Developing Youth and Conserving Natural Resources
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Our Impact
Last Year Our Youth Corps...
Diverted 475,793 pounds of E-waste from the landfill.
Restored 280 acres of natural habitat.
Reduced fire fuel on 432 acres of public and private land.
Restored and maintained 152 miles of trails.
Diverted 8,618 tires from the landfill.
Corpsmember Spotlight
Elmer G. Update!
CCNB recently highlighted Elmer’s story while he was making strides in English learning on top of his already remarkable knowledge of power tools. We are proud to bring a new development in his career: Elmer successfully interviewed for and has accepted a high-quality, sustainable job opportunity at WRA Landscape Consultants!
Elmer G., as well as former corpsmember Daniel R., both found out about WRA during a recent job fair made possible in collaboration with the Ecological Workforce Initiative. These job fairs expose corpsmembers to the many career pathways they can follow, with an emphasis on careers in the ecological field. The skills corpsmembers develop at CCNB directly align with environmental careers, as these positions require a knowledge of the local ecology, fire resilience practices, and habitat restoration for the long-term survival of our green spaces.
“During my interview with [WRA], I quickly realized that this was going to be a good opportunity for me,” said Elmer. “I also really liked talking to the crew supervisor and other people from WRA because they made me feel comfortable and welcome,” he added. He is now ready to take on new challenges: “I’m looking forward to developing more skills than I already have. To step out of my comfort zone, work on new projects, and continue to help the environment.”
Elmer shared with us how well-received his extensive knowledge of chipper and other power tools is at WRA. “During my interview, staff at WRA were excited that I have so much experience with the chipper,” he said. He also credits CCNB for the encouragement to continue learning English, which is another skill he is committed to building.
We are thrilled that Elmer and Daniel earned positions in a field that allows them to utilize their expertise, garner new skills, and continue to make our communities more resilient, sustainable, and equitable.
Project Spotlight
Daily Acts Partnership
Giving corpsmembers the opportunity to transform their lives is at the center of CCNB. It’s just as important to give them the resources to transform our future in the face of climate change. Our most recent partnership with Daily Acts exemplifies the best of both of these activities: the development of skills that will lead us to a more sustainable living environment.
Corpsmembers are taking part in the installation of rain gardens, rainwater tanks, laundry-to-landscape systems, grey-water reuse systems, as well as planting, drip irrigation, and sheet mulching at various sites in Petaluma. Led by Daily Acts staff and contractors on site, the experts oversee the projects and corpsmembers learn by doing. Youth are actively involved in the manual installation of these systems in conjunction with comprehensive trainings that will round out a host of skills in sustainable practices for their future.
In addition to learning technical skills in installation of sustainable landscaping systems, corpsmembers are also exposed to the logic behind small-scale climate solutions feasible for the average home. This project employs Watershed Progressive’s Land Resilience Partnership model and directly benefits Petaluma residents, with the hope that this model will reverberate beyond its local setting to bring us closer to increasingly climate-resilient communities.
While these projects have a multitude of benefits, like aiding with water conservation, they also help corpsmembers learn skills around urban habitat creation and fire resilience. Corpsmembers will take the knowledge and skills with them to their future careers.
This invaluable experience for local youth is made possible by the strong support from our friends at Daily Acts, who understand the urgency of transforming our communities directly with sustainability projects, and the importance of long-term investment in young people. Corpsmembers will enter our workforce with robust capabilities to guard our communities off from the effects of climate change.
For more context, visit: www.dailyacts.org/lrp