We have a new cohort of Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) interns! 22 students – almost doubled from last year. For the first time since its inception in 2021, YCC will have two cohorts, one based in White Center and the other in Skyway. Britt, Dubois, Felicia, Neli and Sahar are our five amazing educators that will be working with the cohorts this summer! They have a wide array of hands-on learning activities for the YCC youth – from harvesting vegetables and berries at a BIPOC-owned farm, growing oyster mushrooms in buckets, to using natural dyes to create works of art.
The interns will also meet environmental professionals in a variety of roles, which will allow them to explore and think about different environmental career paths. They will be doing plant restoration – removal of mono-culture species with the Volunteer Team at Dick Thurnau Memorial Park and Skyway Park this summer, along with thinking about the phases of restoration in ourselves. Each week of YCC will be broken into a phase of restoration.
- Phase 1: Observing, getting grounded in the land we are working on and getting to know ourselves, looking within without judgement.
- Phase 2: Letting go (Plant Removal), thinking about what we want to let go off within ourselves, thoughts, judgments, habits, etc. Letting go of things within allows space for us to choose what we want to fill our hearts, minds and bodies with (Phase 3: Planting).
- Phase 4: Maintenance/Nurturing – continuing to care and check in on the plants and ourselves.
- Phase 5: Monitoring / Reflect & Reimagine, long term monitoring of plants and reimagining the world we live in. We are looking forward to a wonderful summer filled with lots of laughs, curiosity and reimaging.
Last summer we had YCC youth Cat Webber talk about her experience as a YCC intern and her takeaways. We are happy to share her responses below:
What did you look forward to most each day of YCC this past year?
I looked forward to learning from the inspiring guest speakers each day. They had workshops about an array of topics. Some were familiar and some I had never heard of before. But they were always really interesting and gave me a look into the variety of career options within the environmental field. Not only participating in their workshop but getting access to ask them questions about their journey of how they got to their position was really fun.
What was the most memorable part of the YCC experience?
The most memorable part of the YCC experience for me was when we went to the Woodland Park Zoo. We got to meet a whole bunch of people that care about wildlife conservation (which is what I want to pursue) and learn about their journey. It was really inspiring to talk to people that shared my passions and are on their way actively pursuing them.
What lessons or learning do you still reflect on?
The YCC has helped me plan out my future. Being around people that care about the same things I care about makes me even more excited to start college. I got a lot of good tips and advice about college, jobs and life in general from the leads and the other people we met. The one that really stuck with me is to prioritize making connections and networking with people in the field. Those connections can lead to more connections, and so on. We got to practice interviewing and making good impressions on the people we talked to on the day we interviewed someone online. As well as talking to all the guest speakers. I use this skill in my day-to-day life when I find someone who has an interesting job that I would like to learn about.
How did the YCC experience impact your life or worldview?
Knowing that there are people out there that are into the stuff I’m into gave me reassurance that what I want to do is not a crazy thing. But that there are lots of people that are into saving [the environment.]
I feel even more secure in my wanting to go into the environmental field. This internship felt like I was getting a foot in the door. Plus, after learning about so many different sides of what you can do to help the environment, I have a better understanding of the field in general. I also know (at least for now) that I want to specifically go into more wildlife-oriented studies after going to the zoo and fish hatchery.
How would you describe YCC to a friend?
I would describe YCC as a really interesting, super fun school where you get to learn about jobs in the environmental field and plant identification, with lots of field trips, good friendships, and you get paid!
Anything else you would like to add?
This was an invaluable experience. I very highly recommend doing this internship to anyone who is interested in going into the environmental field in the future. Or to anyone who wants to learn a lot about plants and the different things that go into parks. The bonds you build with your fellow interns and leads are really special and learning about everyone’s different backgrounds and experiences is another awesome part of this program. It is also a really, really good thing to put on a resume!