NPS PHOTO

Youth Conservation Corps students after sailing in New York Harbor.

Youth Conservation Corps, Summer 2009

During the summer of 2009, students from all over the New York area worked for the Youth Conservation Corps at several National Parks of New York Harbor locations. See the parks through their eyes and learn how their work experience contributed to mission of the the National Park Service.

For a glimpse of the YCC program in 2010, see the YCC-created booklet A Harbor of Youth.

Episode I: "When I think of the National Park Service..."
On their first day of work, students share their goals and expectations about working in a National Park site.

Episode II: The Promise of America
Students working at Ellis Island consider what it means to be an American.

Episode III: Go Back and Fetch
Two memorials in Manhattan, one honoring a famous general and another honoring unknown enslaved Africans, provoke students to think differently about history.

Episode IV: A Goldmine
Two students discover that, whether or not they feel at home in nature, Gateway National Recreation Area has a place for their talents and interests.

Episode V: Plants and Plovers
New York Harbor may be an unlikely spot for endangered plants and wildlife, but tell that to the piping plovers making their nests on harbor beaches. Watchful YCC students help the NPS protect these endangered species.

Episode VI: Lady Liberty
What is it like to work at an incredibly busy National Monument?

Episode VII: A Tour of New York Harbor
Students at four NPS locations reveal how their work preserved salt marshes, cleaned and groomed park lands and kept visitors safe.

Episode VIII: The End... of the Beginning
NPS employees honor YCC students on their last day of work, while students share what the summer has meant to them as individuals.