Youth Conservation Corps Projects Begin This Week

Youth from across Nova Scotia begin work this week on some 40 environmental projects in communities provincewide.

They are part of the Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps, a summer employment project sponsored by the Department of the Environment. The 172 youth, aged 17-24, will spend the next nine weeks working in their communities on projects that focus on youth, community and the environment.

Community initiatives are funded in every county in Nova Scotia in partnership with municipalities and community environmental groups such as the Bay St. Lawrence and Area Development Association in Capstick, the Municipality of Barrington, and the Town of Oxford. The projects involve field, office and public education work on topics including solid waste management, watershed management, trails development and ecotourism, climate change and pollution prevention.

The youth will learn skills that benefit the environment and provide them with a better long-term outlook for environmental employment. Programs focus on team interaction, verbal and written communication, scientific observation, construction of environment-enhancing structures, eco-tour guiding, surveying, public speaking and computer skills.

The mandate of the Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps is to provide young people with valuable and lasting environmental skills, which are used to benefit communities and the environment in both the short and long term.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For a complete list of the community projects, please contact Chris Benjamin or Heather Gordon at the above phone numbers or e-mail addresses.