FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2016
Contact: Emma Hamilton
Phone: (413)717-2857
Email: Emmajham@gmail.com

AmeriCorps NCCC Team Serves with Mojave Desert Land Trust

JOSHUA TREE, Calif. – An AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team is serving with members of the Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) from Jan. 12 to March 15 in an effort to engage local communities in conserving and restoring the environment. The team, known as Gold Two, is made up of 13 members ranging between the ages of 18 to 24.

MDLT was formed in 2005 by a small group of citizens who wished to address the growing concern surrounding the development that threatens the delicate ecosystem encompassing the native plants and animals of the Mojave Desert. Together a team of citizens, scientists, conservation experts, and public agencies came up with a clear plan that follows their mission statement to protect the Mojave Desert ecosystem and its scenic and cultural resource values.

The team will aid MDLT in restoring land by clearing the area of debris and monitoring MDLT properties for new and existing impacts. Gold Two will also apply vertical and horizontal mulching techniques in disturbed areas. The technique, developed locally in Joshua Tree, consists of installing native plant material such as dead creosote branches, fallen Joshua Trees and stumps to disguise old roads and help establish micro-ecosystems. The technique allows for natural decomposition to occur over time, essentially allowing the land to heal itself.

Gold Two will also be assisting with the construction and set-up of a native plant nursery at the MDLT headquarters. Plants will be grown from native seed collected on MDLT properties for restoration projects on the land. Propagating the seeds in the same climate zone where they were collected insures the plants are hardy, genetically similar and native to the existing ecosystem. The nursery will ultimately become a resource for the surrounding region by providing locally grown Mojave Desert native plants.

“People often think of the desert as a dead and barren expanse of land when, in fact, it is a subtle, sustainable, beautiful and biologically diverse place that teaches us how to live in the extreme, which is very relevant considering the current state of drought in California and the broader-reaching climate challenge issues that are being addressed worldwide,” says MDLT Executive Director Danielle Segura.

The NCCC team joins MDLT staff and volunteers and the local community in promoting a lasting relationship with each other and the land, and creating a positive impact that will continue long after the team has left.

For more information on the Mojave Desert Land Trust and AmeriCorps NCCC, and how to get involved, Gold Two will be tabling at the Joshua Tree Farmers Market most Saturdays until the middle of March.

The AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and its FEMA Corps units engage 2,800 young Americans in a full-time, 10-month commitment to service each year. AmeriCorps NCCC members address critical needs related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, and urban and rural development; FEMA Corps members are solely dedicated to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery work. The programs are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). CNCS is the federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Pacific Region
3427 Laurel Street, McClellan, CA 95652    
Phone:  (916) 640-0306   
Fax:  (916) 640-0318

Mojave Desert Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the Mojave Desert ecosystem and its scenic and cultural resource values through acquisition, land stewardship and strategic partnerships. Since 2006 MDLT has protected over 56,000 acres of desert land.
P.O. Box 1544 , 60124 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree ,CA 92252    ~    Phone: 760-366-5440  www.mojavedesertlandtrust.org