Conservation Corps restores habitats and lives

The Orange County Conservation Corps graduated another class Friday. It was the fifth graduation I’ve attended and, as usual, it brought tears to my eyes. Each graduating corps member delivers a speech at the ceremony. Each worked hard to get to this point in life, and each is individually honored for his or her achievement. It’s amazing how many obstacles these kids overcome to get a high school diploma, something that many of us take for granted.

Vic usually goes with me to graduation, but this time he couldn’t. He was scheduled to take a new batch of docents for the Amigos de Bolsa Chica on a tour of the wetlands. He missed a moving ceremony.

The corps hires youth at risk. The kids tend to be high school dropouts, although some are on probation or parole and are just looking for job references and basic job skills. At the corps, the kids work from 6:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and attend class from 3 to 4. On Friday, they go to school from 8 until 12. The corps has various crews that undertake construction, recycling, landscape maintenance and habitat restoration. They even have a full-time education crew at Shipley Nature Center. Several of last week’s graduates had worked at Shipley at one time or another.

They earn credits toward their diplomas at the John Muir Charter School at the corps. After they graduate, they go to the transition team, which meets after work at the same hours as the high school classes. On this team, they learn how to prepare a resume and conduct themselves on a job interview, as well as other important life skills. Working with their case managers -- each one has a case manager -- they look for work. As soon as they find work, they leave the corps, headed in a far different and more positive direction than before. In their speeches, several graduates thanked the Conservation Corps for giving them a second chance in life.

At the corps, they learn about conservation. They also learn landscaping and restoration skills. Although they may use these skills at other jobs, they are not headed toward careers as gardeners. For example, one young man found high-paying work as an irrigation specialist. The corps hires a few graduates as crew supervisors.

Some graduates go to trade school. Some go to the military. Some go to college. One young man who graduated last week, and who has won every award the corps has to offer, has $60,000 in college scholarships waiting for him.

Of the young men and women who used to work at Shipley, one is now an assistant manager at AutoZone. One operates a forklift. One sells cars. One is working as a campaign aide for a candidate in a state Assembly race. Several are in college. The list goes on, one success story after another.

One young man in this graduating class urged the other Conservation Corps members in the audience to hang in and stay with the program. “The work is hard and the pay sucks,” he said, “but it was worth it to get where I am today.” Several other graduates repeated the encouragement to persevere and get their diplomas.

One young woman’s speech particularly touched me. I got to know her when she was on the Shipley restoration crew. One day, she told me that her birthday the next day -- her 22nd -- was particularly important. I asked her why that one was so special, and she said it would be the first time in 11 years that she would be clean and sober on her birthday. I got her a decorated sheet cake the next day, and we had a surprise party for her at lunch. She nearly cried, and said it was the first time that anyone had given her a birthday party.

In her graduation speech, she said that her parents were into drugs and gangs. She had gotten pregnant at 13, and because she, too, was into drugs and gangs by then, her child was taken from her and put into protective custody. Eventually she ended up in jail. When she got out, she joined the corps. Thanks to the corps’ case managers, school program, food bank and other social support services, she turned her life around and graduated. The corps restores human lives while restoring the environment.

As I made my way from table to table talking with the kids, I discovered that two of the new boys are essentially homeless. They’re moving together into an apartment that the corps found for them. They’ll be setting up a new household, and you can bet that there are no parents or relatives who will be helping them with dishes, towels, sheets, lamps, furniture and other household necessities. I will donate some items from my mom’s estate, but we already gave her furniture to two other corps members who were on their own.

Corps members have worked hard in Huntington Beach, restoring Shipley Nature Center and Bolsa Chica. These kids need every helping hand that they can get, from household furnishings to good jobs. If you’d like to get involved, call the nonprofit corps at (714) 451-1307 and ask Mario Galindo how you can help. These kids are really worth the effort.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.

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