StarNews: “Teens work on Brunswick Nature Park”

This article was originally published as on August 13th by the Star News Online, available here.

WILMINGTON — The North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps (NCYCC), a partnership between the Conservation Trust for North Carolina and the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, deployed a teen crew to Brunswick Nature Park to provide the Coastal Land Trust support to preserve valuable recreational resources for the public.

The NCYCC youth crew, made up of 16-18 year-olds, improved the park’s mountain bike trails and conducted restoration work to help preserve plant and animal habitat.

The property was owned by a timber company before it was purchased by the Coastal Land Trust and donated to Brunswick County. The county added roads, kayak landing, picnic shelters, bathrooms, and off-road bike trails to the property. These recreational resources, combined with the park’s frontage along Town Creek, make the site the most visited park in Brunswick County.

The NCYCC work is important to the success and management of the park and the Coastal Land Trust harnessed the power of youth to accomplish this task.

“Despite all the rain, the NCYCC crew was actively working at the Brunswick Nature Park and was able to accomplish great work,” said Jesica Blake, director of stewardship and community conservation with the Coastal Land Trust. “From building trails to restoring longleaf pine habitat, their effort and hard work continues to better the park for people who visit and the wildlife that live there.”

“The NCYCC uses the natural world as a platform for teaching job and leadership skills, community service, environmental stewardship, and personal responsibility to North Carolina’s youth,” said NCYCC Program Director Jan Pender. “NCYCC crews preserve and expand public access to parks, trails, and other protected natural lands while enjoying a paid summer job and a life-changing experience as they live and work outdoors with their colleagues for three or seven consecutive weeks.”

The NCYCC crew’s work was primarily funded by the Duke Energy Foundation as part of its focus on environmental education and conservation. Additionally, this crew is funded by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, N.C. Coastal Land Trust, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, Fred and Alice Stanback, Little Acorn Fund, the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Foundation, N.C. Electric Membership Corp. and other generous private donors.