Updates & Stories

Spring is coming to an end and the extreme temperatures of the summer are approaching fast, but with the change of seasons comes a new variety of projects for the National Park Service and our NPS Roving crew. Read More

I don’t know much about great blue herons, but I do know that they are cool, amazing birds.Last week my crew [YO2] was sent to Lake Phalen to pull the well-known invasive garlic mustard and repair some fencing along the lakeshore. As we made our way along the western side of the lake, we saw countless red-winged blackbirds darting aggressively through the air. Occasionally we would see a cormorant flying across the water or diving for fish, but what really caught my attention was the slow, silent flight of great blue herons overhead.  Read More

To culminate their 11-week service term, participants in the Youth Outdoors program design and implement service projects in communities where they serve.  Read More

Diverse young people are being offered bridges to academic and career paths in environmental science fields where they are typically underrepresented, thanks to charitable grants as well as government support.  Read More

“If the conditions had been any different today, we would not have been able to pull off this burn,” said Dustin Looman, Conservation Corps southern district assistant manager. Looman, the lead burn boss at a Dakota County fairgrounds burn in Farmington on May 15, was describing the precision and expertise required to manage prescribed burns, including monitoring wind speed and direction. Read More

Visitors to the Como Pool in Saint Paul will be greeting by sedge-filled rain gardens at the pool’s entrance and a beautifully landscaped pool area, thanks in part to volunteers and Youth Outdoors crew members.  Read More

Eleven days. To the average American, it doesn’t seem like much time; most of our vacations are longer. To our five-person Conservation Corps crew, spending this much time on the job away from home seemed impossible… until we were called onto our first wildfire. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon when we were all shaken out of our sunshine stupor and clamored into our Corps truck to head up north, where we were expecting a roaring blaze that just couldn’t be controlled without our help. Read More

A thick grey and white bulwark of aspen stems stood firmly before us. In the weak April morning light, the thick stand of trees appeared impenetrable; the wind whispered their claim to the acres of land before us. I certainly couldn’t argue about their dominion over this landscape, but when working for the Corps it is best to be inclined to audacity not doubt.  Read More

What started as an awkward gaggle of young men, quiet, withdrawn and quirky, unsure of what lay ahead of them, quickly turned into a friendly yet hardened fire-fighting, saw-curd-chewing, dedicated force to be reckoned with.   Read More

One of the largest problems in urban areas is dealing with stormwater. The excessive amount of concrete in urban areas means that water is unable to flow directly into the ground. In fact, even your front lawn will produce runoff because the dense grass and root systems do not allow for much water to actually soak in. Because of this we have storm drains that direct water out of the streets and out of sight as quickly as possible. Read More