Guardians of the West Fork Watershed Capacity Building – VISTA Summer Associate -AmeriCorps

 

 

Position Title:  Capacity Building Summer Associate – VISTA Summer Associate

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placement

 

Site Location:

Guardians of the West Fork Watershed

3450 Buckhannon Pike Mount Clare WV 26408-7274

 

Terms of Service:


* Start Date: 6/15/2026


* End Date: 8/23/2026


* AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 300 hours (Minimum-Time)

 

Purpose:


* While many West Virginia communities are working on tourism as a foundation for economic development, West Virginia has been widely identified as a good destination for retirement, and an increasing number of retirees are moving to West Virginia.

Retiree expenditures have a multiplier effect of about 2.8, and do not require developing new jobs in the community for in-migrants.

They particularly generate jobs in food services, health care, and retail trade.

Identifying and developing watershed health and outdoor recreation programs will not only improve quality of life and physical and mental health for current residents, but make our watershed more attractive for retirees.  Our VISTA’s work plan suports our larger capacity-building to educate and recruit support for identifying projects that will benefit our older population, resident as well as incoming retirees.


* We will also identify projects that will appeal to and expose youth to recreational and educational experiences in streams and the watershed that supports them.  VISTA members working closely in communities can facilitate conversations with new partners to meet the needs of underserved youth and minorities by sharing opportunities.  WVDEP SPP grants fund water festivals, rain gardens, fishing derbys, snorkeling, trout in the classroom and Project Water Education for Today (Project WET) curriculum in the schools.  There are many more opportunities to explore such as art in parks, wildlife viewing, fishing, rafting, kayaking and hiking.

We will follow work plans that will require identifying underserved youth and minorities as stakeholders in watershed protection and community development.


* Finally, remediating the historic environmental degradation and poorly maintained infrastructure which is degrading the streams in itself can be a source of employment and local business development.

The VISTA’s work will support projects for nonpoint source pollution remediation and prevention, including possible local education and training programs.

 
Description of Duties:

The Summer Associate will focus on capacity-building activities that produce internal planning resources, documentation tools, and community engagement materials.

Duties may include compiling labor market research summaries, developing workforce resource inventories, creating community asset maps, organizing environmental data sets, drafting partnership coordination frameworks, designing planning templates and resource guides, and assisting with public-facing informational workshops, outreach ...