Youth Conservation Corps readies its kids summer program

||| FROM KELSEY KITTLESON for YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS |||

The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) provides conservation and stewardship summer programs for youth ages 12-18. The 8-week program will run from June 27th-August 18th, Monday-Thursday, providing an excellent resource for kids and families living in the San Juan Islands. We have a 10-person crew led by two adult field guides on Orcas and San Juan Island.

The YCC is an opportunity for youth to not only spend the summer outdoors learning about local conservation and stewardship efforts, but actually improving wilderness areas across the islands. Youth will work closely with program staff, conservation professionals, and partner education programs on stewardship/restoration projects, inquiry-based experiential outdoor education, technical field skill building, and professional development. In doing so, YCC members gain applied job skills, an end of season stipend, and training that can help propel them into their future.

The program looks to provide a range of skills and knowledge for crew members that includes forest stand mapping, Traditional Ecological Knowledge of native plants, and wildfire risk reduction, wetland and riparian zone recovery, invasive weed removal, and trail building/brushing. Each stewardship project will be complemented by educational themes and hands-on activities that focus on: Team building & anti-bullying; Sense of place; Localized food systems; Land management ethics; Marine, nearshore, and wetland environments; Endangered species recovery; Forest & fire ecology; Art & environmentalism

YCC crews strive to improve the health of our youth as well as the health of our environment which in turn leads to a healthy and balanced sustainable future.

Apply soon! Our applications will close May 12th and are available on the San Juan Islands Conservation District website. Families pay an activity fee between $0-$500 depending on what works best for them, and all students are paid an $800 stipend at the end of the season to celebrate their hard work. Our program provides a healthy mix of field science, natural and cultural history, leadership skills training, weekly themed curricula and high-impact service projects. We are excited for our 2022 season and hope you will apply!

If you are or know of someone who is interested in applying for YCC, please visit our website and contact Kelsey Kittleson, YCC Program Coordinator, at Kelsey@sjicd.org.