Youths Participate in NPS Youth Conservation Corps Program

Date: August 10, 2011
Contact: Outer Banks Group, 252-473-2111

For the third summer in a row, the National Park Service (NPS) Outer Banks Group has hired a group of local youth under the NPS Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program. The crew has performed a variety of “hands on” field work for eight weeks this summer, including parking lot re-striping and vegetation clearing in all three units of the Outer Banks Group; Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The YCC participants have an opportunity to learn about the NPS and gain valuable work experience.  Hunt Thomas of Manteo is the group leader this summer.

The YCC group has also completed the removal of temporary walkways used behind the newly renovated Fort Raleigh Visitor Center. Projects over the summer included painting and re-striping several parking lots at the famed Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the Ocracoke Pony Pen area, and completed vegetation trim work of the entire boundary around Wright Brothers NM.

“It is an absolute pleasure to have this group of enthusiastic and hard working young students assist us with so many improvement projects this summer,” stated Superintendent Mike Murray. “They provide a valuable service to the visiting public and they, in turn, will walk away with increased knowledge of their local national parks and valuable work experience as they consider their fields of study and career choices.”