Aug. 7, 2024 | Charlottesville, VA - On the last Monday in July, in the fields behind the Fifth Street Starbucks, a crew of sweaty high school kids is taking a mid-morning break, swigging energy water and snarfing down bags of chips (after working outside all morning, they need the salt). Their blue T-shirts say “Trailblazers.” And that’s what they are—pioneers in a pilot program to get local youth acquainted with the outdoors and maybe introduce them to careers in conservation. An added bonus: These kids are earning a paycheck while providing much-needed maintenance on the popular Rivanna Trail encircling Charlottesville.

May 13, 2024 - Imagine this: It’s 6:00 am and the sun has barely risen. The frosted tips on the blades of grass have turned into drops of morning dew. The symphony of birds increases with each day. Spring is on its way and the Appalachian Conservation Corps. is approaching the end of its Winter trail maintenance season.

ACC and The Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP) celebrated the news last week a the Executive Mansion in Virginia.

March 8th, 2022 | HARRISONBURG, VA – Press Release: Kalen Anderson, former Appalachian Conservation Corps’ (ACC) Werowocomoco project intern, will be recognized by The Corps Network, the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, as a 2022 Corpsmember of the Year.

November 10th, 2022 | This transition from one kind of natural asset to another makes the community grow stronger and healthier by creating trails. The project is engaging the next generation of the region and energizing the previous generation. The Baileys Trail System's future is massive for riders, hikers, and runners of all abilities, with over 80 miles of trail in the plans. All thanks to this beautiful landscape full of welcoming people working to redefine its identity.

May 13th, 2021 | [Podcast]: Listen to Zach Foster, Director of the of the Appalachian Conservation Corps talk about the role of reforesting Eastern Kentucky.

April 25th, 2021 | The Appalachian Conservation Corps has a new summer program and is looking for youth in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County aged 16-18 to get involved. The program is called the “Rockingham Outdoor Conservation Crew” or “ROC Crew” and will be based in Harrisonburg. Crews will work on conservation projects in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.

April 16th, 2021 | Rappahannock County Park has been visited recently by the Appalachian Conservation Corps (ACC), an AmeriCorps program of Conservation Legacy. The Piedmont Environmental Council, PEC’s Krebser Fund for Rappahannock County and Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) have partnered with the ACC to bring a crew of 6 young adults to the Piedmont region for tree plantings and trail maintenance projects.

April 16th, 2021 | The crew was hired for reforestation thanks to funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and landowner participation in the Virginia Agricultural Cost-Share Program (VACS), and was able to take on the 1.5 days of trail work at Rappahannock County park thanks to funding from the PEC Krebser Fund. The new section is 235 feet of a foot trail that switchbacks on a steep bank, and reconnects to existing trails in the Park. The ACC crew installed masonry and log stairs to stabilize the trail, as well as cleared invasive plant species and brush from the trail’s path.

March 26, 2021 | Even as the details for implementing President Joe Biden’s executive order establishing a Civilian Climate Corps are still being hammered out, crews from the Appalachian Conservation Corps (ACC) are out planting trees in the Rappahannock watershed. Zach Foster, founder and director of the Harrisonburg-based ACC, said the group’s work exemplifies what the newly created national effort is trying to achieve. “They’re out there planting bare root tree seedlings primarily with private landowners who agreed to conservation easements. The whole initiative is basically improving the watershed of the Rappahannock River and making it a more resilient ecosystem,” Foster said.