By Treasure Barberich-Wyckoff
During my first 5 months of AmeriCorps service with the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area, I’ve had the unique opportunity to share the stories of my fellow AmeriCorps, our partner sites, and our national heritage region. While much of my work—editing videos, scheduling social media posts, creating promotional materials—is done behind some sort of screen, the parts I’ve enjoyed most are when I’ve been out in the field photographing our breathtaking landscapes, getting video footage of our miles of trails, and learning about the interesting and complex history and heritage of Appalachia.
Recently, many of these facets of my job converged when we hosted a mask making activity ahead of the annual Fasnacht celebration in Helvetia, WV. With the support of AFNHA staff, about 10 of us AmeriCorps gathered at the Historic Darden Mill in Elkins to create masks out of paper mache and/or cardboard. We may have gotten ourselves a little messy in the process, but boy was it fun! The final masks were revealed to one another when we met up in Helvetia the following Saturday to bid Old Man Winter adieu by tossing him in a roaring bonfire. Some of the AmeriCorps kept a hold of the masks they worked hard to create, but I opted to toss mine in as an offering that—fingers crossed—will bring spring back to our hills and hollers.
While the creative outlet, participation in local heritage, and AmeriCorps bonding was enjoyable, I also took this opportunity to shoot video footage and photos of the whole experience. The content created will help promote the AmeriCorps program, encourage others to explore our region, and provide insight into our culture, history, and heritage.
Another highlight of my time here has been getting to adventure across our region and hike our expansive trails to promote our AFNHA Hiking Challenge Patch. Despite growing up in West Virginia, there is a lot of this state and our region I have yet to see. Generating content around our hiking challenge has allowed me to see new parts of a place I love, have a greater appreciation of the abundant forests that cover the AFNHA region, and serve as an ambassador for the acres of parks, trails, and natural wonders our region encompasses.
The first half of my service year has been so rewarding in a myriad of ways—I can’t wait to see what the second half has in store!
