Access to Service Inclusive Crew

The Disability Inclusion Toolkit can now be viewed as an HTML document.  Visit share.cpdusu.org/ucctoolkit/ to view it.  You can also download the document in PDF form by visiting UCC Toolkit2.pdf

Program Description

Including people with physical disabilities in service is a high priority for the Utah Conservation Corps (UCC).  Since 2007, the UCC has developed service projects that are more physically accessible than traditional projects.  Physical disabilities among UCC members have included quadriplegia, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, blindness, multiple sclerosis (MS), deafness and cerebral palsy.

 How do conservation corps include people with disabilities?

Traditional conservation corps projects are often located in physically inaccessible areas and require corps members to be in excellent physical condition.  In contrast, the UCC has intentionally designed and developed projects to include crew members with physical disabilities.  Crew members with disabilities are actively involved in all phases of the project, adding a valuable perspective. The UCC inclusion project is part of a larger Corps movement to take pro-active steps to include Corpsmembers of all abilities.  The UCC has worked in partnership with The Corps Network to develop a successful model and toolkit that will provide corps throughout the country with the resources and tools necessary to develop similar inclusive programs.

Physically accessible UCC service projects include:  
1.) Accessibility condition surveys and transition plan development for the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, and 2.) Development of the Cache Valley Community Garden with accessible garden tools, raised beds and hardened pathways.  
 
Accessibility condition surveys are a critical first step in the development of transition plans. During the survey, each portion of a structure is compared to accessibility standards or guidelines, and compliance and deficiencies are recorded.  Every Forest Service unit in the nation is required by law to have transition plans in place; however, many do not.  The UCC inclusive crew has demonstrated itself to be an effective partner in addressing this federal mandate and making developed areas on federal lands accessible to users of all abilities.  

In 2009, the UCC inclusive crew assisted the U.S. Forest Service in the development of a new national accessibility information database that will provide the public with information on accessible campsites, facilities and services.  The accessibility information gathered and entered into the database by inclusive crews automatically feeds Forest Service District web portals that are accessed by the public.  Conservation Corps throughout the country can now enter accessibility information into this new data base in a consistent manner, making the inclusive crew program model easily replicable by other corps.  

Inclusive crews not only survey what is out there, they are also a part of the solution.  All UCC crew leaders are trained in trail maintenance and construction and can remove some barriers while the crew is on site.  For example, sections of trail can be widened, rocks can be removed and vegetation can be pruned.  

The second project that the inclusive crew is working on is the design and construction of an accessible community garden. Community gardens are places where community members of all backgrounds, interests and abilities can come together and grow food as a community. However, if the garden is inaccessible, community members with disabilities are excluded. In an effort to make the Cache Valley Community Garden a truly welcoming place for all, crew members have designed and constructed wheelchair accessible raised beds and planter boxes, accessible gardening tools and hardened pathways throughout the garden. Accessibility features enable folks with disabilities to participate in community gardening alongside their non-disabled counterparts.

Learn more about an accessible community garden in this video:

How can other conservation corps programs become inclusive?

The inclusion project is hopefully the start of a new movement within the Conservation Corps world. In 2008, two additional Conservation Corps in Minnesota and Wisconsin received funding through the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) to develop and expand upon existing inclusive programs. In 2009, the lessons learned from these three programs were used to develop a toolkit that will enable Corps throughout the country to develop inclusive programs. This toolkit can currently be downloaded here in PDF form and will soon be available through The Corps Network and US Forest Service websites. This toolkit can currently be downloaded here in PDF form or viewed at http://share.cpdusu.org/ucctoolkit/.  It will also soon be available through The Corps Network and US Forest Service websites.

How to apply

The UCC will be hiring 4-8 AmeriCorps members to serve on the inclusive crew in 2011.  Accommodations and adaptive equipment will be made available to crew members with known disabilities so that they can fully participate.

The inclusive crew will start and end with traditional UCC summer crews and receive the same benefits.

Interested crew members should submit their application online by visiting www.usu.edu/ucc/index.cfm?join&ucc-online-application.  Applications due by May 2, 2011. Reasonable accommodations and alternative formats can be made available for applications and interviews.

Please contact Kate at (435)797-0964 ext 2 or kate.stephens@usu.edu for information.