Through a partnership with the Urban Corps of San Diego County’s “Green Team,” the City of Carlsbad is sprucing up the city while providing valuable hands on training for North County youth interested in environmental jobs.
“This program is a great fit for Carlsbad,” said Clayton Dobbs, a utilities supervisor for the city. “Important environmental and beautification projects get done around town at minimal cost, and hard working young people get to learn new green job skills.”
The Urban Corps Green Team is a group of 250 youth, ages 18-24, who attend a high school diploma class one day a week and spend four days doing environmental restoration work, such as restoring habitat, removing non-native plants, creating defensible space for fire protection, and clearing culvert and draining channels.
Three Green Team groups with 14 member crews are working with the City of Carlsbad in rotating cycles throughout the summer. About half of the participants are from Carlsbad and other North County cities. Wearing Urban Corps uniforms, Green Team members are supervised by City of Carlsbad employees.
In preparation for the upcoming fire season, the Green Team already completed a defensible space project removing dry, dead plants and overgrowth around the city’s public works facility on El Camino Real. The crew is also helping with community outreach. Team members distributed information about proper disposal of cooking fats, oil and grease to neighborhoods that have experienced sewer system problems. Other team members distributed information to neighborhoods where city construction projects are taking place.
The Green Team groups will continue working around town through August on projects such as litter removal, Hosp Grove trail maintenance, lagoon non-native plant removal and clean up, and clearing drainage channels.
“Everyone wins with the Green Team project,” says Sam Duran, CEO of the Urban Corps. “We take pride in the opportunity to employ local youth from Carlsbad. The city receives much needed environmental services while the young people have a chance to earn some money over the summer, add green job skills to their resumes, and experience the personal rewards of contributing to their community.”
The Green Team’s Carlsbad work is part of the Urban Corps’ Summer Youth Employment Program, funded through San Diego Workforce Partnership by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. The youth are paid minimum wage.
Dobbs estimates that the Green Team’s work is saving the city $50,000.
The Green Team is still accepting Carlsbad applicants for the summer program. For more information visit http://www.urbancorpssd.org.
