Northwest Youth Corps at work in Lake County

By Nika Carlson

Summer Intern

Hoes swing through the mountain air, engulfing their wielders in clouds of orange dust. The tools thud as they hit the trail dirt, interrupting song.

''Count Chocula or Lestat?'' a young voice calls out. A lively debate ensues over who would be the victor in a fight between these two fictional creatures of the night, broken by the occasional dust-choked cough.

It is a Thursday afternoon. The scene is the Swale Trail head, part of the Fremont National Recreation Trail running through the Warner Mountains. The players are the 10 members of the Orange Crew, a group of 16 to 19-year-old young men and women. They have been working together for three and a half weeks.

They are employees of the Northwest Youth Corps.

The Northwest Youth Corps is a Eugene-based organization that gives youth an educational work experience in the outdoors. It was created in 1983 and now runs seven different conservation programs. In 2002, it served more than 800 kids.

The Orange Crew is part of the Youth Corps program. Youth Corps members are paid employees, working in 10 person groups on conservation and reforestation projects led by two adult crew leaders. They are nomads, switching sites every week, living in tents, and bathing once a week for the four to five-week duration of the program. They earn $6.90 an hour and some earn high school credit.

''It's hard manual labor,'' said Youth Corps Program Director Ethan Nelson.

Youth Corps, however, is about more than just the work. It is a growing experience. ''We want kids to walk away smarter, more aware of their environment, better able to make decisions about their lives,'' Nelson said. ''It's a visceral-experience.''

The brochure promotes the programs values: leadership, teamwork, education, responsibility, job skills, diversity, challenge, outdoor recreation. It is a full plate, but it seems to be more than just an official line. The Orange Crew tout each of these benefits.

''One of the things I think makes NYC such a profound program is it builds leadership,''said Emily Ferris, 19, of Banks.

''It gives a sense of responsibility,''said Fawn Brown, 19, of Ashland. ''It teaches a lot of practical skills.''

''It gives you a better respect for the environment.'' said Jacob Micheli, a 17-year-old from Eugene.

''It opens up a lot of opportunities,''said Alyssa Kelly,16, of Coos Bay. Consistently, however, it is the bonds they form that the Orange Crew said they value most. ''We become really intimate with each other, '' Brown said. ''We're like a family.''

Youth corps crews are diverse groups. The program recruits all over the U.S. They are 16 to 19, male and female. They are all types, Nelson said. ''It forces the kids to expand their boundaries,'' he said.

They spend all their time together. It is regimented time, not quite military but almost. The crews wake at 6 a.m. and are work­ing by 7. They eat lunch at noon and get a break later in the day. There is free time until chores at 5 and dinner by 7. There are educational activities after dinner and crews are generally asleep before its dark, Nelson said. ''It was a little bit overwhelming,'' said, Emma Brooks, 16, of Homer, Alas­ka. ''Its interesting living with people 24-7. Sometimes you just want to get away for a while.''

But it is not all work. ''I've never laughed any­where as much as I have at an NYC dinner table,'' Nel­son said.

On Fridays, they quit work early. Over the week­end, they do laundry and take their weekly shower, staying at a central site with three other crews. They have free time and parents can visit. On Sunday, they travel to the next work site.

 A combination of grants, donations, and fees funds the program. Most of the budget comes from fee-for-service projects, such as the trail maintenance work Orange Crew was doing for the Lake­view Ranger District.

The program also charges participants $185 in tuition to cover the educa­tional part of the program. Nelson emphasized, howev­er, that NYC can pay the tuition for up to 10 Lake County residents. They recently received a grant from the Oregon Youth Con­servation Corps that will cov­er the fee and Nelson encourages all Lake County teens to apply.

        The next Northwest Youth Corps session begins Sunday, July 27. Applications are available on the program's website: www.nwyouthcorps.org.

Courtesy of the LAKE COUNTY EXAMINER, Lakeveiw, Oregon, Thursday, July 10, 2003

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