Local Youths Participate in NPS Youth Conservation Corps Program

YCC students (left to right) are: Dustin Spruill, Ty Farrow, Zay Spencer, Hunt Thomas, Katie Midgett, Miles Howard, Jeff Davis, Ian Miller, Marley Brushwood, Zane Castellow, Marina Clough, Tayler Smith & Karyn Stafford.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: July 7, 2010

Contact: John Wescott, 252-473-2111

For the second 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, which is partially funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be performing a variety of “hands on” field work for eight weeks this summer, including campground renovations in Cape Hatteras National Seashore and earthworks restoration at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The YCC participants have an opportunity to learn about the NPS and gain valuable work experience. East Carolina graduate Stacey Hodnett is the group leader this summer. 

During a recent Fort Raleigh earthworks restoration project, the YCC students recovered numerous artifacts, including pottery shards, musket balls, glassware, and coins. Doug Stover, park historian, estimated the dates of the pottery shards to be pre-European and the coins were dated from 1700 to 1900. 

The YCC group has also completed the installation of campground site markers in all four campgrounds in the National Seashore. Projects to be completed include building and replacing picnic tables and grills in all campgrounds, as needed, and clearing trails and pruning of vegetation in the Frisco Campground. 

 “It is rewarding and fun to have this group of enthusiastic young students assisting 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.”