The Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation recently sponsored Americorps VISTA Volunteer, Kyle Argenziano for the next year through July 2021, with a partnership between Americorps VISTA and the Stewards Individual Placement Program (SIPP).

Kyle is graduating on August 8 from Bloomsburg University.  He also interned with EPCAMR from the start of the Summer for an 8-week funded program through the PA Career Link’s State & Local Improvement Program (SLIP).

SIPP is a program sponsored by Conservation Legacy, a nonprofit dedicated to funding environmental stewardship throughout America.

He will be developing and overseeing projects that he will be tasked to generate community capacity for assisting with the projects.

Grant writing and fund development are a large portion of his work as he is expected to assist in fundraising efforts, identify sources of funding, and create capital for EPCAMR. Kyle will submit at least 4 grant proposals throughout the service term.

Kyle and EPCAMR have developed a 1-year Volunteer Activity Description Work Plan to guide the volunteer work and capacity building within the EPCAMR Region.

 He will be performing a lot of GIS work, GIS Mapping, and developing the necessary statistics and infographics to help EPCAMR go after grants and help to tell our story about the importance of reclaiming our abandoned mine lands and restoring our waterways polluted from abandoned mine drainage (AMD).

“Volunteer engagement will be a large part of the work as well. Kyle will be expected to identify sources of volunteering, their capacity, and create an environment that retains and appreciates volunteers. Community engagement will be vital. Partnerships with local firms, agencies, service groups, and businesses will be developed,” said Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director.

“The goal of our work is to promote sustainable solutions through community empowerment. These partnerships will create a strong web of communication, resource sharing, funding, and power to create the sustainability we are after at EPCAMR,” said Hughes. “There is strength in numbers, and we believe this Stewards VISTA position will be a key to developing those assets.”

Other projects include partnerships with solar development companies, community gardens, volunteer monitoring of acid mine drainage, training volunteers on how to assess culverts for aquatic organism and fish passage, and conducting environmental education programs among local youth in underserved school districts.

“I’m looking forward to expanding EPCAMR’s partnerships even further into the communities that they serve as well as partnering with other regional nonprofit and community organizations to build capacity within their neighborhoods and along their stream corridors to improve the quality of life that they are faced with living in the shadows of abandoned mine land features and polluted waterways,” said Kyle. 

“There is hope that will come with hard work and hands-on community efforts that I’ve already participated in during the 8-week internship that I believe will lead to the restoration of many of the local waterways, the reclamation of many of the abandoned mine lands, potential for job creation in alternative energy, and continued education of our area youth using new and innovative virtual opportunities such as drone technology and interactive videos and 360 film photography educational activities,” added Kyle.

EPCAMR’s solar project partnership will be looking to site areas for the potential development of renewable and clean energy to an area stricken by the past coal industry on formerly reclaimed abandoned mine lands.

Education is perhaps the most powerful tool that you can use to develop sustainability and we will continue to provide educational content for local schools whether it is through video, in-person presentations, or through our online resources like Trout in the Classroom (TIC).

EPCAMR proudly sponsors and gives away Growboxxes and works with community volunteers to help create gardens.

“We believe that community gardens are an integral part of empowerment and poverty alleviation. Being able to grow healthy and affordable food not only fosters an appreciation for the environment and agricultural systems but offers a reliable source of nutrition,” said Hughes.  “Coaltown patches were called patchtowns because of the self-reliance they had to feed their families right from their backyards where the food was fresh and easily accessible and free.”

Grant funding to support the position was made possible through the Foundation for PA Watersheds, and is intended to enhance EPCAMR’s organizational capacity.

EPCAMR will be working in the Susquehanna River Basin and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River within the EPCAMR Region to address problems that have been identified in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed’s Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan for PA.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how to get involved, visit the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation website.

[How Clean Is Your Stream?

[DEP’s Interactive Report Viewer allows you to zoom in on your own stream or watershed to find out how clean your stream is or if it has impaired water quality using the latest information in the draft 2020 Water Quality Report.]

(Reprinted from the EPCAMR website.)

Related Articles:

-- Statewide Water Sampling Underway At 300 Passive Mine Drainage Treatment Systems In PA

-- Newest Passive Mine Drainage Treatment System Performing Well In Butler County

[Posted: July 21, 2020]

7/27/2020