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.

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.

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.

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.

Corps members Jeff Pechacek (holding tree) and Aaron Gamm planted boulevard trees with local volunteers.On Saturday, April 27, 20 corps members, staff and alumni teamed up with RNeighbors staff and board for an Earth Day tree planting event in Rochester, Minn. More than 500 local volunteers participated in the “Right Trees in the Right Place” event and planted 260 trees on city boulevards around Silver Lake Park. The city’s boulevard tree spaces are more than half empty and each year 500-900 trees are removed due to disease or damage. To re-green the city, volunteers planted Ginko, Kentucky Coffeetree, China Snow Lilac, Redbud and Elm during the 9th annual community tree planting event.