Press Release
From Conservation Trust for North Carolina:
Raleigh, N.C. – The North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps (NCYCC) launched its second summer of conservation service work on Saturday, June 21. Thirty-two North Carolinians between the ages of 16 and 24 gathered at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s Prairie Ridge Ecostation for NCYCC Orientation before being deployed to work sites across the state. The young people will work for seven weeks on projects that will preserve, restore, and improve some of North Carolina’s most treasured natural lands.
The NCYCC, a partnership between the Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC) and the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, is a comprehensive youth development program that uses the natural world as a platform for teaching job and leadership skills, community service, environmental stewardship, and personal responsibility. The participants were divided into 4 “crews” of 8 members each, with each crew being led by two highly trained older crew leaders. The crews work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and are paid minimum wage. Each work day includes a one-hour educational program focused on conservation and social topics. Three of the four crews are living together at camp sites near their respective work projects for the entire seven weeks. A fourth crew is commuting from home each day to work on local projects.
“The NCYCC is built on the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC),” said Jan Pender, NCYCC Director. “Like those who served in the CCC decades ago, NCYCC crew members learn valuable job skills as they work on high quality and cost effective projects that expand public access to our state’s public lands.”
Two NCYCC crews are working on projects for North Carolina State Parks. One crew is working at three parks in the coastal plain – Carolina Beach, Fort Fisher, and Cliffs of the Neuse. A second crew is working at three parks in the northwest – Stone Mountain, Pilot Mountain, and Mount Jefferson. The project work includes trail construction and maintenance, invasive plant removal, campsite renovations, facility repairs, and installation and maintenance of boundary fences.
“We are delighted to get more young people connected to our state parks,” said Carol Tingley, Acting Director for North Carolina State Parks. “The Youth Conservation Corps offers young people an outstanding opportunity to learn about our state’s treasured natural resources while they work to preserve our state parks’ recreation opportunities, natural scenery, and wildlife habitat.”
A third NCYCC crew is working on two projects to create new recreation opportunities for the public. The crew is working for two weeks building trails at the town of Spencer’s new Spencer Woods Park, in conjunction with the town and the LandTrust for Central North Carolina. The trails are part of the park’s master plan and will help to make Spencer Woods a destination for Spencer and Salisbury residents and visitors. The crew will work the remaining five weeks with the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy on a new hiking trail in Hickory Nut Gorge. The trail is part of a 3-mile section of a 14-mile loop trail that will provide new public access to one of the Southern Appalachian mountains’ most dramatic landscapes.
A fourth NCYCC crew is based in the Triangle and consists of Triangle area youth living at home and reporting to work each day at a site generously provided by the Research Triangle Park Foundation, before traveling together to area work sites. The crew will work on projects for the Army Corps of Engineers at the Falls Lake Dam Visitor Assistance Center and Jordan Lake; Wake County Parks, Recreation, and Open Space at Harris Lake County Park; and Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association at Beaver Marsh Nature Preserve in Durham. The projects include facility improvements, trail construction and maintenance, and invasive plant removal.
“Youth Conservation Corps crew members contribute hundreds of hours of hard work to improve and expand access to protected natural areas, so that more North Carolina families can connect with the outdoors,” said CTNC Executive Director Reid Wilson. “For many crew members, it is a time of intense personal growth and a life transforming experience.”
The NCYCC operated two crews in the summer of 2013. One NCYCC crew built a 7-mile mountain bike trail for the U.S. Forest Service in the Croatan National Forest. The second NCYCC crew completed a variety of projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, did trail construction and maintenance for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and removed invasive species from the Eno River for North Carolina State Parks.
The NCYCC crews are sponsored by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, the Woodson Family Foundation, Fred and Alice Stanback, North Carolina State Parks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wake County Parks, Recreation and Open Space, LandTrust for Central North Carolina, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, Pepsi Bottling Ventures, North Carolina Electric Membership Cooperatives, Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation, the Great Outdoor Provision Company, Kulynych Family Foundation, Little Acorn Fund, Columbia Sportswear, Patagonia, Outdoor Nation, and numerous individual supporters.
Please see attachment for a list of crew members, their home communities, assigned crews, and the dates each crew will be working at their work sites. Contact Jan Pender if you would like to schedule a visit to a work site.
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