L.A. Conservation Corps: Green Jobs for Urban Teens

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Just about anyone would agree that two of today’s most complex problems are inner-city crime and the environment. But sometimes the simplest solutions work the best. A perfect example is the L.A. Conservation Corps. Founded over 20 years ago, it is the largest non-profit youth conservation corps in the country. It was developed so youths from Los Angeles inner-city communities could gain work experience while developing their skills and contributing to their communities.

“Most of the kids that come here are high school dropouts, and they look to the L.A. Conservation Corps as an opportunity to both get paid and go to school,” deputy director Dan Knapp told Organic Connections. “Very often they have to make the choice of one over the other once they’re past the age of 18. Here, they don’t have to.

“Many of these people never had the opportunity to give back to the community—most didn’t even know how. So, in working, getting a paycheck and improving their neighborhoods, we’ve seen a tremendous transformation in the young folk we serve.”

The L.A. Conservation Corps runs five different programs that cover such areas as theory and hands-on care of plants and soil, getting up close with marine life, beach cleaning, urban beautification, planting of trees, and much more—all while paying a wage and furthering education.

Numerous individual successes on the LACC website illustrate just what an impact the organization has had. One student was with the program from age 13 to 18 and it was his first job. He thought the most exciting aspect was rescuing marine animals, using them to educate other students, then releasing them back into the ocean. This student also earned $5,300 in scholarships, is now attending El Camino College, and is planning on transferring to a California university where he can study biology.

Another student had been paroled out of the California Youth Authority system only a month before applying to LACC. Through the organization, she was able to complete her high school education and is now on her way to helping other children who have come through the “system”—to give them a purpose and a reason to live, and to be a live demonstration of how it can be done.

The cumulative contribution from the Corps to the immediate environment is substantial. In the last year alone, they helped plant 100,000 trees in the Greater Los Angeles Area, cleaned up or abated litter in over 20 miles of storm drains and channels, and rescued over 1,000 animals, including sea lions, bat rays and stingrays, lobsters, crabs and sea turtles.

“It’s pretty cool to see a kid from Compton who had never been to the beach, and now he’s up to his waist in water saving a bat ray,” Knapp remarked.

It’s not surprising then that, in addition to the bolstered morale from working and contributing, these youths end up realizing how important the environment actually is. “Many of these young folk, never thinking that they wanted to go study the environment or conservation, end up choosing career paths that take them to those places. We currently have four Corps members studying at Humboldt State, a great forestry school in northern California, and another two studying marine biology.”

When these students arrive at the L.A. Conservation Corps, most have never considered such career paths, stating that they want to go into social work or law enforcement. Not surprising, since those are two fields they’ve seen plenty of in their day-to-day environments.

“By allowing them to work at the Corps, understanding that they can go into arboriculture or horticulture, for example, or resource conservation or recycling, we broaden their horizons as far as career opportunities,” said Knapp. “It’s interesting that the big buzzword right now is green jobs. We’ve been doing it for 21 years.”

The L.A. Conservation Corps has also made a significant impact on gang affiliation in Los Angeles and is now part of the city’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development Program. Most of the people that come to the Corps are considered at-risk youths, which of course includes the risk of gang activity. The Corps has a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to gang affiliation—any outward expression of gang association results in immediate dismissal from the program.

But Knapp thinks that this policy is more likely appreciated than resented. “I think a lot of these youths come to the Corps because it’s eight hours in the day they don’t have to be gang members,” Knapp said. “They don’t have to watch their backs; they can get rid of the bravado façades that they have to wear in the street. We see it time and time again. Allowing people to take a breath so that they can develop real senses of self-worth and self-esteem goes a long way to reducing gang issues and problems.”