NPS PHOTO by janise laboard

Youth Conservation Corps students go sailing in New York Harbor.

Youth Conservation Corps, Summer 2009

Episode 1: "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 2: The Promise of America
Students working at Ellis Island consider what it means to be an American.

Episode 3: 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 4: 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 5: 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 (under construction)
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.