Access to Service Inclusive Crew

Program Description

The Utah Conservation Corps (UCC) is starting its third year of the "Access to Service" inclusive crew program. Fifty percent of the crew will self-identify as having a physical disability. Disabilities among corpsmembers have included quadriplegia, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, blindness, and cerebral palsy.

Traditionally, the nature of UCC projects has required members to be in excellent physical condition, excluding potential corpsmembers with disabilities. Through the Access to Service program, projects have been developed to include crew members with disabilities in a significant and meaningful way. "We do not want to have members with disabilities sitting on the sidelines while those without disabilities complete project tasks," says UCC Assistant Director, Kate Stephens. Crew members with disabilities are actively involved in all phases of the project, adding a valuable perspective.

The UCC's Access to Service inclusive crew has focused its energy on two main project areas: accessibility surveys and transition plans for the Wasatch-Cache National Forest and the development of an accessible community demonstration garden. In 2009, the Access to Service crew will also be working in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and the accessible community garden will be ready for the community to utilize.

What is a transition plan?

The Access to Service crew has partnered with the Forest Service to develop transition plans for trails, campgrounds and public facilities. Since the 1968 passage of the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), facilities designed, built, bought, rented, altered, or leased by, for, or on behalf of a federal agency are required to be accessible. Every Forest Service unit in the nation is required by law to have transition plans in place; however, many do not.

In 2008, the UCC Access to Service crew developed transition plans for campgrounds and trails on the Ogden Ranger District and worked to implement many of the suggested changes on the Logan District. In addition, the crew will survey some areas within Yellowstone National Park.

The Access to Service inclusive crew has demonstrated itself to be an effective partnership in addressing this federal mandate and making developed areas on federal lands accessible to users of all abilities.

Read more about the transition plan

What is an accessible community garden?

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 disailities 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 along with accessible pathways throughout the garden. Accessibility features enable folks with disabilities to participate in community gardening alongside their non-disabled counterparts.

How can other conservation corps programs become inclusive?

The Access to Service inclusive crew 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 similar inclusive programs. In 2009, the lessons learned from these three programs will be applied to a toolkit that will enable corps throughout the country to develop inclusive programs within their corps. This toolkit will be available online through The Corps Network website.

How to apply

The UCC will be hiring eight AmeriCorps members to serve on the inclusive crew in 2009. 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.

Submit application, resume, and letter of recommendation by May 11, 2009. 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.