Corp member sawing a log. Photo courtesy of ESCC.
Do you enjoy the many trails in the Sierra and other locations in California? Chances are you came across the amazing work done by the Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps.
Beyond Limits Education has worked with the Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps since 2019. I met founder Agnes Vianzon in 2016 when the ESCC was just a vision. Agnes had boots on the ground within a year. I have watched this program grow from a very small operation conducted out of Agnes’s home to an operation based out of a multi-acre ranch in Chalfant, CA. Today, multiple trail crews are sent to areas throughout California to do restoration work. In addition, the ESCC runs wilderness backpacking trips to expose those in marginalized communities to the outdoors.
“We strive to facilitate an environment of belonging throughout all of our programming and intentionally recruit participants and staff from priority populations including Black, Indigenous, AAPI, People of the Global Majority, Women, Women of color, LGBTQ2SIA+
By providing a transformational and immersive experience in the wilderness, we offer opportunities for youth and young adults to connect with and better understand the natural spaces that make up California. Through individual service-learning restoration work, we engage participants in direct environmental stewardship while also providing educational opportunities on sustainability, citizen science, botany, geology, natural history, trail stewardship, backpacking, and more.
By way of hard work, new environments, education, and guidance on an intimate group level, our members are given a role in creating new life experiences while protecting their remaining wild lands. Through our engrossing wilderness programs, participants develop a unique set of skills — breaking boundaries and learning about themselves and others while forming a deep appreciation of the outdoors.”
– Quoted from the Eastern Sierra Conservation About Us page
Since 2019, BLE has trained corp members in Wilderness First Aid and corp leaders as Wilderness First Responders. Seeing the transformation these human beings undergo from spring when we do our wilderness medicine training to fall when they come out of the field is amazing!
We run an annual fundraiser Wilderness First Aid course in the spring to raise funds for the corps members’ wilderness medicine training. Proceeds from tuition are donated to training.
How can you support the ESCC?
- Take our Wilderness First Aid course. It’s a win-win. You get to learn how to recognize and care for medical emergencies while supporting a group that maintains the trails we all enjoy.
- Donate directly to the ESCC.
