The Urban Corps of San Diego County is a certified local conservation corps and charter school whose mission is to provide young adults with a high school education combined with job training and community service in the fields of conservation and recycling, which will assist youth in becoming more employable while protecting San Diego’s natural resources and instilling the importance of community service.
The Environmental Projects Division trains young adults to protect and maintain the urban environment in and around the City of San Diego through conservation and preservation projects. Corpsmembers are able to experience and learn about San Diego’s natural environment, including identification of native flora and fauna and how to remove invasive non-native plants. Corpsmember have worked to clean and restore San Diego’s waterways leading to the ocean, and to restore and enhance the ecosystems of riparian areas such as the San Diego River and Adobe Falls. Corpsmembers learn how to build trails, control erosion by means of BMP’s (Best Management Practices), construct crib steps on trails, and restore the habitat of canyons, parks, and wetlands. Urban Corpsmembers also learn how to use hand tools, power tools and light equipment such as bob cats, chippers and dump trucks.
Urban Corps of San Diego County's Fire Fuel Reduction (FFR) Program is employing hundreds of San Diego youth to work alongside crews from the U.S. Forest Service and the Viejas Fire Department to create defensible space in the backcountry. The $1.7 million program, funded primarily by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through San Diego Workforce Partnership, is offering paid work experience to more than 300 youth underrepresented in the workforce while creating a safer environment for county residents. Crews are conducting vegetation removal and assisting with controlled burns in the Cleveland National Forest and other areas throughout the county for the purpose of community defense, fuel break maintenance and forest health. Before being sent out in the field, Corpsmembers attend an intensive week-long orientation in which they receive certified training on fire fuel reduction methods and leadership in order to qualify them as a certified member of a fire hand crew. The training, conducted by Urban Corps and the Viejas Fire Department, includes hand tool use and chainsaw safety designed to enhance job skills and work site performance. In addition to the U.S. Forest Service, sponsors of this program include the cities of Chula Vista and Poway, Sweetwater Authority, and the Viejas Fire Department with an in-kind contribution. Please click here for a copy of the FFR Press Release.
