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Baltimore Teens Trade Summer in the City for Conservation in the Wilderness

They traveled 2,000 miles from home, trading high-rise buildings for towering trees, city lights for twinkling stars, and an urban cacophony for the melodies of songbirds.

Relaxing? Hardly. These six Baltimore teenagers aren’t on vacation. They are working long, hard days to restore the wilderness character of Carson National Forest in New Mexico.

All six are members of the Student Conservation Association (SCA), a national nonprofit organization that engages young adults in hands-on conservation to build connections with nature and provide career skills and training. In June and July, the crew members worked in urban parks back home in a pioneering SCA program that employs under-represented city youth in green summer jobs near their own neighborhoods. When given the option of performing similar work in a national forest, the teens jumped at the chance.

“There’s not many wide open places like this left, so we have to do what we can to protect them,” says 17-year-old Malik Moore. “Plus, I get to go out West for the first time. No way was I going to pass this up.”

None of the SCA team had ever traveled this far before; few had even been more than a few miles from home. During the day, they build hiking trails, restore campsites, and remove invasive plants before heading to basecamp to prepare their own meals over an open fire, take in environmental lessons from their crew leaders, and retreat to their tents for a restful sleep. “This is an adventure, no doubt about it,” states Howard Thorne, Jr. “But we all know why we’re here. There’s work to do.”

The project is part of the Forest Service’s 10-Year Challenge to achieve specific stewardship objectives at more than 400 US Forest Service sites by 2014, the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. S. Elwood York, Jr., the Forest Service’s wilderness program leader in Washington, D.C., says he also had another objective in mind in creating the Carson opportunity for the SCA Baltimore crew.

U.S. Senator (D-NC) Kay Hagan Congratulates Oconaluftee Job Corps Graduates

Via Job Corps News

Cherokee, NC – Oconaluftee Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center joined 125 other Job Corps centers across the country to celebrate the second annual ‘National Job Corps Commencement Day’. Held on Friday August 24th, 2012, the local ceremony congratulated 20 students who graduated the program this year with successful education and career training in everything from Forestry Conservation to Office Administration.

At the Oconaluftee JCCCC, these young adults aged 16-24 were offered a set of diverse academic opportunities and career pathways tailored to meet the needs of today’s business and industry. Nationally each year, thousands of youth are given a second chance to complete their education and advance into careers, higher education or the military. Program graduates then return to their local area as active contributors to the economic and social fabric of the community much like the original CCC work programs of the 1930’s. US Senator (D-NC), Kay Hagan, wrote to Oconaluftee’s graduates “I don’t have to tell you that our country is facing hard economic times. This day showcases to the community, employers, and tax payers that the Job Corps program is one of the nation’s most effective career preparation programs… our focus must once again be on progress and job creation.”

Corpsmember Success Story: Justin Quintana-Scott – Paying it Forward

From the Colorado Youth Corps Association

When Justin Quintana-Scott’s home in Beulah, Colo. was destroyed in a fire in January 2012, he lost not only his house, but his two dogs as well. The mountain community of Beulah came forward in support by holding a fundraiser and erecting a memorial – gestures Justin will never forget. He is repaying his community’s kindness in part through his involvement with Mile High Youth Corps-Pueblo.

“I saw how my community stepped up and pulled together to help us out. It inspired me to help more,” says Justin, who joined Mile High Youth Corps in June.

A member of the Apache and Navajo Indian tribes, Justin is a sophomore at Colorado State University in Pueblo. He is studying wildlife biology (he made the Dean’s List this year) and has dreams of working for the Division of Parks and Wildlife.

He is getting valuable work experience through youth corps, building on an innate interest in the outdoors. “I’ve always been around wildlife – including bears, deer and mountain lions. I’d like to work closely with wildlife, and make it so that the next generation will have access to that too,” he says.

Justin’s crew is braving the scorching Colorado temperatures clearing corridors along the Arkansas River Trail and the Fountain Creek River Trail. By ridding the area of Russian olive trees – an invasive species and daily consumer of more than 30 gallons of river water – Mile High Youth Corps is “making the Pueblo nature scene more friendly to the public and pleasing to the eye.”

Justin is working toward an AmeriCorps scholarship to help pay for college. To achieve his goal, he needs to complete 300 hours of work with the youth corps. But to Justin, this is more than just work. “We’re always smiling, not because it’s a job, but because everyone on my team wants to be there.”

Justin and his family are rebuilding their life with a new house in Pueblo, and he is setting an example for youth with a positive outlook. “I like that in youth corps, we’re helping out the community and setting a positive role model for the youth of Pueblo. It’s altogether fun and enjoyable, and makes me feel good to be a positive influence.”

Young Invicibles Releases New Publication

Our friends at Young Invincibles have released a new policy brief titled “Young America Ideas Book: 12 Solutions to Help Get Our Generation Back on Track.” You can download the publication here.

A press release from Young Invincibles explains that “These ideas are not designed to be comprehensive solutions, but rather provide concrete, pragmatic steps that our political leaders can take right now to address the economic problems facing young people. The 12 solutions are based on discussions with young adults across the country, available data, and expert opinion.

Policy ideas include:

1. Create 500,000 AmeriCorps jobs, so that young adults can serve our country and get valuable work experience. Last year, 500,000 people applied for 80,000 positions.

2. Establish the “American Counseling Fellows” program to send 30,000 recent college grads into high schools to assist under-staffed school counselors in career and college counseling; like Teach for America for school counselors.

3. Require disclosures on all TV college advertisements where schools must publish their employment rates after graduation.

4. Student loan repayment programs made easy and pumped-up financial aid counseling to help students make good decisions and repay student loans.

Youth Employment Turning the Corner in 2012

Image from Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa

By U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis

Published Originally on The Huffington Post (Link)

As young Americans all across the country head back to a new school year, I’m excited to say that many more will take with them lessons learned through summer jobs.

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report on youth employment. The numbers show that while there’s still work to be done, opportunities are growing for young people around the country.

It’s no secret that the effect s of the 2007 recession had a significant impact on the job prospects for youth, but today’s report showed positive signs that job prospects for young people picked up pace in 2012. Between April and July of each year, the youth labor force (16-24 year olds working or actively looking for a job) grows significantly, as large numbers of students take on summer work and new graduates enter the job market. So July traditionally marks the peak of youth employment during the year.

Today’s report showed that youth employment rose by 2.1 million between April and July 2012, with 19.5 million young people employed last month. That’s up from 18.6 million a year ago. The youth unemployment rate showed a significant decline, falling to 17.1% — a percentage point from last year and down two points from 2010. Meanwhile the share of young people employed in July 2012 climbed back up to 50.2% from its historic low last year.

Youth employment increased across a wide variety of industries including education and health services, manufacturing, transportation and utilities, but there remains much work to be done, especially within communities of color. While the labor force participation rate and employment-to-population ratios for African Americans and Latinos all showed significant improvement from 2011 to 2012, both African American (28.6%) and Latino (18.5%) youth continue to have a much higher unemployment rate than their white counterparts (14.9%).

Earlier this year the president and I both took a stand for the importance of summer employment, launching our Summer Jobs+ initiative. By teaming up with committed businesses, nonprofits and cities around the country, this effort provided more than 300,000 summer job opportunities for low-income and disadvantaged youth, including more than 100,000 paid positions.

Together we’re helping young people across the country realize that there’s no substitute for the real world experience of work and no replacement for the dignity that comes with earning your first paycheck.

Governor Visits Vermont Youth Conservation Corps

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin met the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps Farm Crew on August 2nd during Farmer’s Market Week. The Governor stated, “Farmers’ markets reflect the best of Vermont—hard working people, a healthy lifestyle, and strong communities. They are a part of our lifestyle across the state, and this week is a great opportunity to honor the hard work of the market managers and producers.” The VYCC Farm Crew certainly felt honored to talk with the Governor and tell him about their hard work.

Corpsmembers at Forest History Center Bring CCC History Alive

For the third summer, a crew from the Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa served at the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota working as interpreters in the Center’s early 1900s-era living history museum, and doing field work such as trail maintenance and fence construction. Corps members Willie Storm and Marjie Shrimpton spend their afternoons in costume: Storm as a woodsman teaching about logging practices and Shrimpton singing and dancing in the kitchen as a cook assistant. Jen Sikkink and Riley Cavanaugh worked the forester’s cabin and fire tower, teaching visitors about the CCC’s role in logging history and tying it to the Corps’ current work in maintaining, restoring and educating the public about Minnesota forests. Becky Jennings, interim FHC program director, praised the work of the crews in initiating and maintaining projects that enhance the experience for visitors. “They are ambitious, hard-working, able to think on their feet and work independently, but also work really well as a crew,” said Jennings. “We’ve been thrilled to have them here.”

Military Vets Help Restore Fish Habitat (a project of the California Conservation Corps)

Veterans will get a chance to train and work on habitat restoration and fisheries monitoring through a project funded by NOAA and administered in partnership with the California Conservation Corps and California’s Department of Fish and Game. During the yearlong program of paid training and hands-on experience, veterans will spend part of the time on habitat restoration and will also receive training and experience in firefighting and reducing fire hazards. “This is a win-win for everyone,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA’s assistant administrator for fisheries. “Military veterans have tremendous skills to offer, and by helping to restore fish habitats they will be supporting the important role of commercial and recreational fishing in the economy. Restoration jobs pay dividends twice, first because they put people to work immediately, and then because restoration benefits our fisheries, tourism, and coastal communities for years to come.” Veterans will start the program by taking courses in how to collect data and evaluate the effectiveness of coastal and marine habitat restoration. By mid- to late October, they will begin monitoring several river restoration sites in Humboldt, Del Norte, and Mendocino counties that were designed to increase spawning and rearing habitat for populations of endangered coho salmon in accordance with the recovery plan developed under the Endangered Species Act. The restored habitat should also help boost populations of Chinook and steelhead trout as well as improve environmental quality generally. See the full press release here.

Veterans interested in joining the fisheries crew should contact the California Conservation Corps’ Tina Ratcliff at 916-341-3123 or tina.ratcliff[at]ccc.ca.gov

21st Century Conservation Service Corps Federal Advisory Committee Submits Final Report to Secretary Salazar

On September 5, 2012, 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) Federal Advisory Committee submitted their report to Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The Mission of the 21CSC is stated as follows: The 21CSC is a bold national effort to put young Americans and veterans to work protecting, restoring and enhancing America’s great outdoors. While based on the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps and other federal and non-federal conservation corps efforts that followed, it has been recommended that the 21CSC be operated primarily by non-federal partners. (Which means you!)

The Corps Network and many of your fellow member Corps Directors have been involved in this process. We are excited by this development in the Corps movement and will be working to make sure that all Corps that complete projects that fit within this initiative are made aware of any and all opportunities that develop from it. We are particularly interested in the recommendation regarding quality and accreditation (those of you who have participated in the ECO peer and self-assessment program will find it familiar). Please see the full report by clicking here.

Watch Video about the Mission and Projects of KUPU and the Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps

From the KUPU website and YouTube page.

The kupukupu fern is one of the first plants to bring life back to areas devastated by lava flows. In Hawaiian, the word kupu means “to sprout, grow, germinate or increase.” This makes KUPU a fitting name for Hawaii’s leading Youth Conservation Corps.

Watch this video to learn more about KUPU’s mission “to bring life back to the people, the land, and the ocean,” and learn about their plans to turn a property once used by the fishing industry into a new center where KUPU members can meet. Hear from KUPU members and alumni, and see some of the beautiful landscapes this organization works to protect.