What is the North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps?

The North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps (NCYCC) is a comprehensive youth development program that uses the natural world as a platform for teaching environmental stewardship, job and life skills, leadership, community service, and personal responsibility. It is a direct descendant of the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, which mobilized young men who dramatically improved the nation’s public lands while receiving food, shelter, education and a stipend. NCYCC projects improve, restore, and protect North Carolina’s natural lands, create new outdoor recreational opportunities for North Carolina families, and help build healthy communities.

What are the objectives of the NCYCC?

  • Provide meaningful employment to a diversity of 16 to 24 year-old youth that teaches real-world job skills as well as leadership and communication tools for future careers;
  • Accomplish priority conservation work on lands available for public use;
  • Provide young people with an understanding and appreciation of North Carolina’s natural lands and waterways;
  • Complete projects that get more people outdoors and contribute to healthy communities;
  • Challenge young people with hard but rewarding work that creates opportunities to learn personal responsibility.

What are the dates for the 2016 NCYCC session?

The 2016 session starts June 18and ends August 7. The sessionincludes a seven week and three week crew option.

How much does the NCYCC pay its crew members, crew leaders, and assistant crew leaders?

Because the NCYCC is a partnership with the Vermont YCC, crew members are paid the Vermont minimum wage ($9.60 per hour), which is significantly higher than the North Carolina minimum wage. Crew leaders and assistant crew leaders are paid more, $475 and $350 a week respectively. Assistant crew leaders are also eligible for a $2150 AmeriCorps award.

What kinds of projects do NCYCC crews work on?

The NCYCC works on a variety of projects that include trail construction and maintenance, invasive species removal, stream restoration, light carpentry (i.e. fencing, retaining walls, boardwalks), playground construction, forest stand improvement, landscaping, campsite construction, and community garden work.

Where are the project locations?

The NCYCC works across North Carolina on lands owned and/or managed by federal, state and local agencies, local land trusts, and other non-profits for the public. Thisincludesnational and state parks, designated wilderness areas, wildlife resource lands, county and city parks, community owned natural areas, and land trusts’ preserved properties.

What is a NCYCC crew?

Crews are co-ed groups of 8 crew members and 2 highly trained crew leaders. NCYCC crew members work together for the duration of the seven-week session. Most NCYCC crews are camping crews that live together while completing their projects, but sometimes there are commuter crews as well.

What are spikecrews?

In spikecrews (sometimes called “roving crews”), crew members and leaders live together at campsites and often work at multiple sites, enabling participants to learn about different communities, history, and natural areas.Crews may camp in a state park and use existing camp sites to set up a kitchen and community space. If the project is farther off the beaten path, crews may camp in a backcountry location where they will filter their own water, live without electricity, and preserve and prepare food in a remote setting. Evenings are spent cooking dinner as a group. Weekends are spent pursuing tasks needed to support a long-term camp environment and educational experiences such as visiting historical sites or new natural areas.Camping skills learned include:

  • tarp and kitchen setup
  • knots, knots, knots...
  • backcountry cooking
  • gear maintenance
  • minimum impact camping

What are commuter crews?

In commutercrews (sometimes called “community crews”), crew memberslive in the same community and come together each day to work on conservation projects. Crew members live at home. Every morning the crew meets at a base location and travels together in the crew van to that day’s worksite. After the workday is over the crew returns to the base and everyone travels home for the night. Each work day holds many opportunities for building technical skills, exploring new places in the community, and teaching and learning from others on the crew. Commuter crews often plan weekend experiences together.

Can NCYCC applicants serve with the Vermont YCC?

Yes. Because the NCYCC is a partnership between the Conservation Trust for North Carolina(CTNC) and the Vermont Youth Conservation Crops (VYCC), applicants can choose to serve as a VYCC crew member or crew leader in Vermont. Applicants should review VYCC’s website for crew types and positions.

What is a NCYCC Crew Leader?

Crew leaders are older adults (usually 22-30 years old) that serve as teachers, work supervisors, and role models for a crew. Along with an assistant crew leader, crew leaders are responsible for building the crew community, overseeing the health and safety of the crew, professionally managing work projects, teaching job and life skills, ensuring high quality work standards are achieved, facilitating crew education, serving as a liaison with the project partners on site, and upholding the NCYCC mission statement. Crew leaders must be at least 22 years old and attend a training session in Vermont with VYCC.

What is a NCYCC Assistant Crew Leader?

Assistant crew leaders work as a co-leader with the crew leader. Assistant crew leaders are equally responsible for the crew. Assistant crew leaders typically have less experience than the crew leader and are in training to be crew leaders.

What is the Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC)?

CTNC is a statewide, non-profit organization that helps to save streams, forests, farms, scenic vistas, wildlife habitat, parks, and trails in North Carolina. CTNC works with local land trusts, landowners, communities, and government agencies to protect these natural areas so that all North Carolinians can enjoy safe drinking water, clean air, fresh local foods, and recreational opportunities for generations to come. CTNC’s conservation mission has three major elements: 1) Protect the Blue Ridge Parkway, 2) Assist North Carolina’s 23 local land trusts, and 3) Connect people to the land. The NCYCC is a key program within this third element.

What is the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC)?

VYCC is a statewide, non-profit conservation and education organization with the mission of teaching individuals to take personal responsibility for their actions. Since 1985 the VYCC has provided young people the opportunity to gain valuable natural resource training and education through work on priority conservation, agriculture, park management, and disaster relief projects. The VYCC enrolls more than 300 crew members each year and works with the Conservation Trust for North Carolina to support the NC Youth Conservation Corps program.