TLC’s Conservation Corps - Preserving for Learning

By Adam Fuss

The turn from Jones Ferry Road to the Irvin Farm Preserve, located some three miles past Carrboro’s western edge, is easy to miss. Only the most disciplined and attentive of drivers will make it on their first visit without having to turn around and backtrack. It is here, up a short drive off the turn, that the Conservation Corps has been meeting nearly every Thursday morning for the last year, pausing only for holidays and spells of bad weather.

Walt Tysinger, TLC’s Land Manager, heads up the Conservation Corps. He described the group’s basic mission as one aimed at “getting the Irvin Farm preserved as a center for a variety of educational and agricultural endeavors.”

The most urgent project facing the volunteers involves restoring the farm’s two old barns. Long in a state of disrepair, both barns require a considerable amount of new siding and work to shore up their drainage systems.

“Our goal is to make both of these barns functional as storage spaces and workshops for the stewardship program,” said Tysinger. “This is a long-term project that makes use of lumber milled right here at the Irvin Farm for the siding and support structures.”

The Conservation Corps works to restore a barn at the Irvin Farm Preserve

Although their commitment is uniform, the volunteers in the Conservation Corps have different motivations for taking part in the group’s work. For some, the chance to participate in a worthy cause and enjoy the camaraderie is motivation enough. For others, the work provides a chance to break from their normal routines and enjoy the outdoors.

“I was born and raised on a farm in Idaho,” said Mark Wright, a volunteer from Raleigh who was working to repair the barn’s siding.

“After I retired, I went to help my brother on the old family farm. I’ve been in love with old barns for a long time, so when I found out that TLC needed help fixing up this one, I jumped at the opportunity,” he said.

Those who don’t like crawling up ladders were glad to help shore up the drainage system along side the barn to prevent water from building up and damaging the wood siding.

“I’m one of the original volunteers in the Conservation Corps,” said Jean Hodder as she arranged stones in a freshly-dug trench alongside the barn. “I’ve been involved with TLC for a long time now, ever since the trail-building project in Johnston Mill.”

The crew certainly spends most of the morning working, but there’s always a chance to take a break.

“Debbie’s coffeecake is reason enough to come out here,” said Ron Gallagher, a native of Albany, NY, who lives in Chapel Hill, in reference to a tasty treat provided to the volunteers each week by Walt Tysingers’s wife. “The work is great, but it’s really all about the coffeecake!”