Corpsmember Stories

Community Recycling

I have been at Conservation Corps North Bay for seven months. I have learned English, all about recycling and about renewable energy. In the future, I plan to work in recycling to reduce contamination.

Wendy K. Peech

Your generous support helps Conservation Corps North Bay prepare corpsmembers to develop new skills, learn English and find skilled jobs. It has given me the opportunity to help with the community recycling projects, which ultimately helps the environment. Thank you. All of the corpsmembers appreciate it.

Luis Suárez

We have been Community Recycling corpsmembers of Sonoma County for two months now since it began. We have been building bins to place at state and county parks. Through Conservation Corps North Bay we are gaining leadership, teamwork and communication skills. We will not only receive our high school diploma, but Conservation Corps North Bay will help our job development.

John Bahel and Dominic Fabian

During my year at Conservation Corps North Bay, I have taken classes in English, Landscaping, Math, Irrigation, Natural Resources and earned certificates for perfect attendance, corpsmember of the Month, and carpenter tools' skills. My crew collects recyclables in playgrounds, open spaces and national parks. My goal for the future is to learn more English and work for the Environment or in a landscaping company.

Juan Carlos Yupit Herrera

I dropped out of school because I had to work so much to make enough money to survive. Now I work and receive education at the same time. The education program here at Conservation Corps North Bay is exceptional because it is incorporated with work, so we can focus on both things instead of just one.

John Bahel

Now that I have experienced life without a diploma, I want to experience life with one. I think I am more motivated to strive harder to achieve my goal.

Dominic Fabiani

I succeeded at Conservation Corps North Bay because there are good people who are willing to help you reach your goals. The teachers, supervisors and corps members are really nice people. It's not easy to get a high school diploma, but it's possible when you have such good people helping you.

Howard Rosales

The Laurel Dell Waste Reduction Report Card is such an amazing, easy to follow lay out and the information proves that we need to do something!!! I am all for starting a pilot compost program; this could be a perfect sized site to begin. Looking forward to working with you.

Pepe Gonzalez
Principal, Lurel Dell Elementary

Natural Resources

I am a corpsmember for the Natural Resources crew at Conservation Corps North Bay. This week I was working in Corte Madera. We were removing invasive plants and planting native plants. In my classes this week, I studied English, math and ecology. In the future, I plan to be a teacher.

Rony Montufar

My goal is to graduate from college and become a teacher. Your support has helped me develop my English and landscaping skills so I can achieve my goals. Thank you.

Pedro Perez Chom

I have been at Conservation Corps North Bay for seven months. In that time, I have taken classes in Math, English and Science and passed the English section of the California High School Exit Examination. In my crew, we cut grass and tree limbs to prevent fires, clean up creeks to prevent floods, weed invasive plants and plant native plants to restore natural habitats. Your support is helping me to get my high school diploma. Thank you.

Joey Mesquite

In my crew we restore native habitats and build fences. Right now we have a difficult project removing a lot of poison oak. I am hoping to become bilingual. You support has helped me to develop my English and leadership skills so that I can have a better future.

Fatima Rodriguez

In this day and age, a man's got to have options. With a high school diploma, I feel fully equipped to take the world on, to hit the ground running and give it my all. With my diploma, I can really explore the world around me uninhibited and unashamed. Conservation Corps North Bay really helped by making connections between the workplace and the classroom in a relevant and straightforward manner. The work is interesting, and the teachers are awesome. They made it easy to see the advantages of a diploma.

Ben Madrigali

Before I was at Conservation Corps North Bay, getting my high school diploma was a stress. It was hard finding time for school and most adult schools didn't provide enough structure and support. Each teacher provides individual support that made things easier to understand so I could get the subject quickly. Unlike other schools, Conservation Corps North Bay also provides a job. They not only help us achieve our goals in education, they also help us improve ourselves as a person and in our work skills.

Miguel Rodriguez

Before Conservation Corps North Bay, I did not know a lot about plants and ecology. Now, I love removing the evil invasive Himalayan blackberry plant that is bad in our creeks. I like my English classes - speaking and writing, and I like learning about irrigation. I thank my supervisor and my teachers - they say nice things and help me with my goals.

Walter Sagastume

Honestly before this program, I didn't think about how important it is to take care of mother earth. By now, I understand how important the natural resources are and I'm aware of the magnitude of the danger facing our mother earth.

Alan Diaz

We are excited to provide valuable mitigation work and education for the community. After this program, many of us plan on pursuing careers in Disaster Response and Conservation. Thanks for your support and safe travels.

David Frasier, Gretchen Oleson, and Brooks Gargiulo