Utah Conservation Corps Returns From Response to Hurricane Ian

The Utah Conservation Corps (UCC) responded to Hurricane Ian, which impacted Florida’s Southwest coastal communities, specifically the Ft. Myers area, in September 2022.

The Disaster Services Unit of AmeriCorps requested UCC to deploy from Jan. 14 through Feb. 10. This was a unique leadership and professional and personal development opportunity for the 14 UCC AmeriCorps members and four staff serving on the third disaster deployment wave.

This team was a part of an effort that included staff and AmeriCorps members from Texas Conservation Corps, Conservation Corps New Mexico, AmeriCorps St. Louis, National Civilian Community Corps, Montana Conservation Corps, American Conservation Experience, and Washington Conservation Corps. AmeriCorps members and staff built on the skills they learned with UCC by performing house assessments, flood remediation and hazard tree removal. While serving the survivors, members also experienced local cultural activities and environmental education.

"My first ADRT deployment was 14 years ago,” said Amber O'Quinn, UCC Deployment Coordinator.

“It changed the trajectory of my career and made me a better person and professional. It's inspiring to see our members building confidence through serving survivors in the field and stepping up for AmeriCorps Command leadership roles. These experiences are life-changing development opportunities."

As a member of the AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team, UCC members learn to provide support for shelter operations, call centers, volunteer and donation management, muck and gut operations, blue-roof tarping and debris cleanup, among other services. Over the past four years, the UCC has responded to disasters in Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

"I left my old job in engineering at a large firm because I felt like I was doing nothing for nobody. I like doing this type of work because I feel like I'm doing something for somebody," said Alex Moore, UCC AmeriCorps Disaster Response member.

More information about disaster response AmeriCorps positions can be found at https://www.usu.edu/ucc/about/adrt.

The UCC, based out of USU’s Center for Community Engagement, was formed in 2001 with a mission to develop the conservation leaders of tomorrow. Since 2001, 2,499 UCC AmeriCorps members have served over 1.7 million hours creating or maintaining 4,091 miles of trail and 505 miles of fence, restoring 62,709 acres of public land, and reaching 455,331 students with environmental education.