Updates & Stories

Though June rains were big news all over Minnesota, the effects of 2012 rainstorms are still making headlines in the northeast area. This spring and early summer at Jay Cooke State Park, Conservation Corps young adult and youth crews worked together to help clear a two-year-old logjam from one of the park’s most popular and scenic areas along the St. Louis River. Read More

At left, Tony Ambrose, who has volunteered at the cleanup for five years as a U.S. Bank employee, picked up trash. Read More

Conservation Corps crew and staff members worked with volunteers to clean up the Big Sioux River during Project AWARE. For… Read More

Raymond Staffa, who is serving as a summer EcoRanger through Conservation Corps, took photos of macroinvertebrates at Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary. Read More

Last summer, a Corps field crew renovated a historic icehouse on Lake Superior, on what was once an island vacation getaway for a renowned architect… Read More

After 11 years on the Conservation Corps staff, Lisa Cassioppi is off to new adventures – leading canoe trips with Wilderness Inquiry and conducting Gypsy Moth surveys… Read More

Amy Levander, a 1990 Summer Youth Corps alumna, recently added Corps Volunteer to her title as she helped out at the 2014 St. Croix Boom Site Cleanup event led by current SYC participants. Levander was eager to volunteer with the Corps 24 years after her service because she strongly believes the Corps is an important program. “The Corps does great work not only by helping clean up our natural areas, but also by helping young people discover who they want to be,” she said. Levander attributes her experience in the SYC to helping her grow up -- learning a lot about herself and figuring out the kind of person she wanted to be. Read More

September 24-27, 2014Saint Paul, MinnesotaJoin CCC family and friends from across the country for the 2014 CCC Legacy annual gathering. On Thursday, September 25 we open the doors to all Corps alumni and friends for a celebration at Flat Earth Brewery in Saint Paul, featuring musician Ann Reed, beer tastings and pizza from Savoy’s.  Read More

I recently had the great pleasure of attending two Conservation Corps mid-year retreats; one for Individual Placements like me, and one for crews. The time spent with my fellow Corps members has been just the refreshment I needed. As Individual Placements, we don’t get as many opportunities to build camaraderie. It was nice to finally feel a true sense of community amongst my peers whether it was throwing down on the field during Corps Olympics or just relaxing around a campfire throwing a Frisbee. Victory was oh so sweet after my Olympics team, Loon, laid everything out there. Whatever hole was left from loss of dignity and sore muscles was quickly filled with s’mores. Besides the fun, I was glad we Individual Placements all got a chance to talk about our similar experiences; struggles, victories and all. Read More

We build bridges and docks, walls and trails, staircases to the highest elevations and well… you get the idea. We build things. It’s easy to see the structures we construct. They are lasting and useful, but its not easy to see the qualities we build in people.We build character. Not like regular character, but more like the character your grandad talks about when he used to walk ten miles to school uphill both ways, barefoot...through the snow.We build relationships. Not the “Hey, I saw you in the grocery store one time” kind of relationships, but the “You changed my life, thank you for being here and being who you are” kind of relationships.We build strength. The old man muscle, the kind that makes you feel like “Popeye ain’t got nothin’ on me”. Strength of the will and power of the spirit. Read More