Updates & Stories

Amy Grace and her family showed up ready to work and make a difference for the Conservation Corps St. Croix riverfront cleanups lead by Summer Youth Corps crews for the past two years. Grace, a Stillwater resident and active community member, values participating in volunteer events with her family. Instilling a sense of service early in her kids, Peter and Ella, is important to her because she wants her kids to work for a better future. Read More

My crew and I have had the good fortune of spending the last five weeks working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Princeton, Minnesota. The refuge covers around 20,000 acres and is a mixture of remnant oak savannah, one of the most threatened ecosystems on the globe, as well as expansive wetlands and oak forest. It is an important breeding ground for many waterfowl and is well-known for its sandhill cranes. Numerous species of migratory birds and native wildlife also find sanctuary within the refuge’s boundaries.Now on our sixth and final week at the refuge, I’m having a hard time waxing poetic in a way that does the experience justice. Luckily, I carry a decent camera around in my pocket; perhaps some photographs can do the job for me. Read More

During my three months as a solar heat outreach specialist, I have worked to make connections with community resources while figuring out exactly how my job works. Lately, I feel a lot more like I know what I am doing. I performed my solar furnace presentation for a crowd at an event called Solar Day, which I had devoted much of my work time to since starting. Despite my newness, everything went well. I managed to start a couple of relationships with groups interested in using solar furnaces for themselves and had fun sharing with various others. I even got to be on the local news! It was satisfying to see the payoff of jumping right in. That day is definitely a highlight of my service so far. Read More

I found myself buried in snow somewhere between “I think I can climb out” and “Maybe they’ll find me in a couple days”. As I lay there, it seemed to me that I was going about this whole walking in the snow business all wrong. The snowshoe is a foreign concept to those of us from the Southeastern U.S. For thousands of years however, the snowshoe represented the pinnacle of technology for traversing frozen landscapes. It was only logical then, that I should become proficient in the use of these vehicles if I had any intention of surviving Minnesota. So with a little trial and quite a bit of error I was able to devise a few tips for those with a more temperate disposition. Read More

In mid-March, an Iowa crew cleared brush from a creek edge to enhance a trail running through the city of Eldon, Iowa, famous for the Grant Wood painting, “American Gothic.” They had a little fun while on site! Read More

Despite the early spring chill, Corps crews have been firing up their chainsaws and climbing through snow-covered woods to remove invasive Oriental bittersweet in southeastern Minnesota. Several crews have collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to control the spread of this beautiful but noxious woody vine, which twines around trees and chokes them out, breaking off limbs and ultimately killing them. Read More

Youth Outdoors graduates say they are higher academic achievers, have taken a science course, regularly volunteer and plan to pursue higher education because of their Conservation Corps service. The findings, from a recent study by a University of Minnesota researcher, showed the afterschool program’s positive, long-term impacts on high school students’ future achievements.  Read More

Conservation Corps’ Solar Day, held March 21, showcased a solar furnace installed in a transitional home for low-income families in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The demonstration project, funded by the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, is intended to show how renewable energy systems can be incorporated into heating assistance programs. Read More

On April 1, Conservation Corps Minnesota was honored by the City of Rochester with an award for its work to improve the city’s urban forest. The Corps has collaborated for the last four years with RNeighborWoods of Rochester to manage thousands of volunteers who plant trees in the city each April. Read More

We are excited to introduce six bloggers who will share their Corps journeys through the year with stories, photos and video. This year our bloggers represent our Iowa REEAL Individual Placement, a Youth Outdoors crew and young adult field crews, including Three Rivers, Saint Paul Roving, Rochester Cedars and Tower. Check out their bios and follow them through their 2014 term. Read More