Kaua’i youths are expected to be among 45 youths from Hawai’i who signed up for the 2002 state Department of Land and Natural Resources summer Youth Conservation Corps program – an undertaking to teach participants how to protect Hawaii’s natural
Kaua’i youths are expected to be among 45 youths from Hawai’i who signed up for the 2002 state Department of Land and Natural Resources summer Youth Conservation Corps program – an undertaking to teach participants how to protect Hawaii’s natural resources.
A record number of students, from those in their sophomore year to those in their sophomore year in college, signed up for the program, which began Tuesday.
“We are very pleased with the number of applicants,” said Matt Ramsay, a YCC coordinator on O’ahu and a YCC alumnus.
In the past, YCC got 25 applicants for 15 spaces. This year, YCC received 120 applicants for 45 places, apparently the result of a greater desire to protect the environment.
This year, three teams of 11 to 16 members each will work on Kaua’i, O’ahu and the Big Island.
YCC members began the project with a six-day training course at Camp Erdman on O’ahu’s north shore.
The training involves a ropes course, CPR and first aid certification, a visit to the State Capitol to meet state legislators, use of tools and safety training and participation in two service projects.
For six weeks, students will work on Hawai’i’s trails, conduct “ecosystem restoration,” protect threatened and endangered naive plants and remove non-native plant species.
They will work in state forest reserves, where they will camp, hike and “soak up cultural and environmental education” in the field, according to the DLNR.
Each participant will receive a $1,000 stipend and three credits at the University of Hawai’i.
The project began in the 1970s as a way to promote environmental protection for youths.
But funding for the program lapsed until 1995 when the program was retooled during the first year of Gov. Ben Cayetano’s administration, DLNR said. This year, the project received $100,000.
Other supporters of the project are Kamehameha Schools and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Youths interested in signing up for the program next year can go online at www.hawaiiycc.com, email to yccinfo@ponopacific.com. or call 1-808-595-5095.
