Race (left), Willie, DJ and Amia stand with their tools amongst the fire line they have created in fields adjacent to Dorena Lake Reservoir in Cottage Grove.
On a hot day in August, Amia, a 17-year-old soon-to-be Senior at Willamette High School, gears up with helmet, eye goggles and gloves and applies her string trimmer to the tall grasses in fields near Dorena Lake reservoir. Amia never handled tools such as these prior to her summer work experience with the Looking Glass Lane-Metro Youth Corps. Amina shared that she has learned so much from this experience and is using the money she has earned to save for car insurance.
Since 1990, Looking Glass’ Lane-Metro Youth Corps, which is part of the Riverfront School & Career Center, has operated work crews year-round and provided paid work experience each summer to Lane County youth. Work projects restore local natural resources and natural habitats. As this year’s crew experiences comes to a close, the Army Corps of Engineers are thankful for the impact Looking Glass crew members had on creating fire lines for upcoming prepared burns. These prepared burns are an important part of habitat management and help to reduce fuel loads during critical fire season.
Looking Glass youth, Amia, works on clearing a field near Dorena Lake.
“Looking Glass summer youth crews have supported the Corps’ environmental stewardship mission in the Willamette Valley by working on a variety of important projects,” said Rachel Zitomer, Botanist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “They have played a key role in controlling invasive plants, maintaining rare wetland and upland prairies, and improving habitat for vulnerable plant, insect, and wildlife species.”
Other projects the summer youth crew has worked on include meadow management for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), assisting Lane County Waste Management with its Quamash Prairie wetland expansion, and completing vital park and trail maintenance for Willamalane Park District.
“Lane-Metro Youth Corps treated high-priority noxious weed infestations at multiple sites around Fern Ridge Reservoir and carefully removed weeds encroaching on patches of Kincaid’s lupine—the obligate host for the Fender’s blue butterfly,” said Zitomer. “Both species are federally threatened and endemic to the Willamette Valley. The crews also helped propagate native flowering species in our nursery that will later be planted alongside Kincaid’s lupine to provide nectar sources for the butterfly.”
The youth were trained on the job, with no prior experience in conservation or forestry, giving them excellent field experience in an industry with a significant employee shortage. According to one recent article in the Oregonian – “Oregon’s forestry sector, once the state’s driving industry, has scaled back dramatically, the result of modernization and reduced harvests since the 1990s. Yet the industry is still adding workers and looking to replace retirees — now with a growing demand for technical expertise.”
DJ, age 22, was introduced to this program through his Independent Living Program (ILP) case manager. ILP is another Looking Glass program that works with youth who are aging out of the foster care system and need assistance with job placement, continuing education and life skills supports.
“I tried college, but it just wasn’t for me,” DJ said. “I prefer this kind of hands-on work. I like being outside and the hours are good. Plus, I’ve made friends.”
Looking Glass youth, Race, works on trimming a tree as part of the fireline work near Dorena Lake.
In addition to receiving a paycheck, the youth who participate in the summer crew program have the chance to learn about the local ecology, bond with their co-workers, and earn credit toward their high school diploma.
Willie Friedman, the program supervisor for the past 4 years, likes to reward the youth with a fun rafting trip and pizza to end the summer season.
“These kids have worked hard – they cleared a fire line over a mile long in just one week. They’ve cleared almost four miles so far this year,” Friedman said.
As the crew left the Dorena Lake area, a representative of the Army Corps asked if they could help with another project, but Friedman informed her the crew was done for the summer after this one. The Army Corps staff person was visibly disappointed but understood. That project would have to wait until the Lane-Metro Youth Corps School Crew started up mid-September.
“This crew provides an essential service to the community while providing the youth with paid experience, environmental education, and a better connection to the landscape around them.” Friedman said.
“(The fireline work is) an important management tool for maintaining sensitive prairie ecosystems,” Zitomer explained. “Their efforts significantly expand our capacity to carry out critical habitat management activities with limited staff”.
The program is operated by Looking Glass in partnership with the Higher Education Coordination Commission, the Lane Workforce Partnership, Oregon Youth Corps, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Private donations are always welcomed to help offset other, additional expenses.
If you would like to learn more about the Lane-Metro Youth Corps, please contact Riverfront Director Cheryl Zwillinger at cheryl.zwillinger@lookingglass.us or Willie Friedman, Crew Supervisor at willie.friedman@lookingglass.us.