Updates & Stories

Four days out of the week my alarm sounds promptly at 4:30 a.m. to signal the start of my day. For the first few weeks I certainly struggled to become accustomed to this early hour, but now it’s nice to see the world before it’s fully awake. After packing a filling lunch, I head away from the sunrise, towards the corn fields and to the shop.Upon arriving at the shop, I head into the locker room to lace up my boots before joining the other early arrivals in the break room before the morning meeting. As 6:30 a.m. draws near, the room begins to fill up with corps members, full-time staff and seasonal employees. Right on schedule, our fearless leader, Jeff, begins the meeting with the goals for the rest of the week and what to watch out for when working in the areas we are assigned. Read More

It’s unfortunate that the phrase 'Save the World' isn’t taken seriously. There should be how-to books, college courses, job descriptions, marketing campaigns that all don the phrase. Of course, serious use of the phrase would require popular agreement that we live in a world that needs saving. Plausible, at least until you ask the follow up question, “Saving from what?” Well, since I’m the only one here, I’m going to take the liberty to define some terms and make some assumptions. Because I’m here to save the world, and I know plenty of other folks who share that exact mission. Read More

This summer has been absolutely action packed. I feel as though I have been living like a drifter on the run from the law, but that is probably just my imagination getting away with me. I swear that I am a regular law-abiding citizen, though I haven’t spent a full week at home for the past two months. Lately it seems there is always some event or place to spread the word on solar assistance, whether it be client calls, fairs, classes, conferences, or retreats. This leads me to travel hundreds of miles in just one or two days and sleep in strange places on the regular. It is both maddening and so very fun! Read More

My supervisor at the Ramsey Conservation District (RCD) came up to my desk last week and asked, “Would you mind spending Thursday catching butterflies?”Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa is one of the few organizations I can think of where that question would ever be asked to an employee. I currently serve in the Apprentice Academy, an amazing program which allows about 37 young adults to spend the summer serving alongside conservation professionals at Minnesota Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state. I have learned so much in such a short time and gained a host of skills, including butterfly surveying for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Read More

June has meant the return of real warm weather, and with that, some of our favorite work. The Ottertail crew spent two weeks in Becker County this month on the beautiful North Country Trail, a long-distance trail that will eventually stretch from New York to North Dakota. We had the pleasure of working with Ray Vlasek, volunteer coordinator for the Laurentian Lakes chapter of the North Country Trail Association, who graciously put down his pulaski for a few minutes one lunchtime to talk about life, trails, and what it’s like to work with the Corps. Read More

In early June, two Conservation Corps summer apprentices collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and University of Minnesota to install 12 lysimeters on an agricultural field in Cass County.  Read More

What does it mean to be part of a community? If you asked me what it is that the Conservation Corps does four months ago I might have been hard-pressed to give you a straight answer. I believe now, quite strongly, that I know what it means to me to be part of this organization, what we represent, and exactly what it is that we do.An iron-willed individual, with the strength of an ox, could toil his days and nights away in an effort to move a boulder embedded in the ground and not move anything forward but time. A group of individuals with a common objective however, has the ability not only to move the boulder, but to use it as a tool. The newly found inertia of the stone converts to a gravitational pull which attracts more and more people to aid its motion until, before long, the stone that the individual could not move now floats across the ground as if it were weightless. Read More

During his four years of service in the Corps, Sean Wickhem did everything from documenting scenic easement parcels by canoe to leading youth in community service, training people how to camp to installing solar panels. Read more. Read More

The 2013 Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa annual report is hot off the press. Read about our highlights and accomplishments online, or contact Connie to have a copy mailed to you. Read More

For the third year in a row, SmartWool supported the Corps with a generous donation of quality socks for our youth and young adult members last August. There have been many happy faces and feet when we handed them to youth and young adults participants from last fall through this summer. Thank you, SmartWool! Read More