A former Peoria resident is doing conservation work across the country, after starting in local prairies.
Kallyn Allen is a women’s fire crew lead for the Western Colorado Conservation Corps. Her crew goes out on weekly “hitches.” They remove plant matter and build measures to slow and stop the progress of a wildfire, as well as getting rid of invasive species.
Allen says her interest in conservation started with volunteering for groups that did similar work on the prairies scattered throughout Central Illinois.
“I knew I wanted to kind of venture out west and do the same kind of work and so I found out about AmeriCorps programs,” she said. “And last fall I went to Montana and was in their Conservation Corps.”
In Montana, Allen worked on projects like stream restoration, trail work and burn zones. She also discovered her current passion: wildland firefighting.
“I just went on my first two wildfires,” she told WCBU in early May. “So we’re kind of on call all season.”
That season will last through November, when Allen hopes to get a seasonal job on a firefighting crew in any of the western states. She recommends volunteering as a way to get started for anyone interested in doing conservation work.
“Unfortunately, restoration and environmental work is something that takes hands-on work,” Allen said. “So just going out and volunteering and meeting new people and getting those connections is a great way.”
Throughout her career, Allen has been using some of the same skills she learned in volunteer groups.
“It definitely translates out here in the West,” she said. “I mean, we do invasive removal and herbicide and prescribed burns, to try to help the land do what it’s supposed to do. So it’s definitely an...all over the nation kind of similarity.”
It’s a field where Allen says there will always be a need and opportunities.
“There’s no easy solution or fix to a lot of environmental problems, like removing invasives or reducing fuels and stuff, it does take hands-on work,” Allen said. “So it takes a big crew of people to get out there and actually do the work and make a difference. That’s why it’s important to me and I’ve always been interested in it.”
