Renew America Success Stories

Montgomery County Conservation Corps

Description

The Montgomery County Conservation Corps (MCCC) helps to turn around the lives of out-of-school and unemployed 17 to 23 year-old youth by putting them to work on local conservation, construction and beautification projects. As a consequence, participating Corpsmembers receive on-the-job training, and they also receive life-skills and environmental education through courses provided during the program.

Typically, a Corps member is referred by the juvenile/adult justice system, the Department of Social Services, or other health and human service agencies in the area. Once referred, potential Corpsmembers can choose to enroll and receive $4.50 an hour to complete three, 12-week "crew" rotations during which they participate in construction projects in the areas of carpentry, landscaping and conservation. Corpsmembers also participate in career workshops, life skills workshops (e.g., money management and nutrition), individual and group counseling and environmental education. Corpsmembers who have not graduated high school are required to study and sit for the GED (General Equivalency Diploma) exam.

Each year, Corpsmembers build trails, homeless shelters, bridges, handicapped access ramps and playgrounds. They renovate log cabins, clear streams, run a recycling program, landscape parks and public buildings, plant thousands of trees and clean up tons of trash. One year Corpsmembers constructed 1,000 linear feet of shelving at the Wheaton Regional Library and saved the community thousands of dollars in contractor cost avoidance.

Neal Potter, a former County Councilman, established the Corps in 1984 as a unique way to help the environment and to provide an opportunity for the disadvantaged. "I remember so well the conservation corps of the 30's that helped millions of people get out of the Depression." says Potter.

The Corps, however, is not for everybody. The work is hard and the pay is low. As the brochure warns, "It's outdoors and it's physical. ... You may work in rain, snow, and intense heat." But the program promises substantial benefits, as well. "The rewards are great and can't be measured in monetary terms. You will have the opportunity to work and learn with others your age and your experience in MCCC will help you gain future employment. You will serve others and make a difference in your community."

Shanna Strahan is proud of her involvement with the Corps. Abandoned by her mother at 14, Shanna took to the streets to survive. When she enrolled in the Corps, she was finally given a productive channel for her energy, and she has excelled. Recently promoted to Supervisor's Aid, Shanna says, "I can't turn back the clock, but I can try to help others avoid the mistakes that I've made."

Program Highlights

How it Works:

• The MCCC annually enrolls about 36 young adults, most of whom have serious barriers to career employment and community responsibility. Additionally, the majority of these individuals have no conservation awareness or employable environmental skills. Corpsmembers who stay for more than 3 to 6 months undergo a dramatic transformation in their appreciation for the environment as well as in the acquisition of basic environmental skills.
• Corpsmembers enroll for one year and are paid $4.50 an hour. Each Corpsmember is expected to complete three, 12-week crew rotations consisting of carpentry, landscaping and conservation skills. Advanced members move up to the Silver Spring crew for an additional twelve weeks.
• Corpsmembers who have not graduated high school receive GED training.
• All Corpsmembers participate in career workshops, life skills workshops (e.g., money management and nutrition), individual and group counseling, and environmental education. The environmental education curriculum comprises instruction on:
• Ecosystems
• Watersheds
• Streams
• Wetlands
• The Chesapeake Bay

• Corpsmember Crews have restored locks on the C&O Canal, repaired historically significant log cabins, built nature trails in parklands and stocked state-owned streams with trout.
• A crew of eight corps members is deployed in the local Silver Spring urban district to participate in crime prevention activities and revitalization of the business district.
• Crews engage in beautification and repair of the local Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) housing development. Members of these crews all reside in HOC housing.

Vital Statistics

Program Management/Partnerships: The Montgomery County Conservation Corps (MCCC) is administered through the Department of Family Resources and receives financial support from the County budget and through private donations. MCCC has formed partnerships with the Private Industrial Council, County Department of Environmental Protection and Transportation, the local housing authority and local parks department.

Budget: $430,000 annually.

Community Served: Unemployed, out-of-school, 17 to 23 year-old Montgomery County residents who gain an education and job training. Additional local residents benefit from projects such as street and sidewalk beautification, improved trails in the parks system, public housing restoration and ramps that increase community wheelchair access.

Measures of Success:

Twelve corps members have received their GED since May 1994.

Corps graduates are employed in fields such as landscaping, public utilities, and residential construction. Among other employers, Corps graduates work within the parks department, and within the state's natural resources department.

MCCC Corpsmembers have a higher success rate in passing the GED than the state average.

Success stories designed by Mark Nowak

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