Maryland Conservation Corps Celebrates National Americorps Week
Conservation projects focus on Patapsco Valley State Park

---

WHAT: Members of the Maryland Conservation Corps (MCC), an AmeriCorps Program managed by the Maryland Park Service (MPS), will convene to celebrate National AmeriCorps Week (May 13-20) by performing conservation projects on the Soapstone Branch stream valley, a tributary of the Patapsco River in Patapsco Valley State Park.

Projects along the one-mile corridor will include: trail maintenance and condition assessment, stream corridor and biological assessment, forest buffer planting and invasive species control.

WHEN: MONDAY, MAY 14, 9 A.M. TO 3:30 P.M.

WHO: Attendees to include:

John R. Griffin, Secretary, Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Kristin McSwain, Executive Director of AmeriCorps, will represent the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS)

Marty O’Brien, The Corps Network (National Association of Conservation Corps)

Rusty Ruszin, Acting Superintendent, Maryland Park Service

Keith Hart, Governor’s Office on Service & Volunteerism

35 MCC members and program staff; 20 CNCS staff

WHERE: Patapsco Valley State Park, Avalon & Glen Artney Areas
Projects will be set up along Soapstone Branch in the Artney Area;
luncheon and speakers will begin at noon in the Patapsco Avalon Area Picnic pavilion followed by a 1-hour tour of the project sites.

WHY: Maryland Conservation Corps (MCC), is an AmeriCorps Program managed by the Maryland Park Service, providing young adults with training and opportunities to perform a year of conservation-related service throughout Maryland.


DIRECTIONS:
From Baltimore: Take Route I-95 south (approximately 3 miles south of the Baltimore Beltway). Take Exit 47 onto I-195 East toward BWI airport. Take Exit 3 to Rt. 1, Elkridge. Turn right onto Rt. 1 South. Take next right on South Street. Take the immediate left into the park entrance. Follow the entrance road into the park until it ends at a “T” intersection. To join projects at 9 a.m. in the Glen Artney Area, turn right. To join the picnic luncheon in the Avalon Area at 12 p.m., turn left.

From D.C.: Take I-95 North toward Baltimore. Take exit for I-195 East toward BWI Airport. Take Exit 3 to Rt. 1, Elkridge. Turn right onto Rt. 1 South. Take next right on South Street. Take the immediate left into the park entrance. Follow the entrance road into the park until it ends at a “T” intersection. To join projects at 9 a.m. in the Glen Artney Area, turn right. To join the picnic luncheon in the Avalon Area at 12 p.m., turn left.
 

---

May 10, 2007

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 446,000 acres of public lands and 18,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov