Partner with Youth Programs

Why partner with our youth programs?

Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa (CCMI) members value hard work, community service, and environmental stewardship. Young adult AmeriCorps members (ages 18–30, or up to 35 for veterans) serve a year or a summer in their community, focusing on empowering youth, environmental stewardship, and connecting people to the outdoors through environmental education. Full-year (February-December) members take the lead in planning and facilitating our summer youth internship, thereby expanding their leadership skills while creating more opportunities for youth.

Youth interns are high school students (ages 14-18) who make a difference in their communities, explore future career opportunities in environmental fields, and learn hands-on skills in the outdoors. With guidance from young adult AmeriCorps members, youth take on a variety of projects that help them gain a sense of belonging and responsibility to the people and outdoor places in their communities.

What can our youth programs do?

Both young adult AmeriCorps members and youth interns complete projects such as:

• Education – planning and facilitating outdoor and environmental education events and activities for a class, youth group, or public event
• Collecting and analyzing environmental data – water quality testing, documenting animal or plant species, assisting with ecology research
• Service-learning – planning and carrying out a project to address an environmental issue in the community
• Habitat restoration – removing invasive species, planting trees, harvesting seeds
• Community engagement – gathering feedback from the community, partnering with community members to plan and carry out a project, sharing information about events and opportunities

In addition, full-year AmeriCorps members can:

• Find or create curriculum resources for teaching about conservation, environmental science, green careers, and more, tailored to your needs
• Directly lead activities for youth during the school day or in after-school programs
• Support staff or volunteers at your organization in learning skills such as teaching outdoors and habitat restoration

We are also always interested in opportunities for our AmeriCorps members and youth interns to participate in field trips, tours, job shadowing, and other opportunities that introduce them to careers in environmental and conservation fields.