Youth Conservation Corps (YCC)

Grade Level: 9-12

Academic Areas: Social Studies, Science, CD &OS

Duration of service: Year Long

Character Virtues: Giving, Civic Virtue and Citizenship, Respect, Responsibility

Service Areas: Human Services

Service Learning Project:

As part of the planning process, students will develop contacts with local government in their communities at the village, city, town, and/or county level, and establish collaborative partnerships with Conservation Advisory Commissions, Environmental Commissions, County Environmental Management Councils, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Water Quality Coordinating Committees, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and/or environmental CBOs. Students will plan and host an interagency, environmental, community needs assessment summit. Using acquired information, students will work collaboratively with agency personnel to identify and prioritize environmental Service Learning projects. Students will plan, organize and implement a year-long, after school and weekend Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). Students will be responsible for seeking out resources, materials, and equipment needed to accomplish their objectives. YCC members will enlist additional community volunteers and develop liaisons with RSVP programs, VISTA, and AmeriCorps. Students will encourage agency personnel to act as program mentors and assist in providing training and resources for project implementation. Typical activities could include: stream bank stabilization, public access improvement/enhancement (parks, fishing access, historic sites, playgrounds), clean-ups (roadside, stream bank, community-wide), erosion control, reforestation, wetland restoration, trail construction, community green space creation, "tree mentoring," and other needs as specifically identified. This project will link to Earth Science, Biology, Social Studies, and Environmental Science.

Learning Goal: Students will understand basic geomorphology and issues of erosion and sedimentation.

Standard: MST # 4, # 7 / HPE & FCS # 3 / CD &OS # 1, # 2

Learning Goal: Students will understand basic concepts of eutrophication and implications as related to water bodies.

Standard: MST # 4, # 7

Learning Goal: Students will be conversant with local environmental government agencies, their functions, and the services they provide.

Standard: SS # 5

Learning Goal: Students will be able to relate human activity to environmental degradation and identify detrimental societal behaviors.

Standard: HPE & FCS # 3 / MST # 7

Community need: Lack of care for local environment.

Possible Community Partners: Local government agencies, citizen volunteer boards/commissions, RSVP, AmeriCorps Objective: To provide a dedicated force for environmental improvement.

Objective: To instill a lifelong commitment to service and develop a groundswell of grassroots activism from concerned and caring environmental stewards.

Character

Virtue: Civic virtue and Citizenship

Objective: Develop responsible young adults that utilize the democratic process and actively participate in local government. Through reflection on their participation, students will come to recognize their individual power to affect beneficial change.

Virtue: Giving

Objective: Open new horizons of personal satisfaction from giving time for the benefit of the local community and environment.

Virtue: Respect

Objective: Develop individual and group respect for natural and built environments.

Virtue: Responsibility

Objective: Through positive action to improve their community, students will take ownership of their environment. With ownership, responsible stewards are empowered .

1. Students will use the Internet, telephones, and local government directories to research and prepare a mailing list and invitations for Conservation Advisory Commissions, Environmental Commissions, County Environmental Management Councils, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Water Quality Coordinating Committees, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and/or environmental CBOs. Through their research, they will become familiar with each agency’s or organization’s role, mission, and functions.
2. Students will plan and host an interagency, environmental, community needs assessment summit. Through the summit, students will develop an understanding of each agency’s/organization’s resources and deficiencies. Students will work with agency/organization staff to find areas of environmental need and cooperatively plan Service Projects to meet the identified need.

 Key Service Activities

1. Students will plan, organize and implement a year-long, after school and weekend Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). This will include development of a constitution and bylaws, preparing an organizational structure, election of officers, and holding regular meetings.
2. Students will be responsible for seeking out resources, materials, and equipment needed to accomplish their objectives. YCC members will enlist additional community volunteers and develop liaisons with RSVP programs, VISTA, and AmeriCorps. Students and recruited volunteers will establish liaisons with local businesses, corporations and other potential donors to plan and establish a long-term support structure for their YCC.

1. (oral and written) (Pre) Students will discuss and prepare a list of what they envision as environmental needs of the community using relevant newspaper articles, news reports and anecdotal sources as discussion points. Students will prepare a matrix that demonstrates relevant connections (both positive and negative) between their perceived environmental needs and the character virtues of Giving, Respect, Responsibility, and Civic Virtue and Citizenship. (Middle) After hosting the environmental community needs assessment, students will compare actual, identified needs with their perceived needs and reflect on the differences.
2. (performance) Students will role play different scenarios in which the local environment could be damaged. For each scenario, the first role play will demonstrate how this damage could come about while the second role play will introduce the character virtues to alter the damaging situations.

Regular YCC meetings and shared meals provide an opportunity to develop a social atmosphere of community, respect, and team spirit. At each meeting and shared meal, students and committee members will share their triumphs and challenges. Inclusion of parents and community members at meetings would be standard practice. By contributing to the pot-luck meals and through inter-generational interaction, community and team spirit would be strengthened.