Updates & Stories

With only two months left in the term (crazy, right?), I thought I would use my last two blog posts to share some of the most memorable experiences I have had as a Youth Outdoors crew member. Looking back, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work alongside youth crews in Saint Paul. It has been great getting to know three different groups of kids, learning about their interests and backgrounds and getting the chance to teach them about leadership, culture and the environment. Read More

Volunteers contribute so much to the conservation of our natural resources. Thanks to 25 folks who showed up on a rainy Friday afternoon to make seed bombs at REI in Roseville, and to four Youth Outdoors crews who worked with volunteers at Hidden Falls Regional Park to celebrate National Public Lands Day, September 26.  Read More

The ink was flowing along with the beer at the Conservation Corps fundraiser on Thursday, September 24, held at Flat Earth Brewing Company in Saint Paul. Twin City Tees (they print shirts for Rhymesayers, so you know they’re cool) brought screen printing equipment and fresh shirt designs so attendees could pick their shirt, watch it being printed and make a contribution to the Corps.  Read More

During July and August, Corps crews worked with the Bureau of Reclamation in the Dakotas to restore reservoirs and canals that are vital to the region’s water supply, agricultural industry and outdoor recreational opportunities, and to build and repair fencing and gates. Crews worked in partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation Dakota Area Office and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, who provided training and mentorship. Read More

On September 12, a crowd gathered at at Fritz Loven Park near Brainerd to help install a memorial bench in honor of Caitlin Daudt, a 2014 Corps apprentice. Daudt died last summer in a vehicle collision while on her way to serve at her host site, Crow Wing County Soil and Water Conservation District. She was an exemplary member of Conservation Corps. Her life and work spoke volumes about the passion she had for service, the environment and the people of her community.  Read More

Terrific weather graced this year’s Minnesota State Fair, and we greeted hundreds of fairgoers who stopped by our booth across from the DNR fishpond to hear about our work, connect with alumni and learn about invasive species.  Read More

After 38 days in Saipan, a four-member Conservation Corps disaster response crew returns home Friday, October 9. Serving with Texas Conservation… Read More

There is something about that little bubbling noise of a creek that brings my entire life into perspective. The water is carefree. It has no recollection of itself nor does it worry about others. All it knows is to flow with the constant pull of gravity downstream. But if I were a creek, I would hope to flow to the ocean. I want to be a part of something greater than myself.  Read More

When I lifted my head up I was alone. Burgundy and purple seed heads brushed against my face and shoulders. The sound of grass shaking in the wind washed all around the deeply rolling hills and over the high ridges that surrounded me. Inside that glacial kettle, a bowl of land ringed by undulating hills and ridges, my world had compressed. A pair of hawks banked along the ridges, crying out into the wind, certain of their place on this back forty. Alone, surrounded by a virgin tallgrass prairie, steeped in the purples, blues and gold of fall, I was transported to a Minnesota that once was, and perhaps to a future that might be again. Read More

Our crew is based about 30 minutes south of the Twin Cities in Shakopee, Minn. We’re what’s known as a “satellite crew”— a crew based out of a host shop away from Corps headquarters in Saint Paul. With five crews based in the capital city and three out of Three Rivers Park District, that leaves the Anoka and Shakopee crews as true satellites. As it turns out, I had no idea we were lonely outsiders until about halfway through our term. Read More