Restorative Powers

A group of young and enthusiastic workers is helping restore the historic Mentryville Hotel in Pico Canyon. And they’re doing it for free.

So far, they’ve reinforced the more than 100-year-old structure’s foundation, taken out an old sink and heater and removed 2,388 square feet of stucco. A rickety veranda was also rebuilt, concrete was poured around the two-story hotel and a storage area was cleaned out.

At a ranger station in nearby Towsley Canyon, the workers replaced the roof and cleaned, stained and finished the ragged wood floors. They also ripped out a rotted, 600-foot wood fence, putting up a new one in its place.

“I love it, because it’s an incredible opportunity to give something back to the community,” said 23-year-old Suzanne DeBolt, one of 14 workers who are helping the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy restore parts of the two canyons in the Santa Clarita Valley. “I’m going into public relations, so I’ll be pushing paper the rest of my career. This is my last chance to work outside and with my hands.”

The workers, part of the Americorps volunteer program created by the Clinton administration in 1994, plan to continue sprucing up the area through Dec. 16, when their six-week effort will be complete. The project includes landscaping, restoration of the two buildings and construction of a pedestrian bridge over a creek at Towsley Canyon.

The participants are picked nationally, are assigned to one of five campuses throughout the country and train for a month before being deployed to a job site. After completing 10 months of community service, each receives a $4,725 college grant. Members are allowed to repeat the program once, receiving an additional grant.

For the cash-strapped public parklands, the workers are a dream come true: free labor for projects that might otherwise not receive funding, or in some cases, might not get enough funding.

The volunteers’ work in the two canyons would cost at least $1,000 a day if a professional crew was hired, conservancy officials said.

“Their slogan is, ‘Getting things done,’ and that’s what we need,” said Amy Lethbridge, deputy executive officer of the conservancy, which is a state agency. “It gives us a huge labor pool that we simply don’t have the money for. Even in cases where work was underway, now we can get three times more done than what we planned.”

Lethbridge wrote a proposal in August to bring an Americorps group to the area for the first time.

The conservancy is providing the workers with housing, materials, tools and guidance for construction jobs. The Americorps group, which is based at the organization’s regional campus in San Diego, is staying at the Towsley Canyon Lodge within the park.

On a recent morning, as they worked on the fence, banging hammers disturbed the melody of chirping birds and running water that make the park ideal for relaxing or a picnic. The work was nonstop for nearly five hours and, after a brief lunch break, resumed for four hours more.

Emily Collins, a 22-year-old who has a psychology degree from State University of New York at Albany, said she loves helping the conservancy and getting a taste of the West Coast at the same time.

“It’s so great to be out in a T-shirt and shorts this time of the year,” said Collins, a New York native. “I had never even been to California, so I can’t believe I’m here. I rub it into my folks and friends back home every chance I can.”