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Youth Conservation Corps crews consist
of approximately 10 young people, ages 14-17,
and three supervisors of college-age or older.
The three-week long program benefits the parks
in direct work, but it’s also life-changing for the
young participants.
The productivity of participants is staggering.
In 2015, 20 Youth Conservation Corps crews
with more than 200 members and more than
40 crew leaders served 25 parks. The crews
maintained nearly 90 miles of trails, constructed
5.5 miles of trails, built 43 picnic tables and 16
benches and installed 27 benches. Crews built
eight campground sites and seven picnic pads
while making improvements to 33 campground
sites and 26 picnic pads.
Two crews installed canoe-in campgrounds
with three new campsites at Westmoreland State
Park as well as four sites at Leesylvania State
Park. The groups also cleaned up more than 7
miles of roadside and 12.8 miles of shoreline
which resulted in 87 bags of trash.
“Youth Conservation Corps participants
learn valuable life lessons while they develop an
appreciation for the environment and stewardship
of Virginia’s natural resources,” said Cyndi
Juarez, Director of Community Engagement and
Volunteerism for Virginia State Parks.
“Both crewmembers and crew leaders gain
work experience and life experience as they work
and live in the parks and enjoy programs, cook and eat together in
the evening,” she said. “They develop teamwork, self-esteem, social
responsibility, and respect for the environment.”
Participants appreciate their time in the program, often with
glowing reports.
“Hard work pays off in a big way,” said a young woman about her
time in the YCC. “Having a positive attitude is vital and more fun and
being a part of a team is a really fun, irreplaceable thing.”
Other comments from crewmember surveys about what they
learned include:
“No matter how much you want to give up on yourself or your
team, don’t, because the outcome is worth it. Thank you staff for being
so amazing!”
When Virginia State Parks opened six parks on June 15, 1936,
it was the first state to open an entire park system on a single
day, (Douthat, Fairy Stone, Hungry Mother, Staunton River,
Westmoreland and Seashore, now First Landing state parks).
The parks had been carved out of Virginia wilderness by the
young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal program
created less than three years earlier to put young people to work on
land restoration, conservation and construction projects.
Today,Virginia’s version of theCCCcarries on the environmental
tradition with the young women and men of the Youth Conservation
Corps and the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps. This
year, the two programs provided nearly 80,000 hours of service
to state parks, which are managed by the Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation.
Virginia State Parks volunteers–
with historic roots
By Joe Elton
Modern programs
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