Project Titles:

• Employ 25 YCC Enrollees at 19 Rural Field Stations (FFS #R5NA)
• Employ 13 SCA Interns at Rural Field Stations (FFS #R5NB)
• Employ 40 YCC Enrollees at 14 Urban Field Stations (FFS #R5NC)
• Employ 25 SCA Interns at Urban Field Stations (FFS #R5ND)

Project Description: Across the country, summer jobs mark a right of passage for high school students. Many work as retail clerks in area malls, serving at fast food establishments and other restaurants, or as nannies caring for children not much younger than they are. But in the summer of 2010, thanks in part to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, students throughout the Northeast Region were able to work outside, enjoying nature and often improving local habitats.

The Youth Conservation Corps has been enrolling and employing students since its inception in 1970. Hundreds of people currently working in land management agencies got their start through the program, created through a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Currently, YCC students work 40-hour weeks for a period of 8-10 weeks in July and August, earning either state or federal minimum wage, whichever is greater.

In the summer of 2010, six national wildlife refuges in the region hosted YCC groups.

Recovery Act funds also established a new YCC group at the White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery, consisting of one leader and five crew members. White Sulphur Springs is the only hatchery in the region with a YCC group.

“I treasure any work I can do outside,” said YCC leader Natan Harel.

After graduating from college in 2010, he spent his summer teaching crew members plant identification while they worked to build a mile-long interpretive trail adjacent to the hatchery and also assisted in hatchery operations.

Harel, who also manages the local farmer’s market, was originally planning on spending his summer in his garden honing his sustainable agriculture skills.

“I have learned more here than I would have in my garden. The Recovery Act funds have given the students and myself gainful, fulfilling, educational work and put us in closer contact with the natural world.”

White Sulphur Springs is one of two fish hatcheries in the country selected for the National Outdoor Classroom Initiative pilot program. The work conducted by the YCC group helped carry out the initiative.

“We received the ARRA funds in part because of the Outdoor Classroom Initiative,” said Matthew Patterson, formerly form White Sulphur Springs. “Previous work at the hatchery has been done by staff and area Girl Scouts, but the YCC has really helped move the outdoor classroom forward.”

Multiple field stations in the region, including fish hatcheries and wildlife refuges, had a few extra hands that summer thanks to the Recovery Act. Stimulus funds also allowed the Northeast Region to employ interns through the Student Conservation Association and other programs. The Student Conservation Association is a non-profit group started in 1957 to provide internship opportunities to young people. Projects range from trail work to fish research and last for a period of 21-30 days.

Recovery Act funds were also used to create a unique internship program in the Region 5 External Affairs office, providing new opportunities for journalism students at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.

Originally posted 08/24/2010
Updated 09/28/2010
Page Completed 05/19/2011