Volunteers beautify Walker Creek Ranch

The project’s purpose is to create a safer and more accessible learning environment for the Marin County Outdoor School which calls the ranch home.|

Dressed head-to-toe in yellow rain suits, the 11-member crew from AmeriCorps waited patiently for their eight-hour work day to begin at Walker Creek Ranch on Tuesday morning. Rain dripped from their suits and their shovels as the sun hid behind the miles of overcast sky. But one thing, or eleven things were clear - the smiles on each of their faces.

The young adults, some college graduates and others fresh outta high school, came from all over the nation from North Carolina to Wisconsin to Walker Creek Ranch for one purpose- to create a safer and more accessible learning environment for the Marin County Outdoor School which calls the ranch home.

“Everything here needs a lot of work,” said Thomas Rosskopf, maintenance supervisor for the ranch.

And work it did receive.

Rakes in hand and spirits high, “Blue Three,” the group’s code name, headed out on one of the ranch’s 20-miles of trails to finish a bridge they started days ago now. Laughing and joking, some in pairs, some by themselves, the crew members started to reminisce about their three-week time spent beautifying the ranch.

Abigail Acheson’s eyes looked up past her beanie and yellow hood talking about her love for Petaluma’s farmland and the rewards of working on the ranch.

“It’s so important for kids to experience nature,” the 18-year-old Virginian said, the youngest member of the team. “They discover things here they normally wouldn’t.”

This was the way the whole team felt - happy to be improving the site where more than 5,000 children from around the Bay Area explore every year during outdoor school.

Children were on the grounds most days the crew was at work and were heard laughing in the background as the crew made headway on the bridge, digging away getting ready for the placement of the large pieces of wood soon to come.

In just three weeks, the crew cleared trails that hadn’t had open access for years, dug drainage ditches, completed building improvements and accomplished what they came here to do - fufill their mission as AmeriCorps volunteers to better communities through service.

“It was so rewarding to open up a whole new part of the creek,” 20-year-old Jazmine Davis said. “We’re providing a better and safer space for the kids to learn.”

Her partner-in-crime, Tatiana Guerra, agrees.

“It’s so awesome seeing all kids get the use out of it,” she said.

For four years now, the ranch has become a safer and cleaner place thanks to AmeriCorps, a national organization dedicated to improving communities through service. A partnership ranch employees are very grateful for due to the condition of some of areas of the 35-year-old ranch.

“This team really gets stuff done. They’re hard working, enthusiastic, I’m really impressed,” said RossKopf, who stood in as the crew’s supervisor.

The crew members are impressed, too, with the welcoming nature of Petalumans. Every weekend, the six-boy, six-girl squad get to visit downtown Petaluma to restock groceries, hang out at Della Fattoria and enjoy the scenery. They commented on the “cuteness” of the town, how nice the people are and the excitement for their next project down the way in Santa Clara. The team members, who spend 11 months together, will work on beautification projects throughout parks operated by the City of Santa Clara Parks & Recreation Department.

For the bridge at Walker Creek Ranch, it was completed on Feb. 10, the last day of the crew’s time at the now tidier ranch.

(Contact Alex Madison at alex.madison@arguscourier.com.)

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