WAPELLO, Iowa — Ten young people from around the country are making Louisa County their home while they take on projects to better the community through the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps program.

During the course of their six-week project, which began about three weeks ago, the Corps members will help remove non-native species through prescribed burning of grasslands and assist with the county’s environmental education program at Louisa County schools. The team will also plan, organize and host Louisa County’s first Earth Day River Cleanup project on the Iowa River.

“They are such a neat group. It’s just the coolest thing to have all these young people here doing this,” said Julie Ohde, director of the Louisa County Conservation Board.

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps is part of AmeriCorps, a network of national service programs created to improve the environment, enhance education, increase public safety and assist with disaster relief and other needs.

The members, ranging in age from their late teens to early 20’s, hail from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Nebraska, Kansas, Florida and Wisconsin, and will stay until April 21. They are working with the Louisa County Conservation Board, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and the Department of Natural Resources.

The group is staying at the Conservation Board office, which is located in the former county care facility in rural Louisa County and has rooms, showers and a kitchen.

Casey McDermott, 22, Canton, Mass., graduated from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut last year. She received a business degree but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do for a career, so she joined AmeriCorps.

She and Andrew Essington, 19, of Sudbury, Mass., were holding an AmeriCorps recruitment drive Tuesday at Wapello Senior High School.

“I had never been to the Midwest before so I chose to come here. I joined because I was interested in travel,” Essington said. He is a student at the University of Richmond and hasn’t decided a major.

McDermott and Essington said they chose the Corps’ service program because they wanted to develop leadership and teamwork skills. They have also been able to network for job opportunities.

“We’ve been everywhere from Wisconsin to New Orleans,” McDermott said.

The members get insurance, a living stipend and an education award of $4,725 to help pay for college after they complete the 10-month program and 1,700 hours of service.

On Tuesday, the members broke down into teams. Some taught environmental education classes at schools and others fixed a dock at the Langwood Education Center fishing pond.

“The biggest thing we needed help with is prescribed burning to improve wildlife habitats,” Ohde said. When the weather cooperates, the team does controlled burns in conservation areas in and around Louisa County. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services trained them.

“We’ve been having AmeriCorps in our county since 2001,” Ohde said.

The volunteers are requested and the program decides if, when and how many volunteers to send to the counties in need.

The volunteers said the Iowa River needs some serious attention, particularly because of the redistribution of trash after the June 2008 flood. They will host an Earth Day River Cleanup on Saturday, April 18, and pre-registration is required. The event will be held from Cappy Russell access area to Ferry Landing.

“We are going to get out there and pick up trash along the river as well as out of the water,” McDermott said. Volunteers will use canoes, kayaks and john boats to retrieve the debris.