Summer experience sure to be unforgettable

By Margret Krueger, SYC wilderness crew and Cara Lahti, Youth Council

This year, 150 youth will participate in one of two Summer Youth Corps sessions, along with 26 AmeriCorps crew leaders, two swampers, two cooks and five head staff members. About 20 percent of participants will be deaf or hard-of-hearing. Corps members will travel to various locations to manage natural resources and learn about ecology, Minnesota history and American Sign Language. Youth crew members come from diverse geographic locations and this diversity makes the summer unforgettable; crew members will walk away with one of the greatest experiences of their lives. Read more.

Crew deploys to Oklahoma for disaster relief

Crew members from Iowa deployed to Oklahoma for disaster relief.Wednesday morning, June 12, 13 crew members from Iowa, led by Mark Wilson and Derick Schneibel, departed for Oklahoma to assist with disaster relief in the wake of tornadoes that devastated many towns. The team will remain through June 26, managing volunteers and donations. Watch our website and Facebook page for updates.

Project Get Outdoors

This year, Conservation Corps placed 12 young adults in year-long positions – called Individual Placements – with conservation nonprofits or government agencies. These members serve full-time at a host site for their entire term of service. One of our current placements talks here about his experience:

By Andrew Ulven, Community Mapping and Outreach, Project Get Outdoors

I am currently serving in the Conservation Corps Individual Placements program, working with a nonprofit organization called Project Get Outdoors (GO). Project GO’s mission is to get youth outdoors by making safe and memorable after school and summertime outdoor experiences available to those most in need. As technology becomes more prevalent in our daily lives and screen time increases for our youth, many have become disconnected from nature and struggle with obesity, anxiety disorders like ADD and ADHD, and other health issues. By connecting youth with adults passionate about the outdoors, we hope to foster in youth a lifelong appreciation for the wonder of nature and its calming health benefits. Read more.

Restoration by fire

Every spring and fall, field crew members perform prescribed burns to restore and maintain natural prairies and oak savannas. Burning cleans up the area, returns nutrients to the soil and helps control invasive plants. Corps members generally find the work interesting and a nice change of pace from spring field work such as clearing brush.

Spring is the peak season for prescribed burns, typically mid-April through the end of May, after the snow has melted and the previous year’s growth is still dry. During a typical spring, almost all central and southern Minnesota crew members will spend time on prescribed burning and some will also work on fall burns, which take place after the first couple hard frosts. How much burning happens in a season is weather-dependent, as precipitation and wind can create unfavorable conditions for managing fire. While this year’s late spring delayed the start of the burn season, it quickly picked up and met or exceeded previous years’ acreage.

All field crew members are trained to work with fire. After successfully completing classroom and physical testing, they are “red-carded” and certified to work on prescribed burns and wildland fires. Prescribed burns are directed by a “burn boss” who draws up plans and gets needed permits. Conservation Corps Minnesota has its own burn boss, Dustin Looman, based in Rochester. Prescribed burns in other areas are directed by the Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service staff as part of their land management plans.

Schmidt Foundation equips southeast Minnesota burn crews

The Carl & Verna Schmidt Foundation has significantly increased the capacity of southeast Minnesota crews to restore prairie and oak savannas using prescribed burns. Grants from the foundation over the past four years have allowed the Corps Minnesota to equip an additional Rochester crew with burn equipment and purchase two slip-on units, which are fitted into trucks or utility vehicles to lay wet lines around burn areas and spray desirable trees.  This year, a Schmidt Foundation grant generously helped our southern district purchase a six-wheel utility vehicle for Rochester field crews. Beside prescribed burns, the vehicle will be used for towing and hauling equipment, loading rocks and getting into remote areas to remove invasive woody species, plant prairie seed and improve trails.

It's a wrap: YO participants lead service projects

By Li Her and Wah Wah, Conservation Corps Youth Council members

The Youth Outdoors spring session recently wrapped up with youth leading projects and educational activities focused on natural resources and community service. Throughout each 11-week session, participants based at neighborhood rec centers in Saint Paul, Ramsey County and Minneapolis plan and organize service projects that engage communities in volunteer work. On Saturday, June 1, four Saint Paul crews, six Minneapolis crews and two Ramsey crews led projects to build, plant, clean up and educate. Take a look at the great work they accomplished!

Crew leaders Jason Hagemeir and Meredith Benesh, and crew members Kaironn Jones, Hanan Farah, Roger Her, Joseph Guevara and October Lay, with project hosts.

YO spring session service projects