The Maine Conservation Corps (MCC) recently welcomed Jessica Richards to serve as an environmental steward and AmeriCorps volunteer for a 45-week, 1700-hour term of national service. Jessica is the daughter of Karen Small and Timothy Richards, and is from Alna. She graduated from Orono High School in 2011, and received a bachelor’s degree of science in environmental sustainability, health and safety from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

Jessica Richards will be completing a year of service with the Midcoast Conservancy in Wiscasset. The environmental stewards serve individually with nonprofits, state or federal agencies to increase organizational volunteer capacity and aid in the development and implementation of host sites land management plans.

Governor Paul R. LePage welcomed Richards’s decision to enter into national service in Maine. "On behalf of the State of Maine, I would like to congratulate you on your commitment to serving Maine as a member of the Maine Conservation Corps," said Governor LePage. "The Maine Conservation Corps has done tremendous work making positive changes to our great State and Nation."

Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) Commissioner Walt Whitcomb also welcomed Richards, and highlighted the important work that the MCC does on behalf of Maine citizens. "As part of the DACF, the MCC's four-fold mission is to: accomplish conservation projects, create conservation employment, provide conservation education, and engage conservation volunteers," said Whitcomb. "Since 1983, MCC-supported projects have helped build the infrastructure that so many Maine citizens enjoy in our parks and public places."

More information about the Maine Conservation Corps and AmeriCorps opportunities can be found at the www.maine.gov/doc/parks/mcc website.