The USFWS and the CDC will cooperate to place high school students at the center of pembroke?s developing green spaces and conservation areas, including pollinator habitat gardens, local parks, and…

The USFWS and the CDC will cooperate to place high school students at the center of pembroke?s developing green spaces and conservation areas, including pollinator habitat gardens, local parks, and the kankakee national wildlife refuge (NWR), using the national youth conservation corps (YCC) model adopted by the department of the interior. The yes! Program provides 8 to 10 weeks of hands-on conservation experience to high school students ages 15 to 18 and a college intern to create conservation stewardship and leadership at an earlier stage in a young person's life. The ultimate goal of this program is to create a greater continuum for youth to move towards conservation employment and leadership. 2025 marks the eighth year of this successful youth program. The yes! Program is a community employment opportunity for local candidates, provided that a refugee or other USFWS site is within commuting distance of their home. High school students must live at home, i.e., their primary residence, with their parent or legal guardian. Broad activities may include: -working with conservation experts on field management, ECO-tour visitation planning, and inventories of rare plant and animal species in the kankakee sands region. -cleaning up trash and litter areas within two sites within the refuge footprint and other protected lands in the kankakee sands region. -controlling invasive species at three to five sites within the refuge or on kankakee partnership lands. -developing community signage and text for a series of interpretive materials and signs for essential sites in the kankakee sands region to aid education and tourism. -documenting their experience for perpetuity and sharing with other youth and conservation organizations. Other youth activities for younger youth will engage them in species identification, habitats, bird and BAT houses, and other activities to prepare them for future opportunities in the yes! And other related programs.