CAC AmeriCorps - Knoxville, Tennessee

Water Quality Team Alumni

2012-02-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Program Associate

Kirby Rootes-Murdy is a Program Associate with the Sustainable Markets team. Working on a variety of programmatic activities in the Seafood Choices program, Rootes-Murdy provides support in the organization and logistics planning of events such at the Seafood Summit and Seafood Champions. He also contributes to SeaWeb’s communication efforts by highlighting emerging topics in marine science and policy. Rootes-Murdy joined the Sustainable Markets team as an Intern in September 2011. Prior to joining SeaWeb full-time, Rootes-Murdy worked as a Seafood retailer at Whole Foods Market.

Rootes-Murdy completed his master's degree in Coastal Environmental Management at the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, North Carolina. While at Duke, Rootes-Murdy wrote his master’s thesis on coastal water quality management in North Carolina and organized an interdisciplinary discussion panel on the U.S. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Market. Prior to graduate school, Rootes-Murdy worked as an Environmental Educator and Community Organizer with CAC AmeriCorps in Knoxville, Tennessee. He graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Religious Studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2008.

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Appleby kindergarten spends the day at McCoy Wash

Special to the Times

BLYTHE - Felix J. Appleby Elementary kindergartners spent an adventurous day Dec. 3, exploring McCoy Wash on 6th Avenue. While there they engaged in hands-on activities to further support their in-class curriculum.

Appleby Elementary recently received a $9,023 grant through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation titled "The Nature of Learning."

Funds from this grant will be used to engage children and enrich learning experiences by connecting curriculum to the local natural surroundings. Relevant hands-on activities will be developed and implemented at local natural areas.

Later in the year, knowledge from these experiences will be used to restore a section of the new school grounds to a natural landscape where these activities and others can be continued.

For the kindergarten class, meshing curriculum with the natural surroundings involved their reading theme, 'Friends Together,' and how this relates to the way land, plants and animals work together to survive in the desert.

Along those lines, at a different station students identified unique rock features in the wash while at the same time using these rocks to build words with a short /a/ sound.

Instead of chairs or carpet, sand was used to sit on for story time. Then at the art station, students used a variety of unique desert shapes and objects to create personal landscape drawings.

Determination also became a lesson for the day when at the end, both students and teachers had to overcome a large sandy hill to make the trek back to the buses.

Additional trips for all grade levels are currently being planned with teachers and grant coordinator, Jesse Yonkovich.
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recruiting so far- 88 applications

2012-01-23T07:07:00.000-08:00

We have started our interview process. I will not interview every person that applies, because some of the applications are poorly written, do not have enough information to warrant an interview, or their reference forms are not completed.

By May 1st, I will receive well over 400 applications for 40 positions. I will only conduct about 110 interviews.

Each application will be reviewed for spelling and grammar. If you have typos, grammar/spelling issues, or incorrect capitalization on your application, I count these mistakes as a failure to complete the application correctly. In other words, be very careful and check your application for errors. Some applicants don't capitalize proper nouns (like a person's name) - this is a red flag for me. Those applications with gross errors are never interviewed.

We conduct two (phone or personal) interviews and request a writing sample. If offered a position, we conduct an FBI background check, drug screen and physical. If you do not pass the FBI/TBI background check and drug screen then you are not eligible for our corps.

MLK Day of Service

2012-01-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

CAC AmeriCorps was host of two service sites for the 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. At Ijams Nature Center members cleared invasive species, repaired trails, and prepared heirloom seed packets for low-income individuals. We were joined by AmeriCorps members and VISTAs from Appalachia CARES, Appalachian Habitat for Humanity, Emerald Youth Foundation, and AIM (Achievement. Independence. Motivation.) Center.

Some highlights from Ijams:

At Morningside Community Center, AmeriCorps members were engaged in painting the inside of the building as one of the first steps in restoring what was once a community staple. CAC AmeriCorps's partner, S.E.E.E.D. (Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development), will be moving their offices and programming to this building in the near future.

Highlights from Morningside Community Center:

More about the Morningside restoration:

http://www.wate.com/story/16528605/knoxville-non-profit-honors-mlk-with-day-of-service-at-community-center

http://www.volunteertv.com/news/headlines/SEEED_inspires_kids_in_new_building_137424253.html

Recruiting blog update

2012-01-05T08:19:00.000-08:00

We have received over 20 applications over the last few days. Thanks for your interest in our program.

We are working on the service descriptions they should be up shortly.

Videos

2011-12-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

VIDEO 3

Happy New Year and it is recruiting time again!

2011-12-28T13:54:00.001-08:00

We have 21 sites:

Organization	Number of members
CAC Beardsley Community Farm	3
CAC Weatherization Department	1
City of Knoxville Parks and Recreation	1
East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition	2
Farragut Stormwater Engineering	1
Goodwill Industries	1
Great Smoky Mountains National Park	2
Ijams Nature Center	4
Keep Blount Beautiful	1
Keep Knoxville Beautiful	3
Knox County Air Quality Management	1
Knox County Solid Waste	4
Knox County Stormwater Engineering	7
CAC Vacant Lots	1
Legacy Parks Foundation	2
SEEED	1
Tribe One	1
UT Office of Sustainability	1
UT Outdoor Recreation	1
UT Recycling	1
UT Water Resources Research Center	1

CAC AmeriCorps -- recruiting 2012-13

2011-12-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

(Above picture) James Moses is being recognized by Knoxville City Councilman Chris Woodhull on his service of weatherizing over 250 homes in 2009. After his service, James was a staff member with CAC's Housing and Rehabilitation Department. James is now doing great things in Asheville, NC.

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We will start accepting CAC AmeriCorps applications on https://my.americorps.gov on December 28, 2011. The process of recruitment, application screening, 2 phone interviews and final decisions is time sensitive. The positions will be filled by May 1, 2012 for a start date in August 13, 2012. The most coveted positions (eg. Beardsley Community Farm) are filled by March 15th.

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Our corps serves 40 hours per week- Monday - Friday for 10.5 months.

We have 40 positions at several different organizations and our members do direct environmental service, teaching, capacity building, and public relations. Some of our sites are physically demanding. Some of our sites need specific computer/teaching/public relations skills.

To the menu to the right (on this blog) we will have service descriptions for most of the positions. If it is not listed- just contact me at john.harris@knoxcac.org

UTK's Mug Project

2011-11-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

One of our AmeriCorps members, Emmy Waldhart (on left), had a great idea to reduce waste on campus. She wrote a grant to have students use super cool mugs instead of disposable cups at dining halls and local restaurants.

Courtney Washburn (on right) is her partner in the Sustainability Office at UTK and has helped her a bunch this year getting the word out to students about the mug program.

http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2011/11/07/spotlight-mug-project/

Electric Vehicle Show

2011-10-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

EV Show on Market Square- Jeff Siddons an AmeriCorps member at East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition was involved with coordinating this event!

Johnson University volunteers!

2011-09-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Thanks to Johnson University students for cleaning up our CAC Parking Lot Islands- which have edible landscaping in them. They also trimmed some broken and overgrown trees at CAC.

Vol Challenge Week

2011-09-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the men at Alpha Gamma Rho for their hard work in cleaning up vacant lots on Mississippi Ave and Lonsdale Pike. They did a great job!

Vol Challenge was September 12-16, 2011

Social Impact Fair @ UTK

2011-09-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Brian Blackmon and I went to UTK's Social Impact Fair on Tuesday, September 13, 2011. Great talking with these students!

We had 45 people sign up for more information about our program and some wanted to volunteer with us throughout the year.

We will start accepting applications for our 2012-13 CAC AmeriCorps program on December 15, 2011. Our next service term starts in August 2012 and ends June 2013. We will have everyone enrolled by May 1, 2012 for the August 2012 start date. The sooner you apply- the better your chances. We receive over 400 applications and only have 40 positions- this interview process is very competitive.

FYI for college students: Our members serve full time (40 hours/week) in our program- you can't be in school and serve with us at the same time.

Thanks again for your interest in our program!

John Harris

CAC AmeriCorps Program Director

Paddle for Clean Water

2011-09-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

Josh Cunningham, an AmeriCorps member at Farragut Stormwater Engineering, played the part of Water Pollution (while wearing a skeleton costume and throwing away fake trash in Tennessee River). check out the video from WBIR- TV

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/181782/0/East-Tennesseans-paddle-river-to-support-clean-up-efforts

http://www.knoxnews.com/photos/galleries/2010/aug/28/paddle-clean-water/24899/

Mayor Brown

2011-09-01T00:18:00.000-07:00

Mayor Daniel Brown welcomes CAC AmeriCorps to Knoxville! On this day, we cleaned up Mary Vestal Park and the South Knoxville Community Center. It was a ton of work but everyone that uses the center daily were so happy with the cleanup- especially after the spring storms had left many broken trees in the park and around the center.

2011 - 2012 Positions (Updated 7-21-2011)

2011-01-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

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At CAC AmeriCorps, most of our full-time positions are educating youth on environmental issues. Most of these positions involve hands-on service-learning with students and adults. So these members will be "getting their hands dirty" while teaching students about Ecology.

(as of 5-19-11) Educational positions remaining for 2011-12 :

0 Naturalists at Ijams Nature Center

0Water Quality Educators

0 Earthflag (school-based environmental sustainability) educators

0 Air Quality project coordinators

0 Sustainable Design/Architecture Educator with S.E.E.E.D.

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These positions that are in a more traditional office work environment:

0 Knox County Air Quality Management (KC Health Dept.)

0 Knox County Solid Waste Department

0 Tribe One (youth mentoring via "green" curriculum)

0 Keep Knoxville Beautiful

These positions that are in a physically demanding fieldwork environment:

0 Knoxville Recycling Coalition

0 Naturalists at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge

0 Park Rangers at Ijams Nature Center

1 Home Energy Auditors @ CAC Weatherization and Home Repair

0 Recycling Coordinator at Goodwill Industries of Knoxville

0 Campus Recycling Assistant with the University of Tennessee

We are finishing interviews- positions are open to applications for weatherization position-

call our office for more info 865 546 3500

2003 Class-- only 12 members

2010-12-30T22:40:00.000-08:00

CAC AmeriCorps: 2003-4

12 members @ 3 sites

My first group- an awesome group!

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CAC AmeriCorps: 2011-12

40 members @ 16 sites

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Brief descriptions of 2011-12 Teams... more to come

2010-12-30T15:15:00.000-08:00

We have a 46 week term - we start on August 15, 2011 and end on June 30, 2012. Most AmeriCorps Programs are 50 or 52 weeks. By ending before July 1st, our successful members can enroll in grad school, law school, med school or undergrad with enough time to get their ed awards and settle into their new situation.

Our program has been in operation since 1994. I am an AmeriCorps Alum with this program. We have great service sites that are facilitating awesome environmental education and service in low wealth communities in Knoxville. Our service sites have sponsored AmeriCorps members since 1995 and we have great supervisors that will develop you for your term of service and your life after AmeriCorps.

You must be able to start on August 15, 2011. We have 7 days of pre-service orientation and training. This is a fun and interactive period with many training sessions that will be important to your service. Our training includes: AmeriCorps 101, Leadership Development, Volunteer Management, Communication, Diversity Training, Red Cross First Aid and CPR, Defensive Driver Training, and a team building ropes course.

Here are the benefit basics:

$11,800 per 46 weeks

$4,725 (pending approval $5,550) educational award at end of service term to use for school or student loans

Health insurance and site-specific training provided

These positions are available for the 2011-2012 year. We will be adding more positions as they come available.

Water Quality Team (7 positions): Members serve with the Water Quality Forum Adopt-A-Watershed Program (AAW) to teach students how to protect their local watershed. They facilitate teacher AAW teams, teach hands-on science activities (chemical and biological sampling and analysis, water pollution, land use, and other related topics) in the classroom. They organize stream monitoring field events (water sample collections and monitoring, fish collection, stream physical assessment). They provide technical assistance and support to students and teachers in the planning and implementation of AAW projects.

EarthFlag Team (2 positions): Each team member individually works with elementary or middle schools to increase their overall school sustainability. They teach students about solid waste issues in the classroom, facilitate the set-up and operation of school-wide composting and recycling programs, be a resource providing opportunity for hands-on learning. They also encourage students to recycle at home. They work with teachers and students to implement sustainable living practices (school gardens, nature trails, arboretums, etc).

Ijams Naturalist (2 positions): Team member will facilitate Environmental Education (EE) activities for 5000 pre-kindergarten through 8th grade students visiting Ijams Nature Center on GO! Hikes. Facilitate School Yard Field Trips at area schools for Elementary students. Member assists in development, promotion and facilitation of the new Research in the Park programming. Member assists in curriculum development for new EE programming for pre-kindergarten-8th grade and special needs students. Member leads presentations of non-releasable wild animals for GO! Hike students. Member assists in volunteer field guide recruitment and retention.

Air Quality Team (4 positions): This team facilitates environmental outreach and education within the community through a variety of mediums, including the Young Biodiesel Leaders Program, workshops, community events and festivals. Team members also serve with students, schools, administrators, teachers, community members, businesses, stakeholders, and government agencies to communicate, plan, develop and implement clean air related projects in order to attain regional environmental goals of the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition. In 2010, 2 members may be working with UT Biofuels initiative to help make 500,000 gallons of biodiesel from local restaurant excess old vegetable oil.

CAC Weatherization Team (3 positions): Two members will conduct energy audits, evaluations, and follow-up services for 150 low income homeowners in Knox County, Tennessee.

Urban Agriculture Team (3 positions): Members maintain a 1-acre urban community farm and the surrounding park area. They grow and distribute over 6,000 pounds of produce to volunteers, local food pantries and kitchens. They promote principles of gardening, composting, seed starting, and nutrition to 100 elementary students in 4 local schools. They increase community awareness of Beardsley Community Farm by planning festivals and special seasonal events.

Litter Prevention Team (2 positions): The Litter Prevention Team serves with Keep Knoxville Beautiful and Keep Blount Beautiful, providing litter-prevention and introductory environmental education to 10 neighborhood/community associations, and 10 school groups as well as individuals to clean and maintain some of our region's most littered areas.

Knoxville Recycling Coalition Team (1 position): This team member organizes events with the Knoxville Recycling Coalition, such as America Recycles Day, to create awareness and educate youth and adults about the importance of recycling.

Knox County Recycling Team (4 positions): This team members will organize recycling events with the Knox County Solid Waste Department to create awareness and educate adults about the importance of solid waste reduction techniques, recycling and litter abatement.

Sustainability Team (2 positions): Two members will serve with Tribe One and S.E.E.E.D. to promote green jobs for low income people and mobilze commnuity service events for youth.

Service descriptions are in google docs...

2010-12-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

If you don't have a google account- I will send you info...

Accepting Applications on January 2, 2011

2010-12-30T12:39:00.001-08:00

We will be accepting AmeriCorps applications on the my.americorps.gov website

here's the link:

https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?fromSearch=true&id=39239

Welcome to our Recruiting Blog for 2011-2012

2010-12-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

We created this blog for recruiting our 2011-2012 CAC AmeriCorps members! There are some old posts from 2008-2010- those are "ancient history" but I thought you may like to see our recent growth...

Our blog cacamericorps2.blogspot.com is for current news and info. Check it out!

I will post service descriptions, benefit info and application procedures on this blog.

Thank you for your interest in our program!

John Harris
Knoxville- Knox County CAC AmeriCorps Director

2010-12-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

WEB SITE LIST TO OUR PARTNERS

KNOXVILLE-KNOX COUNTY COMMUNITY ACTION COMMITTEE (CAC)

EAST TENNESSEE CLEAN FUELS COALITION

IJAMS NATURE CENTER (GO! HIKES)

IJAMS NATURE CENTER (EARTH FLAG)

UT CUMBERLAND HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN

CAC BEARDSLEY COMMUNITY FARM

KEEP KNOXVILLE BEAUTIFUL

KEEP BLOUNT BEAUTIFUL

KNOX COUNTY AIR QUALITY

KNOX COUNTY RECYCLING

KNOXVILLE RECYCLING COALITION

SEEED (Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development)

SEVEN ISLANDS

TRIBE ONE

UT BIOFUELS (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

UT FACILITIES SERVICES

UTWRRC (UT WATER RESEARCH RESOURCE CENTER)

WATER QUALITY FORUM

CAC WEATHERIZATION TEAM

KNOX COUNTY STORMWATER ENGINEERING

TOWN OF FARRAGUT STORMWATER ENGINEERING

UT RECYCLING

The Corps Messenger Vol. 2

2010-11-29T10:02:00.000-08:00

CAC AMERICORPS UPDATES

2010-11-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

PLANT AND STAMP

(by John Gardner via City of Knoxville)

Plant (trees)and Stamp(invasive species) Event on the Third Creek

CAC AmeriCorps volunteers and the City of Knoxville are

organizing volunteers Saturday, December 4th from 10am to 2pm to plant trees along Third Creek in Tyson Park and remove invasive species in the restored section of Third Creek. Everyone in the community is welcome to lend a hand improving our local environment. Please prepare for the weather. All tools and equipment will be provided.

Support for this project comes fromt he City of Knoville Storm-Water Engineering and

Parkes and Recreation departments as well as CAC AmeriCorps.

For more information or to RSVP as a group or individual, please contact John Gardner

at JRgardner@cityofknoxville.org

CAC AMERICORPS RECEIVES

ORCHID AWARD!

(from THE CORPS MESSENGER vol 2)

Awards have been presented to Knoxville and Knox County's most beautiful commercial properties since 1979. On October 26, 2010 CAC AmeriCorps received this prestigious award for their environmental community service! The Winners were announced at the annual Orchids Awards Dinner held at The Foundry. Nominations are submitted by the public and a nominating committee. Properties may be nominated in one of several categories. A property can win only once except in cases of major renovations. Private residences are NOT considered for this award. A panel of independent judges selects the winners. Past judge panels have included architects, commercial builders,realtors, landscape architects, historic preservationists, community leaders and former awardees.

The other CAC AMERICORPS affiliated sites that won an award: Ijam's Nature Center & Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge

SEGAL AMERICORPS

EDUCATION AWARD

(by Julia Lepping)

In the past, the only schools that accepted the Segal AmeriCorps

Education Award were listed as Title IV by the Department of Ed-

ucation. The Serve America Act opens up use of the award at ad-

ditional learning institutions that accept the G.I. Bill. What

does this mean? There are more opportunities for using the

award than ever, including trade schools and overseas schools,

as well as apprentice programs with government agencies such as

police departments.

To learn more, visit http://nationalservice.gov/resources/edaward

and type in the terms "G.I. Bill" into the search box or explore

the information under the "Schools" tab.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY (MADD)

(by Various CAC AmeriCorps members & Affiliates)

Tribe One's MADD by Amy Staffaroni

"Tribe One was thrilled to be a site for the 2010 Make A Difference

Day on Saturday October 23rd. We had a team of twelve working with

us to expand our Urban Garden. There were several goals for the day

including building a new raised bed, expanding three existing beds,

constructing a new compost bin, and installing a netting on the roof

to deter pigeons. Through much hard work we were able to finish the

new raised bed, build a new compost bin and came very close to com-

pleting the bed extensions and pigeon netting (which will be finished

today). The group faced a couple of challenges that included working

with very un-level ground to build bed on and not having all the proper

tools. We also had some difficulties disassembling the raised beds for

the extensions. We were able to overcome these difficulties by working

as a team, by putting our different ideas together and trying new ways

to solve problems. There were a couple of things that I learned by plan-

ning and participating in the event. I learned that it is very important

to think ahead and thoroughly plan, but I also learned that you cannot

be prepared for everything that might happen. Obstacles will come up,

and you need to work as a team to overcome them. I also learned a lot

about building raised beds and what tools and materials you need to com-

plete them. It was great to be part of the Make A Difference Day, the

garden at Tribe One is now at it's growing capacity thanks to very hard-

working and helpful volunteers!"

Knox County Recycling MADD by Erin Sullivan

Yes, I believe that I made a difference of Make A Difference Day because, basically, I along with my fellow road-clean-up crew clean a whole lot of trash from the road. It was disgusting. I mean, really, really horrible. There were literally parts of cars that we found. Like, bumpers and head lights. There were old pop and beer bottles dating back probably 25 years. I mean it. They don't make labels like that anymore. I found a shoe box filled with...trash. Who does that? Seriously. And it made me feel like I was making a difference so that down the time road of life, some archaeologist who finds some kind of cultural significance on Crippen Road won't have to sift through all this crap to get to something more important OR see how disgusting so many of our citizens live our lives. Basically what I'm saying from this rant is that I do think I and the crew made a difference that day by not keeping the remnants of Knox County denizens' total lack of interest in the land around them, therefore we discarded their discards. Hopefully those people who ZOOMED by us saw us cleaning up, posibly, their leftovers off the side of the road and took thought into how they treat their community and maybe took a little shame with them.

CHILI COOK OFF

(by Jennifer Linginfelter of Knox County Solid Waste Dept)

The Chili Cook Off is a fundraiser for Second Harvest Foodbank. Knox Recycles acted as a sponsor to handle all the recycling during and before the event. During the morning prep, we recycled all plastic film, cardboard and steel/aluminum food containers from the vendors. We also collected and recycled single stream materials generated during the event, which included miscellaneous paper products and plastic bottles and cups. Second Harvest expected over 4,000 attendees at the Cookoff, and featured 22 teams of chili cookers.

2010-11-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

NOV. 6th 2010

BEARDSLEY FARM

Friday, November 5 · 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Community Television of Knoxville
808 State Street

CTV's November First Friday event will feature footage taken at Beardsley Community Farm. Come join us in watching the show and having some good times.

Weekend Workday -
Beardsley Community Farm
1719 Reynolds Ave.
Saturday, November 13 · 9:00am-12:00pm
Every third Saturday of the month, Beardsley Community Farm holds a volunteer day for everyone who is interested. This will be our last volunteer Saturday before the new year, so come on out to lend a hand!

IJAMS

Saturday, November 6th 9am-4pm, Ijams Property Unveiling

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, is unveiling its new property this Saturday. The Ross Marble Natural Area adds 100 acres to the ever-increasing Ijams property. The ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 11am, at the "keyhole" at Mead's Quarry (a slight jaunt down the road from the visitor's center). The ceremony will be followed by a cookout with live music at 12:30pm. Guests with special transportation needs should RSVP by calling (865) 577-4717 ext. 23. The Ijams staff welcomes volunteers for the event from the hours of 9am to 4pm, contact Laura Marsh at (865) 577-4717 ext. 27 if you are interested in helping.0

WATER QUALITY & EARTH FLAG

Saturday, November 6th 9am - 3pm , West High Outdoor Classroom Cleanup
Under CAC AmeriCorps member supervision, West High School (3326 Sutherland Ave) students will be constructing raised beds in the garden behind the main building, moving rocks in the pond, and improving their compost bin for their outdoor classroom. This project is managed by Josephine Chu & Tony Bell, call Mr. Bell for more info 314-583-3560.

KEEP KNOXVILLE BEAUTIFUL

Saturday, November 6th 10 am to 2 pm

Knoxville’s America Recycles Day (RAIN OR SHINE) at the Earth Fare in Bearden which is located at 104 North Forest Park Blvd.

SEEED

Saturday, November 6th 7pm - Until, The Rocky Top Comedy Contest Finals

SEEED & 90.3 The Rock are hosting The Rocky Top Comedy Contest finals, at the Relix Variety Theatre. The RTCC has already had four great shows, where hundreds of fans watched 36 comedians battle it out for a chance to win the $500 Cash Prize, and they expects the finale to be nothing short of spectacular! The Doors open at 6pm, and the contest begins at 7pm. The Relix Variety Theatre's address is 1208 N. Central, Knoxville, TN. Tickets for the event are $10 and can be purchased online @ www.rockytopcomedy.com

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NOV. 8th 2010

TRIBE ONE

Monday, November 8th 3:30pm to 5pm

FREE TACO's from the TACO BOY TRUCK!!!

Rev Food Taco Truck from Charleston, SC is coming to Tribe One on Monday 8th to feed kids free tacos!! If you know students or are able to bring a kid, you are welcome to come and join in; they will be located at 2112 E. Magnolia Ave from 3:30 to 5pm, and should be able to feed up to 60 people!

RSVP with Amy Staffaroni via Tribe One, 865-546-4131

SAVING GREEN BOTH WAYS!

2010-10-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

We couldn't emphasize enough HOW important it is to conserve energy and resources; and we'd definitely feel like telling you how important it is to save money simply goes unsaid til we note not enough of us are doing much of either these days.

Well, here we are again campaigning to further educate the public with super tips on how to continue to run your house hold and businesses more efficiently while saving you and yours a bundle on the bills-end of things!

The Corps Messenger Vol. 1

2010-10-08T12:42:00.001-07:00

Landscape Architect?

2010-03-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

We are looking for landscape architecture grads to join our corps... We have two positions serving at the University of Tennessee to facilitate the "Tennessee Yards"Program for the UT- Cumberland HCP and UT- Water Resources Research Center.

the description below is for the Cumberland HCP position:

Cumberland Habitat Conservation Plan project (www.cumberlandhcp.org)

Americorps Service Position Title: Outreach Assistant

Immediate supervisor: Jennifer Gihring, Outreach Coordinator

Location: University of Tennessee, Knoxville – Agriculture Campus

The Cumberland Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) project involves a partnership among Cumberland Plateau communities (Cumberland, Morgan and Scott counties and the cities of Crossville and Wartburg) to find a balance between economic growth and conservation of endangered species. Developing a HCP is a collaborative process with partners including city and county governments noted above, state agencies, developers, utility districts, and watershed associations. The HCP partnership is supported by a project team comprised of staff from The Nature Conservancy, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN.

The main goal for this position is to assist the outreach coordinator and stakeholders in developing and implementing strategies to promote the goals of the Cumberland HCP. This position will be based in Knoxville, TN, but will involve frequent travel to the Cumberland Plateau.

Essential functions

· Work with the Outreach Coordinator, HCP Project Team, and stakeholders to develop and implement outreach strategies.

· Work closely with the Cumberland County University of Tennessee Extension Agent and City of Crossville stormwater coordinator to promote the Tennessee Yards and Neighborhoods (TYN) Program within Cumberland and Crossville. Specific tasks may include:

o giving presentations to neighborhood associations, garden clubs, etc. regarding TYN practices;

o working with landowners, TYN staff, and HCP staff to implement pilot low impact development projects; and

o assist with development of landscaping guidelines that meet the goals of the TYN program and the HCP.

· Assist with the following activities:

o develop and implement educational programs for multiple audiences;

o develop education and outreach tools such as brochures, articles, and videos;

o communication activities such as newsletter development, maintaining web site, stakeholder meeting preparation and minutes;

o develop an educational display and represent the HCP at local stakeholder events such as the Crossville Sustainability Fair and Wartburg Discoveryfest; and

o HCP team project management, meeting facilitation, and minutes.

· Network with a variety of agencies and groups such as Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Obed Watershed Community Association, Cumberland County Home Builders Association, and local government offices.

Desired Skills/Expertise

· Minimum of 4-year college degree.

· Strong writing skills.

· Organizational skills.

· Willingness to speak in public.

· Ability to be a self-starter and quickly learn complex subjects.

· Ability to communicate in situations where diverse and sometime conflicting ideas are shared.

· Basic knowledge of natural sciences such as ecology, horticulture, landscape architecture, environmental science, or related fields.

· Appreciation for variety of ways people relate to the natural environment.

· Appreciation for collaborative processes.

· Flexibility.

· Knowledge of and experience with Microsoft office software.

· Knowledge of—or willingness and aptitude to learn--website design principles, techniques, and Dreamweaver software.

The above functions may be completed with or without accommodations. The description lists the minimum duty requirements. Individuals may be required to perform additional positions duties as requested by their supervisor. Positions are open to all people based on qualifications and will be treated equal with out regards to race, color, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, handicap, religion, sexual orientation or union affiliation.

Team Descriptions-

2010-01-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

2010-2011 Knox County CAC AmeriCorps

Our program has been in operation since 1994. I am an AmeriCorps Alumni with this program. We have great service sites that are facilitating awesome environmental education and service in low wealth communities in Knoxville. Our service sites have sponsored AmeriCorps members since 1995 and we have great supervisors that will develop you for your term of service and your life after AmeriCorps.

We have a 46 week term - we start on August 16, 2010 and end on June 30, 2011. Most AmeriCorps Programs are 50 or 52 weeks. By ending before July 1st, our successful members can enroll in grad school, law school, medical school or finish undergrad with enough time to get their ed awards and settle into their new situation.

You must be able to start on August 16, 2010. We have 7 days of pre-service orientation and training. This is a fun and interactive period with many training sessions that will be important to your service. Our training includes: AmeriCorps 101, Leadership Development, Volunteer Management, Communication, Diversity Training, Red Cross First Aid and CPR, Defensive Driver Training, and a team building ropes course. The rest of the service term you will be at your specific service site doing environmental service and facilitating service-learning with K-12 students, college students, community volunteers, and parents.

Here are the benefit basics:
$11,800 per 46 weeks or $513.04 / pay period (before taxes)
$4,725 educational award at end of service term to use for school or student loans
Health insurance provided, Training provided
We will have 40 AmeriCorps members at 17 service sites facilitating service learning, getting community volunteers mobilized, creating special events, recycling, gardening and teaching about land use, water and air quality. Not all of our sites are listed – some of the positions are filled…

Water Quality Team (7 positions): Members serve with the Water Quality Forum Adopt-A-Watershed Program (AAW) to teach students how to protect their local watershed. They facilitate teacher AAW teams, teach hands-on science activities (chemical and biological sampling and analysis, water pollution, land use, and other related topics) in the classroom. They organize stream monitoring field events (water sample collections and monitoring, fish collection, stream physical assessment). They provide technical assistance and support to students and teachers in the planning and implementation of AAW projects. http://www.waterqualityforum.org/
Summer 2009 WQF Newsletter: http://216.119.90.50/asp/pdf/WQF%20summer%2009.pdf

Knox County Solid Waste (1 position): This team member organizes recycling events with the Knox County Solid Waste Department to create awareness and educate adults about the importance of solid waste reduction techniques and litter abatement. http://www.knoxcounty.org/solid_waste/recycling_education.php

Knox County Recycling Team (3 positions): This team facilitates recycling events and provides environmental education to create awareness and educate youth and adults about the importance of solid waste reduction techniques and litter abatement. http://www.knoxcounty.org/solid_waste/recycling_education.php

Our service sites are in environmental organizations only.

Contact John Harris for more info at 865 546 3500
or john.harris@knoxcac.org

2010- 2011 Teams

2010-01-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

We have a 46 week term - we start on August 16, 2010 and end on June 30, 2011. Most AmeriCorps Programs are 50 or 52 weeks. By ending before July 1st, our successful members can enroll in grad school, law school, med school or undergrad with enough time to get their ed awards and settle into their new situation.

You must be able to start on August 16, 2010. We have 7 days of pre-service orientation and training. This is a fun and interactive period with many training sessions that will be important to your service. Our training includes: AmeriCorps 101, Leadership Development, Volunteer Management, Communication, Diversity Training, Red Cross First Aid and CPR, Defensive Driver Training, and a team building ropes course.

Here are the benefit basics:

$11,800 per 46 weeks

$4,725 educational award at end of service term to use for school or student loans

Health insurance provided and Training provided

These positions are available for the 2010-2011 year. We will be adding more positions as they come available.

Water Quality Team (7 positions): Members serve with the Water Quality Forum Adopt-A-Watershed Program (AAW) to teach students how to protect their local watershed. They facilitate teacher AAW teams, teach hands-on science activities (chemical and biological sampling and analysis, water pollution, land use, and other related topics) in the classroom. They organize stream monitoring field events (water sample collections and monitoring, fish collection, stream physical assessment). They provide technical assistance and support to students and teachers in the planning and implementation of AAW projects.

EarthFlag Team (2 positions): Each team member individually works with elementary or middle schools to increase their overall school sustainability. They teach students about solid waste issues in the classroom, facilitate the set-up and operation of school-wide composting and recycling programs, be a resource providing opportunity for hands-on learning. They also encourage students to recycle at home. They work with teachers and students to implement sustainable living practices (school gardens, nature trails, arboretums, etc).

Ijams Naturalist (1 position): Team member will facilitate Environmental Education (EE) activities for 5000 pre-kindergarten through 8th grade students visiting Ijams Nature Center on GO! Hikes. Facilitate School Yard Field Trips at area schools for Elementary students. Member assists in development, promotion and facilitation of the new Research in the Park programming. Member assists in curriculum development for new EE programming for pre-kindergarten-8th grade and special needs students. Member leads presentations of non-releasable wild animals for GO! Hike students. Member assists in volunteer field guide recruitment and retention.

Air Quality Team (4 positions): This team facilitates environmental outreach and education within the community through a variety of mediums, including the Young Biodiesel Leaders Program, workshops, community events and festivals. Team members also serve with students, schools, administrators, teachers, community members, businesses, stakeholders, and government agencies to communicate, plan, develop and implement clean air related projects in order to attain regional environmental goals of the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition. In 2010, 2 members may be working with UT Biofuels initiative to help make 500,000 gallons of biodiesel from local restaurant excess old vegetable oil.

TN Solar Energy Team (2 positions): members will assist in the outreach and education in public schools about solar energy and energy conservation techniques at home and school.

CAC Weatherization Team (2 positions): Two members will conduct energy audits, evaluations, and follow-up services for 150 low income homeowners in Knox County, Tennessee.

Urban Agriculture Team (5 positions): Members maintain a 1-acre urban community farm and the surrounding park area. They grow and distribute over 6,000 pounds of produce to volunteers, local food pantries and kitchens. They promote principles of gardening, composting, seed starting, and nutrition to 100 elementary students in 4 local schools. They increase community awareness of Beardsley Community Farm by planning festivals and special seasonal events.

Litter Prevention Team (2 positions): The Litter Prevention Team serves with Keep Knoxville Beautiful and Keep Blount Beautiful, providing litter-prevention and introductory environmental education to 10 neighborhood/community associations, and 10 school groups as well as individuals to clean and maintain some of our region's most littered areas.

Knoxville Recycling Coalition Team (1 position): This team member organizes events with the Knoxville Recycling Coalition, such as America Recycles Day, to create awareness and educate youth and adults about the importance of recycling.

Knox County Recycling Team (5 positions): This team members will organize recycling events with the Knox County Solid Waste Department to create awareness and educate adults about the importance of solid waste reduction techniques, recycling and litter abatement.

Sustainability Team (3 positions): One member will work with the UT Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment to assist the Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project (TNSWEP) program in its goals to promote solutions to solid waste issues. Two members will serve with Tribe One and S.E.E.E.D. to promote green jobs for low income people and mobilze commnuity service events for youth. Members will also facilitate and develop sustainable projects such as Earthfest and Sundown in the City recycling events.

2010-2011 CAC AmeriCorps Teams

2010-01-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

CAC AmeriCorps is now accepting applications on www.americorps.org

Please select "* CAC AmeriCorps 2010-11" on your application to submit your application to us.

The my.americorps.gov portal (online application) has went through some changes over the last few months and there are character limited sections online - so this is a better way for us to explain our different teams, service benefits, .

We will start orientation on August 16, 2010 and our program ends on June 30, 2011. We are a full-time program that focuses on environmental service learning in Knoxville, Tennessee. Our program was started in 1994 and we have grown from 12 members in 2003 to 40 members in 2010.

We have 17 sites- serving as environmental educators, recycling gurus, urban farmers, and science teachers.

Look for more posts about the specific teams!

Water Quality Team is complete.

2009-05-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

As of 6-12-2009

We only have 1 (August start) position left. This is an Outreach Assistant position with the Cumberland Habitat Conservation Plan. This position starts August 17, 2009.

see description below or go to www.cumberlandhcp.org

----------

Cumberland Habitat Conservation Plan project (www.cumberlandhcp.org)

Americorps Service Position Title: Outreach Assistant

Immediate supervisor: Emily Woodle, Outreach Coordinator

Location: University of Tennessee, Knoxville – Agriculture Campus

The Cumberland Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) project partners with Cumberland Plateau communities (Cumberland, Morgan and Scott counties) to find a balance between economic growth and conservation of natural resources. Developing a HCP is a collaborative process with partners including city and county governments, state agencies, developers, utility districts, and watershed associations. Our project staff are from The Nature Conservancy, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville.

The main goal for this position is to assist the outreach coordinator and community members of the outreach committee to implement outreach strategies and activities. This position will be based in Knoxville, TN. There will be some travel to the Cumberland Plateau based on project need.

Essential functions

· Work with the Outreach Team, help develop and implement outreach strategies.

· Conduct research (gathering & assimilating information) as needed for outreach tools.

· Assist with the following activities:

o develop and implement educational programs for multiple audiences;

o develop education and outreach tools such as brochures, articles, and videos;

o communication activities such as newsletter development, updating web site, meeting preparation and minutes;

o develop and implement targeted educational/participatory programs for high schools such as service learning.

Desired Skills/Expertise

· Minimum of 4-year college degree.

· Strong research and writing skills.

· Organizational skills.

· Ability to be a self-starter and learn quickly complex subjects.

· Ability to communicate in situations where diverse and sometime conflicting ideas are shared.

· Willingness to speak in public.

· Knowledge of and experience with Microsoft office software.

· Basic knowledge of aquatic (especially) and terrestrial ecology.

· Appreciation for variety of ways people relate to the natural environment.

· Appreciation for collaborative processes.

Flexibility in often changing circumstances

Teams are nearly complete!

2009-05-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

Daniel Scott and Kat Perry at Kyle's Ford Retreat Center.

Knoxville Recycling Coalition:
Pamela Bishir has BA in Political Science from Texas State, she is originally from Plano, Texas. Pamela has tons of community service experience and we are glad to have her on board at KRC!

Knox County Solid Waste:
Kevin Levy has his BA in Urban Studies from the Univ. of Pennsylvania. Kevin has led many community service events and has a keen interest in solid waste, sustainability and food systems.

UT Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment (ISSE):
Elizabeth Moniz is a graduate of Boston University and has her BA in Italian Studies. Elizabeth is interested in sustainability-- especially how it relates to the "slow food" movement.

Ijams Nature Center Naturalist:
Jen Teagarden has her BS in Wildlife Ecology from Univ of Florida. Jen has experience working with groups and has an extensive science background.

Keep Knoxville Beautiful:
Nikida Koraly has her BA in Journalism from UNC. Nikida has been involved in planning several service events at North Carolina. She has a great heart for service and is going to do great things at KKB!

we appreciate you guys!

2009-05-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

The Ijams Earth Flag and Knox County Recycling Education Teams are complete!

Earth Flag:
Ryan Worden and Rachel Plauche

Knox County Recycling Education Team:
Kristy Keel, Travis Williams, Meredith Hess, and Jennifer Ugolino

Ryan, Kristy and Travis are serving again with us in 2009-10!
-------------
Ryan Worden is from Pennsylvania and has a BS in ASL/English Interpreting from Bloomsburg University.

Kristy Keel is from South Carolina and has a BFA in Art Studio/ Graphic Design.

Travis Williams is from Tennessee and has his BS in Pastoral Ministry from Johnson Bible College.

Meredith Hess is from Dallas, Texas and earned her BA in History from Oklahoma State.

Rachel Plauche earned her BS Ed (early Childhood Education) from the University of Georgia.

Jennifer Ugolino earned her BA in Biology from Holy Cross.

We are so blessed to have such great people serving with us next year!

2009-04-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

Here is Kendall Wallace and her Mom from Eagleton Elementary (in Blount County).
Kendall was one of our ETCFC "1st Graders for Clean Fuels" art contest winners.
Above picture is Elise Miller in 2006 with one of her Clean Fuels classes...
-------------
The Clean Air Team is complete!

We are so excited to have Emily DeVillers and Wenny Ng join us in 2009-2010. They are just awesome people that have a heart for service and have incredible skills.

Emily is from Wisconsin-- She graduates from Ripon College in May and will have a BS in Environmental Science and a BA in Chemistry.

Wenny is a 2007 graduate of Northwestern - She has BS in Chemical Engineering.

Recycling Education Team

2009-04-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ijams Recycling Education Team Member

Service Position Summary:

Ijams Recycling Education Team Members will work towards the realization of Ijams Nature Center’s Recycling Education Contract with Knox County Solid Waste. Team members will further recycling education in Knox County by working with citizens, students, the business community, with government officials, and in the media. Recycling education is heavily project and event driven which will require much evening and weekend work. Gain valuable experience in education and project development by becoming an Ijams Recycling CAC AmeriCorps member today.

2009-03-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

The Water Quality Team phone interviews will begin the week of March 30th- Ruth Anne Hanahan will call all WQT applicants to set up appointments... Sorry for the delay - we have been very busy with programming and a big move from one office to another over the last month.

Thanks!

2009-03-13T11:52:00.001-07:00

UPDATE:
2009-2010 CAC AmeriCorps Positions at Beardsley Community Farm are officially closed...

Congrats to Brian Blackmon, Claire Godschalk, Graham Taylor, and Rachel Winner.

We look forward to this group serving in our community and making a tremendous impact over this next year.

Brian is a graduate of University of South Carolina. He is currently in Montana serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA - working with ranchers/ land management.

Claire is a graduate of University of Mary Washington (BA in Theatre Design). She has volunteered in community gardens and has a passion for food security.

Graham is a graduate of UVA (BS in Biology). He has an extensive background in gardening and landscapes and is going to Medical School after his service.

Rachel is a graduate of Dickinson College (BA in Int'l Studies). She has passion for sustainable development and has been working on her college's farm since 2006.

Welcome to the CAC AmeriCorps recruiting blog

2009-01-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

Our blog is where we keep you informed on the CAC AmeriCorps application process and team selection for our program. The AmeriCorps.org website has character count limitations and I thought that a blog would be a better forum for answering your questions.

We have a 46 week term - we start on August 17, 2009 and end on June 30, 2010. Most AmeriCorps Programs are 50 or 52 weeks (for the same benefits). By ending before July 1st, our successful members can enroll in grad school, law school, med school or undergrad with enough time to get their ed awards and settle into their new situation.

Our program has been in operation since 1994. I am an AmeriCorps Alum with this program. We have great service sites that are facilitating awesome environmental education and service in low wealth communities in Knoxville. Three of our sites have sponsored AmeriCorps members since 1995 and we have great supervisors that will develop you for your term of service and your life after AmeriCorps.

You must be able to start on August 17, 2009. We have 7 days of pre-service orientation and training. This is a fun and interactive period with many training sessions that will be important to your service. Our training includes: AmeriCorps 101, Leadership Development, Volunteer Management, Communication, Diversity Training, Red Cross First Aid and CPR, Defensive Driver Training, and a team building ropes course.

Here are the benefit basics:

$11,400 per 46 weeks

$495.65 / pay period before taxes

$4,725 educational award at end of service term to use for school or student loans

Health insurance provided Training provided

These positions are available for the 2009-2010 year:

Ijams Naturalist (1 position): Team member will facilitate Environmental Education (EE) activities for 5000 pre-kindergarten through 8th grade students visiting Ijams Nature Center on GO! Hikes. Facilitate School Yard Field Trips at area schools for Elementary students. Member assists in development, promotion and facilitation of the new Research in the Park programming. Member assists in curriculum development for new EE programming for K-8th grade and special needs students. Member leads presentations of non-releasable wild animals for GO! Hike students. Member assists in volunteer field guide recruitment and retention.

Knox County Solid Waste (1 position): Joining the Knox County Solid Waste and Recycling Program team provides an excellent opportunity to build your resume. The Knox County team member will gain experience working on the front lines of public administration and public policy. Knox County sponsors events and programs with several partners. On a regular basis the team member will work side by side with government agencies, non-profits, businesses, the media, and community organizations to accomplish shared goals. Team members will have the opportunity to gain substantial event planning experience with particular focus on waste reduction, zero waste, and carbon neutral events. Knox County is seeking a motivated dependable volunteer that is ready to take the lead in making a difference in their community.

Water Quality Team (7 positions remaining): Members serve with the Water Quality Forum Adopt-A-Watershed Program (AAW) to teach students how to protect their local watershed. They facilitate teacher AAW teams, teach hands-on science activities (chemical and biological sampling and analysis, water pollution, land use, and other related topics) in the classroom. They organize stream monitoring field events (water sample collections and monitoring, fish collection, stream physical assessment). They provide technical assistance and support to students and teachers in the planning and implementation of AAW projects.

EarthFlag Team (Team filled): Each team member individually works with 10 elementary or middle schools to increase their overall school sustainability. They teach students about solid waste issues in the classroom, facilitate the set-up and operation of school-wide composting and recycling programs, be a resource providing opportunity for hands-on learning. They also encourage students to recycle at home. They work with teachers and students to implement sustainable living practices (school gardens, nature trails, arboretums, etc).

Knoxville Recycling Coalition Team (1 position):The Knoxville Recycling Coalition Team Member will focus on educating the greater Knoxville/Knox County community about recycling opportunities, especially to those whom otherwise would not know about or do recycling. The Team Member will:
• Give on average two presentations a month to community groups.
• Assist organizations in conducting waste audits and/or developing recycling programs.
• Attend various community events with the KRC information display. Some events will involve children activities. Also, Team Member will create handouts and posters for publicizing events.
• Help organize, advertise, and find volunteers for KRC’s quarterly collection events.
• Attend EarthFest (Knoxville’s yearly Earth Day event) meetings and be involved with planning.
• Help plan and organize America Recycles Day on November 15th.
• Help organize research into different areas of recycling, and help update the yearly Recycling Guide.
• Contribute a short article for each quarterly newsletter.
• Assist with KRC’s recycling trucks. This means the loading potentially heavy items.
• Be allowed to pursue other projects areas based on his/her abilities.

Sustainability Team (1 position): Member will work with the UT Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment to assist the Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project (TNSWEP) program in its goals to promote solutions to solid waste issues. Member will also facilitate and develop sustainable projects such as Earth Fest and Sundown in the City recycling events.

Urban Agriculture Team (team selected as of 3-5-09): Members maintain a 1-acre urban community farm and the surrounding park area. They grow and distribute over 2,000 pounds of produce to volunteers, local food pantries and kitchens. They promote principles of gardening, composting, seed starting, and nutrition to 100 elementary students in 4 local schools. They increase community awareness of Beardsley Community Farm by planning festivals and special seasonal events.

Litter Prevention (1 position): The Litter Prevention Team serves with Keep Knoxville Beautiful, providing litter-prevention and introductory environmental education to 10 neighborhood/community associations, and 10 school groups as well as individuals to clean and maintain some of Knox County’s most littered areas.

Air Quality Team (1 position remaining): This team facilitates environmental outreach and education within the community through a variety of mediums, including the Young Biodiesel Leaders Program, workshops, community events and festivals. Team members also serve with students, schools, administrators, teachers, community members, businesses, stakeholders, and government agencies to communicate, plan, develop and implement clean air related projects in order to attain regional environmental goals of the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition.

it is about that time...

2008-08-06T12:31:00.001-07:00

We are looking forward to meeting the new 2008-9 class! Things are a little crazy around here and we are planning lots of orientation activities for the new class. In fact, we are hoping to have many of our alums come to a meet and greet lunch on Monday, August 18th at 12 noon. Just call me if you want to come by!

Khann Chov is really doing all that work and she has put together an engaging curricula for our week together.

Khann is a CAC AmeriCorps Alum from 2004- I have evidence of it above... see, there she's raising a well deserved Earth Flag with about a million kids (Todd Witcher is behind her).

2008-07-22T13:48:00.001-07:00

Congrats to the 2007-2008 "change agents" at CAC AmeriCorps. We will miss you guys! Going camping and rafting was great retreat/reflection activity!
For the new Corps:
We have been "Getting Things Done" for 14 years and we hope to make this the best year so far! We will be going to Memphis for MLK Day, Nashville for AmeriCorps Week and making a difference in Knoxville the rest of the year. Knoxville is an awesome place and I hope that you love it as much as our other alumni.

2008-9 AmeriCorps Teams

2008-04-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

As of July 22, 2008 there is only one AmeriCorps position remaining for the 2008-2009 year.

Water Quality Team (Team selected): Members serve with the Water Quality Forum Adopt-A-Watershed Program (AAW) to teach students how to protect their local watershed. They facilitate teacher AAW teams, teach hands-on science activities (chemical and biological sampling and analysis, water pollution, land use, and other related topics) in the classroom. They organize stream monitoring field events (water sample collections and monitoring, fish collection, stream physical assessment). They provide technical assistance and support to students and teachers in the planning and implementation of AAW projects.

EarthFlag Team (Team selected): Each team member individually works with 4 elementary or middle schools to increase their overall school sustainability. They teach students about solid waste issues in the classroom, facilitate the set-up and operation of school-wide composting and recycling programs, be a resource providing opportunity for hands-on learning. They also encourage students to recycle at home. They work with teachers and students to implement sustainable living practices (school gardens, nature trails, arboretums, etc).

Ijams Naturalist (Team selected): Team member will facilitate Environmental Education (EE) activities for 5000 pre-kindergarten through 8th grade students visiting Ijams Nature Center on GO! Hikes. Facilitate School Yard Field Trips at area schools for Elementary students. He assists in development, promotion and facilitation of the new Research in the Park programming. He assists in curriculum development for new EE programming for pre-kindergarten-8th grade and special needs students. He leads presentations of non-releasable wild animals for GO! Hike students. He assists in volunteer field guide recruitment and retention.

Air Quality Team (Team selected): This team facilitates environmental outreach and education within the community through a variety of mediums, including the Young Biodiesel Leaders Program, workshops, community events and festivals. Team members also serve with students, schools, administrators, teachers, community members, businesses, stakeholders, and government agencies to communicate, plan, develop and implement clean air related projects in order to attain regional environmental goals of the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition.

Urban Agriculture Team (Team selected): Members maintain a 1-acre urban community farm and the surrounding park area. They grow and distribute over 2,000 pounds of produce to local food pantries and kitchens. They promote principles of gardening, composting, seed starting, and nutrition to 100 elementary students in 4 local schools. They increase community awareness of Beardsley Community Farm by planning festivals and special seasonal events.

Litter Prevention Team (Team selected): The Litter Prevention Team serves with Keep Knoxville Beautiful, providing litter-prevention and introductory environmental education to 10 neighborhood/community associations, and 10 school groups as well as individuals to clean and maintain some of Knox County’s most littered areas.

Recycling Team: (1 position remaining)
Knoxville Recycling Coalition (1 position remaining): This member organizes events with the Knoxville Recycling Coalition, such as America Recycles Day, to create awareness and educate about the importance of recycling.

Knox County Solid Waste (Team selected): This member will assist the County Recycling Coordinator by educating adults, high school students, and community groups about the importance of recycling.

UT Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment (Team selected): Member will work with the ISSE to assist the Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project (TNSWEP) program in its goals to promote solutions to solid waste issues. They also facilitate and develop sustainable projects such as Earth Fest 2009 and 2009 Sundown in the City recycling events.

2008-04-03T12:06:00.001-07:00

We have filled the positions on our Urban Agriculture Team @
Beardsley Community Farm.

It was difficult to make a decision, but I know we have four great folks that are going to do some awesome service work starting in August.
Congrats to Tara, Jeff, Kirsten and Shelagh on your commitment to serve with us in 2008-9.
If you were interested in the farm as a service site you may be interested in our positions at Ijams Nature center with our Earth Flag Team. http://www.ijams.org

2008-2009 Schedule of Saturday Events

2008-02-19T12:54:00.000-08:00

Nothing is "set in stone" but...

Beardsley Community Farm * August 23, 2008
Hunger Hike * September 2008
Make A Difference Day * October 24-5, 2008
Martin Luther King Weekend * January 16-17, 2009
Run for Clean Air 5K * April 18, 2009
EarthFest * April 25, 2009

Starting to do interviews...

2008-02-14T12:48:00.001-08:00

Over the last week, I have started to do interviews for the prospective member class of 2008-9. It is always envigorating to talk to dedicated and passionate people. I hope that 2008 class is like this year's group. We have a corps that is compassionate, smart, and is using this year to improve themselves and others through service. This group works hard and plays hard.

This is an exciting time!

2008-01-29T06:54:00.000-08:00

Until May, our main focus will be recruiting the new class of CAC AmeriCorps members for 2008-2009.
This is the most fun I have all year. I truly enjoy having the opportunity to speak with so many great people that are passionate, intelligent, and thoughtful.

Every year, I am always amazed that we have such talented and fun-loving people that travel from all over the country to serve in Knoxville.

If you need more info about joining AmeriCorps, moving to Knoxville, or want to know about other environmental (AmeriCorps) programs that are out there...
just contact me at john.harris@knoxcac.org or 865 546-3500

Rough idea of 2008-2009 positions

2008-01-28T05:52:00.000-08:00

The finalized version of the 2008-2009 CAC AmeriCorps positions will be available after Jan. 31st. Until then, we have a rough idea of what the positions will be. Check out the CAC AmeriCorps official website to see listings:

http://www.knoxcac.org/americorps/join.html

Check back with us next week to see the official 2008-2009 position listings.

CAC AmeriCorps Fact #3: CAC AmeriCorps has a 25-member Corps. The majority of these positions are grouped into multiple-member teams.

My AmeriCorps Application process

2008-01-25T13:13:00.001-08:00

The new "My AmeriCorps " Recruiting System is still under construction. It needs some improvement, but I think it will get worked out shortly. We have also been forwarding emails to some people over the last few days. Those automated emails (from the website) have included a broken link to our application. The real link is https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=573&SID

Our Application Process is:
Go to Americorps.org (or click link above)
complete the online app and references
select our program * CAC AmeriCorps

After we receive your application we will send you a list of the teams/sites (or they will be posted here). Select your #1 Team choice and we will conduct 2 interviews the first one is with your site supervisor and the 2nd is with the CAC AmeriCorps Program Director, John Harris. We either offer you a position or decline within a week of the two interviews being complete. We understand that high quality prospective AmeriCorps members have to make a big decision and we want to be up front and not make people wait for our decision. If we offer you the position, you have up to 2 weeks to decide and commit. All CAC AmeriCorps members must submit to and pass a drug screen, background check, and physical prior to service in August, 2008.

If you have questions call us at 865 546-3500.

Thanks!

Positions for 2008-2009 year

2008-01-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

The positions for the 2008-2009 year will be posted in late January. We apologize for the delay, but some teams will be changed, and we want to make sure that we get the best information available to you as it becomes available. Stay tuned.

CAC AmeriCorps Fact #2: The CAC AmeriCorps director is named John Harris. If you have any questions about CAC AmeriCorps, email him at john.harris@knoxcac.org.

2007-2008 AmeriCorps team positions

2008-01-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

These are the current AmeriCorps positions that are being filled for the 2007-2008 year. These positions are similar (but not identical) to those that will be available for the 2008-2009 year.

Water Quality Team (7 positions): Members serve with the Water Quality Forum Adopt-A-Watershed Program (AAW) to teach students how to protect their local watershed. They facilitate teacher AAW teams, teach hands-on science activities (chemical and biological sampling and analysis, water pollution, land use, and other related topics) in the classroom. They organize stream monitoring field events (water sample collections and monitoring, fish collection, stream physical assessment). They provide technical assistance and support to students and teachers in the planning and implementation of AAW projects.

EarthFlag Team (6 positions): Each team member individually works with 4 elementary or middle schools to increase their overall school sustainability. They teach students about solid waste issues in the classroom, facilitate the set-up and operation of school-wide composting and recycling programs, be a resource providing opportunity for hands-on learning. They also encourage students to recycle at home. They work with teachers and students to implement sustainable living practices (school gardens, nature trails, arboretums, etc).

Ijams Naturalist (1 position): Team member will facilitate Environmental Education (EE) activities for 5000 pre-kindergarten through 8th grade students visiting Ijams Nature Center on GO! Hikes. Facilitate School Yard Field Trips at area schools for Elementary students. He assists in development, promotion and facilitation of the new Research in the Park programming. He assists in curriculum development for new EE programming for pre-kindergarten-8th grade and special needs students. He leads presentations of non-releasable wild animals for GO! Hike students. He assists in volunteer field guide recruitment and retention.

Air Quality Team (2 positions): This team facilitates environmental outreach and education within the community through a variety of mediums, including the Young Biodiesel Leaders Program, workshops, community events and festivals. Team members also serve with students, schools, administrators, teachers, community members, businesses, stakeholders, and government agencies to communicate, plan, develop and implement clean air related projects in order to attain regional environmental goals of the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition.

Urban Agriculture Team (4 positions): Members maintain a 1-acre urban community farm and the surrounding park area. They grow and distribute over 2,000 pounds of produce to local food pantries and kitchens. They promote principles of gardening, composting, seed starting, and nutrition to 100 elementary students in 4 local schools. They increase community awareness of Beardsley Community Farm by planning festivals and special seasonal events.

Litter Prevention Team (2 positions): The Litter Prevention Team serves with Keep Knoxville Beautiful, providing litter-prevention and introductory environmental education to 10 neighborhood/community associations, and 10 school groups as well as individuals to clean and maintain some of Knox County’s most littered areas.

Tribe One Team (1 position): The Tribe One Team facilitates and expands Tribe One programming and mentoring activities. The Tribe One Team focuses on educating 10 at-risk youth on the dangers of gang associations, the enhancement of self-concept and decision-making skills, and the provision of positive alternative activities in which they may engage.

Knoxville Recycling Coalition Team (1 position): This team member organizes events with the Knoxville Recycling Coalition, such as America Recycles Day, to create awareness and educate about the importance of recycling.

Sustainability Team (1 position): Member will work with the UT Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment to assist the Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project (TNSWEP) program in its goals to promote solutions to solid waste issues. They also facilitate and develop sustainable projects such as Earth Fest and Sundown in the City recycling events.

Welcome to the CAC AmeriCorps home page

2008-01-15T10:29:00.001-08:00

Coming on this blog will be descriptions of:

What CAC AmeriCorps is all about
AmeriCorps positions available at CAC AmeriCorps for the fall 2008 year
Information from current AmeriCorps members and alumni about their experiences

We look forward to hearing from you as we expand this site with all the information we have available about CAC AmeriCorps.

CAC AmeriCorps Fact #1: CAC stands for Community Action Committee. The Knoxville-Knox County CAC is the group that hosts our AmeriCorps program.