Youth Conservation Corps – Camping Crew Member

Job Overview

Title: Crew Member  

Crew: Youth Conservation Corps – Camping Crew - Cherokee National Forest – Ocoee Ranger District  

Reports to: Crew Leader, Field Supervisor  

Locations: Chattanooga, Tennessee               

Status: Seasonal – Summer, Full-time, Exempt  

Stipend: $600 per week before taxes.  

Benefits: Job Training, uniform shirts, protective equipment. Other development opportunities as available.   

Start/end date: 07/10/2023 – 08/04/2023  

Six positions available, opened until filled.  

Southeast Conservation Corps 

Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC), a program of Conservation Legacy, is a non-profit, AmeriCorps-affiliated organization based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. SECC engages future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation’s lands through community-based service. Our programs encourage environmental stewardship, foster community, and emphasize experiential learning. SECC serves a diverse population that is representative of the Southeast, including youth, graduates, veterans, and a cross-section of ethnicities and income levels. Youth Conservation Crew (YCC) programs take place throughout the state of Tennessee and neighboring states within the Southeast region. YCC programs are paid summer opportunities for regional youth, ages 16-18, to gain experience in conservation, learn on-the-job training, and have fun.  

Position Description:  

SECC’s YCC camping crew will engage members in a program that combines training and education with impactful conservation and service projects. Projects include, but are not limited to, trail maintenance and construction, watershed restoration, habitat enhancement, fencing, tree planting, invasive plant removal, and much more. This program focuses on engaging regional youth in meaningful service and learning opportunities in their communities.  

SECC’s 2023 camping crew will complete service projects within the Ocoee Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest. The YCC camping crew’s schedule is 4 weeks total. However, the season will be divided into 2-week hitches (what SECC calls time in the field), with a weekend off, at home, mid-season. During weekends in the field members will have time to rest but are expected to recreate, travel, camp, and complete chores as a crew, with no solo time permitted. Evenings include group chores such as cooking, cleaning dishes, sharpening tools, etc., as well as participation in a variety of educational topics related to group and personal development, land stewardship, and conservation practices.  

• Hitch 1: depart July 10 (Monday) – return July 21 (Friday) 
• Break July 21 (evening) – July 23 
• Hitch 2: July 24 (Monday) – August 4 (Friday)  

*Members must be able to be without cell phones the entirety of the program.  

The crew members are responsible for supplying their own personal equipment such as a day pack, work pants, hiking/work boots, etc. We supply camping gear and share a comprehensive packing list once a position is offered.  

Crew Member Responsibilities:  
As a SECC YCC program participant you must be able to:    

• Work as a team member.   
• Be open-minded and respect others from different cultures and backgrounds.   

• Perform heavy manual labor related to environmental conservation and restoration projects.   
• Work and live outdoors in wilderness areas and during all types of weather.   
• Learn and apply new environmental conservation, restoration, and outdoor living skills.   
• Participate in group activities.   
• Practice program safety protocols and procedures.   

• Learn and practice ‘Leave No Trace’ techniques.   

Qualifications: 
To qualify, you must be between the ages of 16 and 18, and a US citizen or permanent resident. Members must be enrolled in a high school program or must have graduated in the same year as the SECC program (Example: you graduated in May 2023 and the program starts June 2023).  

Required Experience:   

No trail crew or conservation crew experience is needed to apply for this position. A general comfort and previous knowledge of working/living in an outdoor setting is helpful.  

Participant Essential Eligibility Requirements  
Essential eligibility requirements for the program must be met. If you are unable to meet certain requirements, we may be able to assist you with some modification unless it alters the fundamental nature of the program, compromises the health and safety of participants or staff, or places an undue financial or administrative burden on the organization. These requirements are written the same for all positions and therefore may not apply directly to your particular position.   

Participation and Expedition Behavior:   

• Work effectively as a member of a team despite potentially stressful and difficult conditions. This may require problem solving on an interpersonal or group level as well as a willingness to accept differences.   
• Contribute to a safe learning environment, no harassment of others for any reason.   
• Willingness and ability to complete all aspects of the program including conservation projects, education, training and national service. Members must commit to participating in all crew/team activities, including service days in local communities where applicable.   
• Effectively communicate ideas and concerns as they arise directly to supervisors, colleagues and organization staff.  
  Have the cognitive ability to learn necessary skills and apply them to effectively carry out the service work requirements.   

• Appropriately represent the Program and AmeriCorps to the public and project partners at all times.   

 Safety and Judgment   

• Effectively communicate danger to others in the form of either a warning of danger others may be encountering or a notification of personal distress, injury or need for assistance. You must be able to do so at a distance of up to 50 meters and in conditions with limited visibility or loud background noise such as darkness or high winds.   
• Effectively perceive, understand and follow direction by others so that you will be able to successfully execute appropriate and perhaps unfamiliar techniques to manage hazards. These directions may be given before the hazard is encountered or may need to be given during exposure to the hazard.   

• Stay alert and focused for several hours at a time while traveling and working in varied weather conditions.   
• Perceive and comprehend significant and apparent hazards, including those hazards previously identified by others.    
• Respond appropriately to stress or crises.   
• If taking prescription medications, participants must be able to maintain proper dosage by self-medicating without assistance from others.   

Outdoor Skills and Fitness (where appropriate)   

• Learn and safely perform fundamental outdoor living/travel and work skills as appropriate to the project. Additionally, remain adequately hydrated, fed, and properly dressed so as to remain generally healthy and safe, avoiding environmental injuries.    
• Live in a physically demanding, possibly remote environment for an uninterrupted period of up to several weeks. Conditions of this environment may vary significantly and may include severe and/or trying weather. The remoteness is such that it may require at a minimum one hour, but perhaps in excess of 12 hours, to reach the nearest advanced medical care.   

Essential Functions:   

• Frequently required to walk, hike, sit and lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.   
• Required to use hands to operate equipment and tools and to reach with hands and arms.   
• Required to use close vision and the ability to focus.   
• Must be able to understand and communicate in English.   
• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with additional disabilities to perform the essential functions.   

* Applicants will be selected based on their interest, availability and interview. Please note that preference will be given to local applicants (Chattanooga region and surrounding cities and towns) as this program is designed to engage local youth in their local communities and public lands. *  

Substance Free    

In accordance to a drug free workplace, alcohol and drugs are prohibited while participating in AmeriCorps and program activities and while on organization property.     

 Technology/Phone Policy: Youth members are required to give the crew leaders their phones during the program, we provide communication through the crew leaders and if dire emergencies happen, we contact the parents through staff. Members cannot have or use cell phones or other technology as determined by SECC staff. Guardians will be notified if contact is necessary concerning your well-being or issues related to your time with us.     

To Apply:    Complete the Application, upload cover letter and resume. 

This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages. 

Any questions can be addressed to:    

Kahla Stewart 

Intern Program Coordinator 

423-402-6004 

[email protected]