New Jersey Youth Corps

Academy for Urban and Community Forestry

Presentation

National Association of Service and Conservation Corps

Washington, DC

Presentation Outline

Prepared by: Lynn Logo-Keepers

George W. Paffendorf

Background

  • Why New Jersey Youth Corps became involved in the Green Industry
  • Careers in Arboriculture – the Green Industry
  • Forming the critical partnerships
  • The Academy for Urban and Community Forestry

Training Basics

  • Curriculum Outline
  • Program Design Options
  • Resources

Outcomes for the Academy

Power Point Presentation

Summary

Questions and Answers

Background – Why New Jersey Youth Corps became involved in the Green Industry

Established by legislation in 1984, New Jersey Youth Corps is a year round, full-time Corps that works with out of school youth between the ages of 16 and 25. It is designed to assist Corpsmembers in developing the skills needed to obtain a diploma and prepare for employment, college, further training, and full time service. New Jersey Youth Corps combines five essential elements: community service; academics; employability and life skills; career and personal counseling; and, transition and follow-up services, combined in a service-learning environment.

In working to develop career paths, we recognize that many Corpsmembers will not obtain a GED or Adult High School Diploma. They can, however, develop career paths that will provide meaningful and lucrative employment. Researching employer needs in New Jersey revealed career paths in the arboriculture industry where employers seek new employees who have the employability skills that enable them to obtain and retain employment.

Careers in Arboriculture—The Green Industry

Arboriculture—the care of trees and shrubs—involves many types of activities. Arborists select and transplant trees, prune, repair, brace, fertilize, manage pests, and ensure that they grow well and remain safe. They also remove dead and hazard trees. Careers in this industry can be in the following:

  • Commercial arboriculture
  • Municipal arboriculture or urban forestry
  • Utility arboriculture

Forming the Critical Partnerships

In 2000, New Jersey Youth Corps designed a program to prepare Corpsmembers for careers in the Tree Care Industry (Arboriculture.) In conjunction with the Children, Youth and Families at Risk(CYFR) program at RutgersUniversity,CookCollege, and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, the program assisted the local arboriculture industry in obtaining qualified workers. This first program was a four-day training which combined classroom instruction with hands-on experience in a variety of aspects of tree care and incorporated a two-week internship component with commercial tree care companies for successful completers. The program was piloted to two New Jersey Youth Corps sites. In 2001, the training was offered to all 12 New Jersey Youth Corps sites. By 2002 we had outgrown our training space and moved to regional training sites, north, central, and south, which has continued through the current year. Over 300 Corpsmembers have been trained to date.

The Academy for Urban and Community Forestry

In 2004, New Jersey Youth Corps received a Forestry Innovation Grant from the US Department of Agriculture, Division of forestry to implement an Urban and CommunityForestryAcademy. The Academy is the next step in the growth of the Green Industry Vocation Training that evolved from the original Arboriculture Training in 2001. The curriculum which will be offered through the Academy includes additional content areas, as well as extended training time. Participants will be selected from a ready pool of New Jersey Youth Corps participants and graduates who are at least 18 years of age. Academy curriculum projects will interface with existing community service projects which relate to environmental and “green” projects.

The Academy will address two issues of concern in the area of urban community forestry. The first is the need to respond to and improve the physical environment of urban areas. The need for healthy urban environments is well documented. Improvements in the number of well-maintained trees and green space areas can be related to providing valuable shade, absorbing more pollution, lowering temperatures, helping to control soil erosion, increasing habitats and decreasing the instances of health-related problems that occur in urban areas.

The second is the need to actively involve young residents of urban areas in improving and maintaining the “green” environment of urban areas. Engaging youth in service projects will be used as a strategy to catapult them into a career path in this field, thereby creating a workforce that is intimately knowledgeable of the urban and community environment and that is trained to assist with solutions and maintain a healthier physical environment.

Training Basics

Academy training will build upon the existing skills of Corpsmembers and will provide a familiarization with elements of the industry necessary for an entry level position in urban and community forestry. Select commercial tree and landscape companies, instructors from public and private entities, partners from Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Jersey Youth Corps headquarters staff, and new partners (Department of Environmental Protection, ForestryEducationResourceCenter), will combine to provide various elements of instruction during the 40-hour course.

Curriculum Outline

A minimum of 100 youth will receive 40 hours of training in the following areas:

- work site safety and personal protective equipment;

-basic arboriculture techniques;

-tree identification and selection of species for the correct application;

-pruning;

-pesticide and electrical safety;

-ropes and knots;

-hazard trees; and,

-ticks and identification of poisonous plants.

Hands on training will provide the following:

-care and use of hand tools;

-an opportunity to work from a bucket truck;

-introduction to tree climbing, climbing equipment, knots and rigging;

-wood chipper use and safety;

-spraying using a commercial spray rig;

-chain saw demonstration and sharpening;

-proper tree and shrub pruning;

-tree selection and planting, flower selection and planting; and,

-soil types, landscaping and turf management.

New Jersey Youth Corps’ standard is 80% positive placement with 120 days of follow-up in 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, 120 day increments upon successful placement. Evaluation will consist of a post and follow-up evaluation of the program by participants. Additionally, a post evaluation and a six month follow-up questionnaire/evaluation will be distributed to employers. Graduates will be tracked for a one-year period following completion of training. New Jersey Youth Corps provides lifetime job development and placement services for all alumni.

  • Links to On-the-Ground Improvements

As a result of its success in using a “service-learning” approach with youth, New Jersey Youth Corps will imbed this strategy in the NJ Youth Corps Urban and CommunityForestryAcademy curriculum. In addition to the classroom and hands-on training, youth will be engaged in providing service to the 12 urban areas. They will work in small crews under the supervision of a New Jersey Youth Corps Crew Supervisor to identify local areas in need of improvement and provide the work necessary to accomplish the improvements. Depending on local community needs ,projects may include but not be limited to the following; planting, pruning and maintaining trees and shrubs, designing and landscaping green areas and gardens, including former brownfields sites, enhancing urban gateway areas through beautification projects, urban tree identification, counting and assessment, indigenous species seed collection and restoration, stream and bank restoration, and trail development.

Program Design Options

  • Internships
  • Direct Job Placement
  • On-site Employer Interviews
  • Adaptation to local community needs through service projects

Resources

There are many resources available for use during training. Examples of resources and agencies used by New Jersey Youth Corps include the following:

  • Cooperative Extension Services
  • Trade Magazines
  • International Society of Arboriculture
  • National Arborist Association
  • State Arborist Association
  • Department of Environmental Protection
  • Local green industry employers
  • Power companies

Academy Outcomes:

  1. Outcome: A minimum of 100 youth will receive 40 hours of training in the following areas: work site safety and personal protective equipment, basic arboriculture techniques, tree identification, and selection of species for the correct application, pruning, pesticide and electrical safety, ropes and knots, hazard trees, ticks and identification of poisonous plants.

Measurement: Attendance roster, pre and post training test, demonstration of competency in skill areas.

  1. Outcome: Completion of a minimum of 12 community forestry projects to include at least one in each of the identified urban areas.

Measurement: Documentation of project including but not limited to, plan designs, pre and post photographs and narrative descriptions, documentation of project hours and number of participants.

  1. Outcome: Development of training curriculum.

Measurement: Final curriculum document.

  1. Outcome: Dissemination of curriculum, project design and completed project documents.
  2. Measurement: Numbers attending dissemination workshops, numbers receiving printed materials, numbers requesting information regarding the project.
  1. Outcome: Placement in related job, further training, or education.

Measurement: Placement information at intervals of 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, 120 days and six month intervals thereafter for a period of one year.

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