Midcoast Conservancy has welcomed Isobel Curtis and Scott Eisele as its 2021 Maine Conservation Corps (MCC) Environmental Stewards focused on lands and community programs in its service area. MCC stewards volunteer for a 45-week, 1700-hour term of national service. They 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.

Eisele earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a minor in business from Gonzaga University. He joins Midcoast Conservancy from Idaho and brings six years of conservation experience, including three years with the US Forest Service. Reflecting on his vocational path, he says, “My freshman year of college I took interest in topics such as waste, energy, and climate change. I decided to change my major to environmental studies and set out to ‘save the world’ from society’s unsustainable habits. I quickly learned that, while a noble cause, saving the Earth from climate change was not the job of any single person; it would be a collective effort. After finishing my degree I found work with the Forest Service doing trail maintenance. I quickly discovered the type of work was in alignment with my values. It was physically hard, it provided an observable service to the community, and it benefited nature. I’ve dedicated the past six years to maintaining trails so people can get outside and connect with their natural spaces.”

During his term, Eisele will focus on community programming. He says, “Stewardship is taking care of the land that we use. It is important not only for the health of resources, but also for people to connect with the land in a nurturing way. This connection provides meaning and purpose to those who recognize the significant role nature plays in our lives.”

Isobel Curtis joins Midcoast Conservancy as the 2021 Maine Conservation Corps Lands Environment Steward. She will help to coordinate volunteer trail crews, conduct property monitoring and mapping, and address general trail maintenance needs. Her goal is to connect communities with their local ecology by supporting public access and ecosystem health on conserved lands. She says, “I am most interested in how individually and culturally held worldviews and value systems shape the way humans relate to their surroundings, and have explored this question through work in conservation, sustainable agriculture, and outdoor education.” Curtis earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental studies from Bates College.

About the work she will be doing this year, she says, “I am serving as a Maine Conservation Corps member to pay homage to the place that has been my home for the last seven years. The resilience of Maine's communities, both human and ecological, has continued to astound me and support me physically, mentally, and emotionally. While the legacy of conservation in the U.S. conjures images of our iconic National Parks, I feel the AmeriCorps model of service is well suited to the particular breed of conservation that defines the East Coast landscape. Conservation efforts typically focus on small parcels of private property when compared to the vast public lands characteristic of the West. The origin of conservation efforts on the East Coast is deeply rooted in a commitment to service. It is local, grassroots, and community building in nature. It was built by, and is now dependent on, the passion of volunteers dedicated to giving back. I am honored to now serve with AmeriCorps as a MCC Environmental Steward, continuing the legacy of conservation in the East that blends so fluidly with the mission of AmeriCorps.”

Isobel can be reached at landmcc@midcoastconservancy.org

Contact Scott at communitymcc@midcoastconservancy.org

To learn more about Midcoast Conservancy, go to www.midcoastconservancy.org