Since 1994, Grace Hill AmeriCorps has led the development and environmental restoration of the Riverfront Trail, St. Louis’ premier 12-mile bike and greenway, strengthened impoverished North City riverside communities, reinforced community responsibility, and provided educational and financial opportunities to its residents. AmeriCorps Trail Rangers continue to maintain the Trail area and provide services to over 13,500 annual Trail users.  Because of the presence of the AmeriCorps Rangers, $12.7 million in infrastructure investments has occurred since 2006.

Rangers are active in promoting issue areas of environmental health, cultural history, and their role in serving the community.  Rangers have received an EPA Environmental Justice Grant to keep and secure the last remaining street in all of North St. Louis that leads from the community to the Mississippi River and the Riverfront Trail.  Over the past 2 years, Rangers led 627 volunteers to plant over 10,000 wildflowers and grasses and spread switchgrass seed over 15 acres along the Mississippi.  Rangers have also partnered with companies to keep salt piles from leeching into the River and prevented high polluting activities to occur in a community area with the highest asthma rates in the country.

Also on the Trail, Rangers have led efforts to develop Missouri’s first nationally-recognized Underground Railroad site, the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing, into a tourist destination.  After 100 hours of presentation training, Rangers have educated 1000’s of citizens on the history of slavery relating to freedom in the United States.  This May 21^st marks the 9^th Annual Mary Meachum Celebration where 300-500 people gather to witness a reenactment of the 1855 event.      

AmeriCorps Rangers are primarily selected from the community in which they serve to build the leaders of tomorrow in neighborhood areas that need strengthening.  AmeriCorps provides young, urban adults with the opportunity to further their education, provide new experiences and travel to new places, develop personal and professional skills, and become exposed to non-traditional career paths.  As one AmeriCorps Ranger put it, “When you go into a counselor's office at any African American high school, you may see a poster saying ‘Be a Marine.’  Why not a poster saying ‘Be a Marine Biologist’?”  AmeriCorps Rangers are exposed to the tourism field, horticulture, land and soil conservation, habitat restoration, park management, and program development.  A recent study of 40 AmeriCorps alum showed that 100% observed positive personal growth, 92% claimed AmeriCorps helped to obtain and maintain their current occupation, and 90% were employed or in school.  

In 2010, the Grace Hill AmeriCorps Trail Ranger Project was named one of the most innovative State AmeriCorps programs in the United States.