![[Image Description: Two MCC members are walking away on a rocky trail, carrying their packs, surrounded by burnt orange bushes. Through the haze in the background, there are a multitude of mountains, overlapping one another.]](https://cdn.firespring.com/images/7ba12407-5e3a-41c1-b4b4-f00aac9d37a1.jpg)
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There's a lot that happens here at Montana Conversation Corps! With four programs supporting hundreds of members throughout the Rocky Mountain ecosystem, staying in touch can be tough. Subscribe to receive stories from the field in our e-newsletter Pathways, organizational updates, events, and the latest ways to support our mission. It's a great way to stay engaged and give back to MCC!
We also publish special print editions of our newsletter for our donors. Check out those as a virtual flipbook below:
Read E-Pathways Articles:
As I enter into the last month of MCC’s 2024 Leadership Development Program (LDP), I can’t help but reflect on all the knowledge, relationships, and tools I have gained from the three-month-long program... Throughout [my three] terms of service, the LDP has been a time to reflect on my own personal and professional growth. But more importantly, it’s been a time to reflect on the new version of me I’ve discovered in the past year, and set goals for who I want to become.
Read about how we re-worked our program framework, and our NEW Compass Workbook!
Meet Garrick Harmel, a 2001-2002 MCC alum and new Board member. Garrick is excited to continue serving the organization that gave him so much. He is passionate about creating affordable housing and works as the Housing Specialist for Missoula County. Read on for more about his MCC experience.
While working in a pharmaceutical laboratory, Sean Simpson found herself longing for a more fulfilling and hands-on experience related to environmental stewardship. Fast forward a few months and Sean is now an AmeriCorps member serving through MCC’s Big Sky Watershed Corps program - a program that places members with a host site for 11 months.
Christina is a three-time MCC Youth Expedition alum and winner of the 2023 ServeMontana Youth Award. She’s just about to enter her senior year of high school in Missoula. We caught up with her to learn more about winning this award, her experience with MCC, and what’s next.
The adaptability I’ve learned has given me patience, caring for the crew has given me confidence, and doing work that I believe in and making a difference has given me purpose.
"When we get leaders out there every year, we actually see the impacts and success. Especially with weed removal and herbicides, you don’t often get to see the results in a single season. It really gets people engaged and inspired.”
As the sun rises over the majestic peaks of Yellowstone National Park, casting a golden glow on the towering trees and vibrant meadows, a sense of awe and wonder fills the air. It’s here, amidst this breathtaking scenery, that our crew embarks on a journey like no other.
We sat down with our Vice President of Programs, Stacey Williams, to chat about MCC’s new Temporary Relief Fund, which was developed as a way to distribute limited financial assistance to our corps members who are experiencing unexpected financial hardship that impacts their ability to serve with us.
Take a walk down MCC’s memory lane, and learn some exciting news for the future!
“I don’t give myself the option to quit what I started. I’m going to get through it. It may be a bad day, but it's not a bad life. I want to be the best me.”
"One of my crew members carried a 35mm film camera with them all summer. They’re some of my favorite photos from the season... Those photos, to me, hold our little family living in memory in our cabin on the creek under the cedars. That’s part of why these memories are so special. We were free to be our true selves in a non-male space."
"Since my previous term as a crew leader ended, I find myself most frequently reflecting upon the themes and lessons of communication and team facilitation learned during Summit. And now, a little over two months into my current term as a Senior Crew Leader, it has been the most impactful week of the 2023 Leadership Development Program thus far."
Read about Paul's journey from serving with MCC, to Tanzania, to now at Visa!
Standing in hip-high waders, Francie balances precariously on the soft, muddy bottom of Holland Lake. Skimming the underside of the large floating leaf in front of her with her fingertips, she searches for the stem. There! She follows it lower and lower into the cold lake water, all the way down to the goo at her feet. Carefully, she worms her fingers deep into the mud and digs out the root. Sweet success! She triumphantly whips the freed plant above her head and into an awaiting black trash bag. Today, she is entirely focused on one thing: seeking out and destroying invasive water lilies.
This summer, Farah (15) joined MCC for the third time in two years, and Alcyone (16), spent nearly half her summer with MCC. Through our partnership with the Glacier National Park Conservancy and the park, MCC offers 2 and 4-week Glacier Youth Corps service expeditions for local teens. Let’s hear what they have to say about their summer spent volunteering in Glacier National Park.
The beginning of the season can be tough for everyone. After all the training is over, we delve right into the work. Whether we measure up to the task is up to us.
Looking around this pine forest, you can almost hear the echo of MCC members of the past. The sounds of a pick mattock ringing when it hits a rock, the thumping of countless boots over packed earth, or the shouted warning as someone hefts a rock downhill. You can feel the presence of generations of MCC’ers that have been working on this trail, the Wallman Trail, for over 15 years. This trail is an important connector between two highly used corridors in the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area (RNRA), and this reroute is an effort to make it safer, disperse use, and offer a better user experience. This summer we inch towards finally finishing it for good and opening it to the public.
With MCC, it was love. Not love for someone, or even for a place though I did love where I was. But love for a way of being alive, a way of being a leader.
After years of guiding summer expeditions during college, serving as an MCC Youth Expedition leader provided me with challenges and successes that I had never experienced elsewhere. Instead of simply recreating in these beautiful spaces, we were learning about their history, contributing to their maintenance, and growing as individuals.
My first term as a Big Sky Watershed Corps Member was surprising, to say the least... I was expecting to do some research, play in some creeks, and learn a bit more about what a career in conservation could look like. Instead, I spent my year immersed in the complex world of western water law while learning my way around a new community... It was not an easy year.
Robert was looking for an outdoor career with purpose. So, last year he took a leap of faith that landed him in our Northern Rockies region serving as a crew member. He enjoyed his term so much that he is returning this season to serve as a crew leader! Read on as we dive into what Robert learned last year, and what he is excited to accomplish as a crew leader.
A Billings native, Molly served with MCC back in 2010 with the Northern Rockies region. Now, Molly works at Bandwidth Inc. as a Senior Business Analyst where she bridges the gap between the IT and customer support teams. She is also a certified yoga instructor and enjoys volunteering in her community. Read on for more about her time with MCC and to see how her experiences shaped her life and career path.
“We got into the program, and it changed everything for us.”
Sitting on the banks of North Burnt Fork Creek in the Bitterroot Valley, this is how Heather Barber describes the Bitter Root Water Forum’s experience with the Big Sky Watershed Corps: a game-changer.
In this blog, Natalie shares how picking wild huckleberries raised their crew's spirits in an otherwise challenging hitch.
