Updates & Stories
Here’s to our donors, partners and volunteers
Please join us for a Thank You party: Thursday, January 22 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. We’ll have free beer, root beer and a taco bar from Boca Chica. Read More
New crews in the new year
In 2015, the young adult program will be adding five new crews, including two in Iowa and one in Missouri. Corps Board Member Richard Leopold, who also serves as the interim director of the Polk County Conservation Board in Iowa is looking forward to the new six-person crew in his county. “We are excited to get a dedicated crew in central Iowa,” he said. “The Des Moines metro area will benefit from the Polk County crew’s much needed and highly visible efforts on local trails, parks and waterways.” Read More
Welcome new staff members
In the last few months, Conservation Corps has hired several new staff members: Sarah Bromley, Kellie Lager and Jenna Strait. Read More
A warm farewell to Valerie Hsu
In two short years, Outreach Coordinator Valerie Hsu implemented our own volunteer network and invigorated alumni connections through events and a savvy social media presence. Read More
Proud to be a #ServiceEmployer
Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa is known for providing more than 318 AmeriCorps service positions for young adults each year. Most people may not know that 78 percent of Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa's full-time staff served at least one term as an AmeriCorps member or Peace Corps volunteer before being hired on. Staff members served in various programs including: AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps VISTA, Peace Corps Malawi, Peace Corps Benin, EarthCorps, Southeast Alaska Guidance Association, Student Conservation Association, Montana Conservation Corps, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, American Youthworks, and Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa. The Corps is proud employ staff with vast service experiences and to be part of President Obama's Employers of National Service. Read More
Corps launches initiative to increase diversity in natural resource professions
Conservation Corps Minnesota is teaming up with the Department of Natural Resources and University of Minnesota to support a diverse pool of young people as they pursue a college and career pathway in natural resources. Read More
Wasps that attack the emerald ash borer are establishing in Minnesota
One year after the release of wasps that attack emerald ash borer (EAB), crew member Jered Bourquin recently found the wasps’ larvae at Great River Bluffs State Park on the Mississippi River southeast of Winona. Read More
Project to memorialize 2014 apprentice
Caitlin Daudt served as an apprentice at the Crow Wing County SWCD in 2014. Caitlin Daudt served as an… Read More
Northwest District members wrap up service term
In mid-November, Northwest District crew members completed their service term with a two-day celebration at Itasca State Park. Crews toured the solar and thermal energy powered Waldsee BioHaus at Concordia Language Village, visited the Conservation Corps-built Adirondack shelter at Coffee Pot Landing on the Mississippi River and faced off with a chili cook-off competition. Read More
The journey
As the end of this journey nears I am filled with trepidation, but also hope. The uncertainty of the future is what keeps the mind sharp in the present. We must march on towards the goals we set only to form new ones when the previous is reached, such is the engine of progress. In the final weeks of my term here I look back fondly on the people I have met and worked with, the places I have seen and the changes I have made on a landscape I have grown to love. Read More