Conservation Corps Minnesota provides hands-on environmental stewardship and service-learning opportunities to youth and young adults while accomplishing natural resource management and emergency response work.
Young Adults (ages 18-25) that join the Field Crew Program enroll in AmeriCorps for a 10-month service term, earn a monthly living stipend, and receive an education award upon completion. Program participants join to give back to their communities while gaining marketable skills for natural resource and other green-industry careers. Each summer, diverse youth (ages 15-18) that join the Summer Youth Corps enroll in an eight week service term, work and camp outdoors, and earn a stipend. AmeriCorps members serve as leaders for the youth crews. The Corps leases fleet, a group camp facility at St. Croix State Park, and office space from DNR and other sources. A crew is equipped with most hand and power tools necessary to complete a project including boats, canoes, firefighting gear, chainsaws, etc. Fleet and equipment expense is included in the hourly rate along with corpsmember pay.
The Corps provides trained crews on a flexible basis from 1 day at a time to one year at a time. In addition to the field crews (primarily focused on habitat work under Parks and Trails Legacy funds), the Corps and DNR have enhanced the Single Placement training program. This program provides mentorship & training opportunities focusing on connecting people to the outdoors through outreach, new technologies, GPS/GIS work, interpretive programs, landscape design, and planning outreach/assistance.
With the societal trend toward decreased outdoor recreation participation, DNR is focusing significant energy on outreach to youth and young adults. Conservation Corps members serve as ideal role models to other youth and young adults and provide new perspectives towards project assistance for DNR projects and new programs.