YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS
CT RC&D's youth empowerment apprenticeships are designed to prepare and empower a new generation of youth leaders to promote innovative conservation practices while addressing social and environmental issues.
CT Navigators
CT Navigators is an internship program that partners college students in business and marketing programs with rural agriculture-based businesses that need assistance improving their online presence.
Learn more and meet our interns here.
The Groundbreakers Soil Internship
In 2020, CT RC&D was awarded a National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils (NARC&DC) Youth Corps Grant.
This initiative is designed to empower a new generation of youth leaders to promote on the ground conservation and to train youth leaders to produce and deliver rich public and online content to address social and environmental issues using working lands as a platform, not only to produce solutions for community development and redevelopment, but also to engage youth in conservation and environmental work to alleviate health disparities, social injustices, and juvenile crime through project based learning and character development.
Our four interns, The Groundbreakers, will gain first-hand experience in the field of soil science and conservation. Through this internship, the students will educate and inspire future generations through insights on new and emerging sustainable practices toward soil health innovation, how soil health impacts agricultural productivity, carbon sequestration, and environmental practice in land use and aquaculture.
Check out the Groundbreakers webpage and read their blog here.
For more information, contact Jillian here.
The Job Jumpstart Program
The Job Jumpstart Program provides paid apprenticeships and internships to foster career development of new graduates from high school and college toward careers in conservation, agriculture, and rural business development. This past year, CT RC&D was fortunate to receive a grant for $400,000 to hire and train two soil technicians and two conservation planners for two years. CT RC&D also funded three college interns who were hired and trained in agriculture business management, environmental resource assessment, and grants management.
CT RC&D is working to expand this program to connect new graduates with careers in agriculture and aqua culture.
The Job Jumpstart Program is funded through a cooperative agreement with NRCS to team new conservation planners with NRCS mentor staff to learn skills and gain experience required to become certified conservation planners or soil engineer technicians