More Puget SoundCorps work crews forming this summer

Puget SoundCorps is helping to clean up the Sound.

We have previously told you about jobs offered by the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) back in August and September of 2011. This year they are again looking for hard workers to help clean up Puget Sound.  Read on to see if one of those jobs is for you.

A little background:  in April 2011, Gov. Gregoire signed a bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Tharinger , which put all WCC activities under the Department of Ecology and created the Puget SoundCorps to clean up the Sound. You can read more about this legislation in Rep. Tharinger’s press release .

This year, the state capital budget included $13 million for WCC’s Puget SoundCorps projects, which will put 20 new crews throughout the Puget Sound region to work starting this summer. They will be cleaning up beaches, installing native plant species in urban areas, reclaiming land previously used for mining operations, restoring in-stream habitat, and controlling noxious weeds.

This is great news for young adults and veterans ages 18 to 25 who have been disproportionately affected by the recession in our state and are willing to work hard. No experience is required. All SoundCorps members receive first aid and career skills training. They also get specialized training to help assess wetlands, use electronic equipment, fight fires and support other types of emergency incidents.

With the new funding, the expansion of Puget SoundCorps projects will increase the WCC roster to 325 members—the largest it has been in almost three decades!

If this is a good fit for you or someone you know, you can learn more about the Puget SoundCorps program and prepare to fill out the online application to become a crew member.  The recruitment opens on July 15, 2012.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.