schuylkill County with EPCAMR where she was able to visit the infamous “Ashland Fountain”, which is a constantly overflowing AMD discharge from the Bast and Continental Collieries that drains to the Mahanoy Creek watershed as explained by Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director.

Dennis Dukinas, Dallas, PA, in the Back Mountain of Luzerne County is currently completing my final course at Bloomsburg University, where he is finishing his degree in Environmental, Geological, and Geographic Sciences with a Minor in Hydrology.

Bobby shared that “Throughout his academic career, he has gained valuable hands-on experience both outdoors as an Eagle Scout and indoors, working with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) desktop environments. He has already used mapping technologies such as ArcGIS Pro and ERDAS Imagine remote sensing imagery and software to create various hypothetical scenarios in college and now gets to take those lessons learned from the hypothetical to the real world watersheds that EPCAMR works in throughout the coalfields. His experience already includes georeferencing, story mapping, census data analysis, and using tools like ArcGIS Pro Online’s ModelBuilder. He already has earned certifications through ArcGIS Online and holds a Watershed Management Training Certification. He’s also already received a free Aquatic Organism Protocol Training from EPCAMR while a volunteering two weeks before his official internship from NAACC. Maria already has this Certificate as well, however, both of them have to assess 20 culverts and or bridges before they can become a field Lead Observer.”

In his role as a GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist, prior to his start today, he’s already gained valuable experience assessing water quality, conducting visual habitat assessments, identifying, counting, and classifying macroinvertebrates as a part of the biological assessment monitoring EPCAMR conducts for our watersheds assessments, and he’s learned how to use our field photometer and YSI Multi-parameter probe already to perform chemistry tests in-stream. He will be involved in a number of projects that were highlighted by Bobby Hughes on their first day of orientation, along with some training provided to them in EarthVision, where they will be helping to digitize mine maps for another project of ours in the Bear Creek Watershed, Dauphin County and creating 3D surface and underground mine pool models to help us calculate volumetrics of water and coal remaining a region of the Southern Anthracite Coalfields. 

Bobby joked with Dennis before this week to get as much sleep in over the Holiday Weekend because he will be shifting from volunteering a few days a week to a full 40 hours a week through the end of the year. “He was in this morning ready to go and get some administrative paperwork out of the way, hear about the myriad of projects that we are going to be working on, work on his background article notes for this release, and to begin his initial training on EarthVision with Mike. I’m really looking forward to the energy, enthusiasm, willingness to jump in and learn from the Staff about all of important work in the region and the value that their efforts are going to have in the communities that we are working in that we have maintained positive, trusting relationships with, for nearly 3 decades.”

Michael Hewitt, EPCAMR Program Manager and Frank Sindaco, GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist is teaching Maria and Dennis how to use our field monitoring equipment at the Askam AMD Maelstrom Oxidizer Treatment System on Earth Conservancy’s property along Dundee Road in the Nanticoke Creek watershed.

The post EPCAMR Hosts 2 Stewards Individual Placement Program (SIPP) GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist AmeriCorps (State and National) Interns Administered by Conservation Legacy through the end of December 2025 appeared first on epcamr.org.

Kyle Argenziano, former EPCAMR Summer Watershed Intern has been sponsored as an Americorps Conservation Legacy/Corporation for National and Community Service Steward VISTA Volunteer for the next year.

Stewards Individual Placement Program mission statement:

“Providing individual opportunities through service that build career-based experience, strengthen communities, and preserve our natural resources.”

AmeriCorps VISTA mission statement:

“To strengthen and supplement efforts to eliminate and alleviate poverty and poverty-related problems in the United States by encouraging and enabling persons from all walks of life, all geographical areas, and all age groups, including low-income individuals, elderly and retired Americans, to perform meaningful and constructive volunteer service in agencies, institutions, and situations where the application of human talent and dedication may assist in the solution of poverty, and secure and increase opportunities for self-advancement by persons affected by such problems.”

VISTAs are tasked with indirect service. He will be developing and overseeing projects that he will be tasked to generate community capacity for assisting with the projects. Grant writing and fund development are a large portion of his work as he is expected to assist in fundraising efforts, identify sources of funding, and create capital for EPCAMR. Kyle and EPCAMR have developed a 1-year Volunteer Activity Description (VAD) Work Plan to guide the volunteer work and capacity building within the EPCAMR Region. Kyle will submit at least 4 grant proposals throughout the service term. He’ll be performing a lot of GIS work, GIS Mapping, and developing the necessary statistics and infographics to help EPCAMR go after grants and help to tell our story about the importance of reclaiming our abandoned mine lands and restoring our waterways polluted from abandoned mine drainage (AMD).

“Volunteer engagement will be a large part of the work as well. Kyle will be expected to identify sources of volunteering, their capacity, and create an environment that retains and appreciates volunteers. Community engagement will be vital. Partnerships with local firms, agencies, service groups, and businesses will be developed. The goal of our work is to promote sustainable solutions through community empowerment. These partnerships will create a strong web of communication, resource sharing, funding, and power to create the sustainability we are after at EPCAMR. There is strength in numbers, and we believe this Stewards VISTA position will be a key to developing those assets”, stated Bobby Hughes-EPCAMR Executive Director.

Some projects within our foresight include partnerships with solar development companies, community gardens, volunteer monitoring of AMD, training volunteers on how to assess culverts for aquatic organism and fish passage, and conducting environmental education programs among local youth in underserved school districts.

“I’m looking forward to expanding EPCAMR’s partnerships even further into the communities that they serve as well as partnering with other regional non-profit and community organizations to build capacity within their neighborhoods and along their stream corridors to improve the quality of life that they are faced with living in the shadows of abandoned mine land features and polluted waterways. There is hope that will come with hard work and hands-on community efforts that I’ve already participated in during the 8-week internship that I believe will lead to the restoration of many of the local waterways, the reclamation of many of the abandoned mine lands, potential for job creation in alternative energy, and continued education of our area youth using new and innovative virtual opportunities such as drone technology and interactive videos and 360 film photography educational activities.” Kyle said with great enthusiasm and excitement.

EPCAMR’s solar project partnership will be looking to site areas for the potential development of renewable and clean energy to an area stricken by the past coal industry on formerly reclaimed abandoned mine lands.

Solar panel installation on an abandoned mine land.

Education is perhaps the most powerful tool that you can use to develop sustainability and we will continue to provide educational content for local schools whether it is through video, in-person presentations, or through our online resources like Trout in the Classroom (TIC).

EPCAMR proudly sponsors and gives away Growboxxes and works with community volunteers to help create gardens. “We believe that community gardens are an integral part of empowerment and poverty alleviation. Being able to grow healthy and affordable food not only fosters an appreciation for the environment and agricultural systems but offers a reliable source of nutrition. Coaltown patches were called patchtowns because of the self-reliance they had to feed their families right from their backyards where the food was fresh and easily accessible and free.” Bobby Hughes, proudly stated.

Hot pepper grown in a local community garden project supported by EPCAMR and Our Community Garden, where several Growboxxes were utilized and planted.

Grant funding to support the position was made possible through the Foundation for PA Watersheds (FPW), and is intended to enhance EPCAMR’s organizational capacity. 

We will be working in the Susquehanna River Basin and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River within the EPCAMR Region to address problems that have been identified in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed’s Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan for PA.

The post EPCAMR Brings on another Americorps VISTA Volunteer Kyle Argenziano for a Year of Community Service appeared first on epcamr.org.

Rachael Grube will work with EPCAMR on our GIS mapping and 3-D mine pool modeling projects. She will also develop training workshops for AmeriCorps/OSMRE and assist in monitoring water elevation of mine pools, sampling water quality of mine pools, and monitoring flow and chemistry of regional abandoned mine discharges.

Rachael, in Iceland for her senior research thesis

The GIS work Rachael will help with is mine pool mapping in the Rausch Creel watershed and at the Mocanaqua AMD Tunnel within the Susquehanna River watershed, in partnership with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and others.

Originally from a farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Rachael is a 2016 graduate of Gettysburg College with a degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Studio Art. Rachael’s studies focused heavily on Earth Systems Science and GIS, giving her a solid background in the mapping and AMD work EPCAMR does. Her field experience ranges from surveying the geology of abandoned strip mines in Central Pennsylvania to collecting elevations, coordinates, and sediment samples with her professor in Northern Iceland as part of her senior research thesis. Rachael spent the summer interning for the Lackawanna County Conservation District. In her free time, she enjoys painting, running, hiking, traveling, and playing with her cat, Ralph. “I am incredibly excited to put the skills I have learned in the classroom to use in a way that can actively help to improve my community,” Rachael stated.

Abigail Keefe, born and raised in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, has always had a love for being creative and a passion for environmental issues ever since she could remember, so you can imagine her excitement when learning about the Outreach & Education position with EPCAMR and Americorps/OSMRE. “Combining a position with communication and environmental outreach opportunities? What could be better? I’m very excited and can’t wait to help create programs and educate the community on how much of an impact elements from our historical past has on today’s local environment and society,” Abbie enthusiastically stated.  

Abigail on a hiking adventure with her boyfriend, Nick

Abbie received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from a small social justice institution in suburban Philadelphia, Cabrini College. She dedicated her time to serving as the Managing and News Editor of the student-run newspaper, the Loquitur. She also lobbied at the nation’s capital for poverty-focused international assistance, with an emphasis on natural disasters. After graduating in May of 2016, she traveled to Arbolito, Ecuador for a service trip, where she aided in after-school programs and community activities. There, she learned first-hand about the hardships the impoverished community faced, such as the lack of clean water. Abbie’s love for animals is perpetual, as she spends most of her free time hanging out with her furry white feline, rescued pit bull, leopard gecko, among others. When she’s not home with he pets, you can assume she is hiking, kayaking, painting, eating pizza, or taking pictures.

Abbie will assist EPCAMR with our social media presence, telling stories about and taking pictures of the lands we’ve reclaimed and restored in our mining-impacted region. She will also be reviewing our marketing, branding, and recently updated Strategic Plan to see how she can build on EPCAMR’s mission and to let our mining-impacted communities know we are here to assist them. Finally, she will help organize education, outreach, and community events around AMD and watershed restoration for our partners and community volunteers. Hopefully, we can build on our RECLAIM Crew volunteer program that encourages volunteers to not only come to our community cleanup events, but also allow them to ultimately spearhead their own environmental volunteer projects.

Welcome aboard, Rachael and Abbie!

The post EPCAMR Hosts Two AmeriCorps/OSMRE Positions to Help Build Capacity in Coalfield Communities appeared first on epcamr.org.

An underground mine map of the Holmes vein in the Silver Creek Colliery of Blythe Township, PA 

Project Title for Position 1: GIS & Mine Pool Mapping Project Coordinator

GIS & Mine Pool Mapping Support for the Pennsylvania Northern Anthracite Coalfield Communities

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

EPCAMR believes the support provided by the OSMRE/AmeriCorps member will impact our regional coalfield communities in a variety of positive ways. The member will use ArcGIS and 3D Mine Pool Modeling software to create and coordinate regional training sessions and workshops. 60% of their time will be focused on GIS mapping, 3D mine pool modeling, and the development of training workshops for OSMRE/AmeriCorps through the agreement EPCAMR has with the OSMRE TIPS Program. The member will also assist in monitoring mine pool water elevations and water quality, as well as take flow and chemistry at abandoned mine drainage (AMD) discharges. The other 40% of their time will be spent on GeoMap and other OSMRE responsibilities.

The support of this project will greatly improve NE PA’s understanding of the complex and vast underground mine workings and mine pools that lie beneath the majority of the coalfields. Data collected and maps produced will allow EPCAMR to seek funds that can infuse grant funds and leverage dollars to support other remediation, reclamation, and economic redevelopment projects. The project will provide training to OSMRE/AmeriCorps nationally working in abandoned mine impacted communities by EPCAMR Staff, who are nationally recognized by OSM for our work in 3D Mine Pool Modeling and Mapping. Dozens of new non-traditional partnerships with private sector interests looking to treat AMD will be created to improve the quality of life in coal impacted communities and create jobs. Recommendations of proposed projects will be pursued for implementation based on newly created mine pool boundaries, volumes of water potentially being stored in the underground workings, and the potential for the use of the underground storage for consumptive use or low flow augmentation projects.

The position will develop and coordinate regional training programs for on AMD water quality monitoring, the use of GIS in watershed assessments of AMD impacted watersheds, and the use of 3D Software (ArcGIS, EarthVision and GlobalMapper) for the creation and development of mapping underground mine pools, which EPCAMR is a national leader in doing, in partnership with the OSMRE TIPS Program already. It is expected that the AmeriCorps Member will spend 40% of his or her work on these types of trainings. The remaining 60% will be used to  support EPCAMR’s needs to provide direct service and continuous support to a large number of coalfield community groups that are volunteer-based and in constant need of technical assistance, fundraising, education, outreach, and capacity building. The project will allow EPCAMR to catalog historic mine map collections from the State and private collections that will be eventually scanned, digitized, and geo-referenced to be used in EPCAMR’s mine pool modeling efforts. The positions will allow them to address public health and safety concerns that surround abandoned mine lands and AMD impacted areas through the development of GIS and Mine Mapping Education programs, the flow and chemistry monitoring of AMD discharges and treatment locations, and increasing the awareness of problems and solutions associated with abandoned mine lands. The project will allow the positions to research GIS grants and foundations options to support EPCAMR activities such as service learning projects, field tours, and to participate in the coordination of our 19th year State-wide Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference.

Huber Breaker Historic Preservation Tour provided by EPCAMR’s Executive Director.

Project Title for Position 2:

Education & Outreach Capacity Building Support for the Northern Anthracite PA Coalfield Communities

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The support provided by the OSMRE/AmeriCorps member will impact our regional Northern Anthracite PA Coalfields Communities in a variety of positive ways. The member will create, conduct, and provide, outdoor environmental educational programs and experiences to students in underserved schools and coalfield communities on AMD and abandoned mine land reclamation. Community outreach efforts will be promoted into the most heavily distressed communities impacted by abandoned mines, where existing partnerships will become strengthened through an increase in awareness of EPCAMR’s work and other reclamation partners within the region. 60% of the time spent on direct service in building capacity with the EPCAMR Staff will be conducted to create viable reclamation, remediation, and environmental education, environmental action, and outreach programs, provide historic preservation support, and give technical services and assistance to our constituents. EPCAMR’s volunteer management and recruit to support the regional projects, programs, and events will be strengthened. 40% of the time will be spent on GeoMap and other OSMRE workload responsibilities.

The support of this project will reclaim acres of abandoned mine lands. It will infuse grant funds and leverage dollars to support local projects. Miles of riparian corridors will be stabilized and planted during restoration projects. Thousands of underserved students will be educated on abandoned mine land environmental issues and water pollution problems within the Northern Anthracite Coalfields. Hundreds of trees will be planted. The project will provide training to OSMRE/AmeriCorps nationally working in abandoned mine impacted communities. Dozens of new non-traditional community partnerships will be created to improve the quality of life in coal impacted communities. Recommendations of proposed projects will be pursued for implementation based on watershed assessments and watershed restoration plans completed by EPCAMR and the member.

The project will result in supporting EPCAMR’s needs to provide direct service and continuous support to a large number of volunteer-based, coalfield community groups in constant need of technical assistance, education, outreach, and capacity building. The project will address public health and safety concerns that surround abandoned mine lands and polluted waterways impacted by AMD. The project will enhance our recruitment, enlistment, training, coordination, and communications with our volunteer base more regularly.  The project will allow EPCAMR to build on our Volunteer Management Program called RECLAIM Crew that encourages our regional volunteers of all ages to be engaged in EPCAMR programs, field activities, cleanups, restoration and preservation projects, tree plantings, and advocate for our work. The position will allow them to address public health and safety concerns that surround abandoned mine lands and AMD impacted areas through the development of education programs, the monitoring of AMD discharges and treatment locations, and increasing the awareness of problems and solutions associated with abandoned mine lands. The project will allow the positions to research grants and foundations, options to support EPCAMR activities such as service learning projects, community environmental fairs, art project with AMD, field tours, nature photography tours, hikes, river festivals, and to participate in the coordination of our 18 year State-wide Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference. 40% of the time will be spent on GeoMap and other OSMRE workload responsibilities.

OSMRE.AMERICORPS Member Program One-Pager final

OSMRE AmeriCorps Site ApplicationEPCAMR

OSMRE AmeriCorps Member Compensation Summary

The post EPCAMR Seeking to Sponsor 2 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement AmeriCorps Positions appeared first on epcamr.org.