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THE NEXT GENERATION CONSERVATIONISTS
From building boardwalks to cutting trails, young environmentalists find their potential through the Youth Conservation League
By Abbie Lahmers
On a Thursday summer morning, the Youth Conservation League (YCL) is hard at work constructing Chimney Swift towers for Audubon. At a distance, you can hear multiple voices combined with the clatter of drilling and hammering from inside the barn at Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge in Exeter. Crew members, ranging from high school students to college grads, get to work with instruction from Audubon Director of Avian Research Charles Clarkson, their supervisor for the day.
For the past 10 years, a cohort of six to eight teens and young adults have traveled around the state each summer, working different conservation-oriented jobs four days a week. The YCL is managed by Audubon, but crews also take on jobs from the RI Department of Environmental Management, The Nature Conservancy, the Narrow River Land Trust and other conservation organizations – and unlike many summer internships, they’re compensated for their hard work.
Many students enter the YCL with the question of “What do I want to do with my future?” on top of mind. They may have sights on careers in the environmental field or are finishing up science degrees but seek practical experience outside the classroom. “We try to give them an idea of different career avenues they could pursue,” says Properties Director Laura Carberry, who manages the program. They also meet a range of professionals and gain valuable references that go a long way. Carberry shares that a former crew leader, Ethan Paiva, went on to become a Terra Corp member and then was hired by Audubon for a staff position earlier this year. Another former YCL member now works with bighorn sheep out west. “I love hearing those success stories and knowing that we were a part of that,” says Carberry.
“I think it’s really empowering to build things like the boardwalk at the Emilie Ruecker Wildlife Refuge,” says crew leader Aila Bally. She’s referring to one of the YCL’s biggest projects this summer, of replacing an old boardwalk that was in a state of disrepair and needed to be replaced with a structure that was more climate resilient. The team worked in the blistering heat to complete the project, saving Audubon staff a huge amount of time.
An art major at Colorado College, Bally took time off from her studies to work at a wolf sanctuary in Westcliffe, Colorado. When the Barrington resident was home for the summer and saw a newspaper clipping calling for YCL applicants, it was fate. “At the wolf sanctuary, I got to work with volunteer groups and their leaders, and I thought it would be cool to work on the other side of that,” she explains.
Bally describes the variety of work she and the team accomplished this summer, from putting on waders and picking up litter with the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council in Providence to identifying and removing invasive species at Roger Williams Park. The crew has traveled the state, working for local Land Trusts in Scituate, Richmond, Charlestown, and more.
We’re all feeling climate anxieties, but instead of sitting around and feeling pessimistic, we can do something, even a little bit.
– Aila Bally, YCL North Crew Leader
Bally’s workdays started early in the morning, as she set out in the big Audubon van to pick up crew members, and over time she built up confidence in her leadership skills. “It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s really rewarding. All of us are feeling very strong. We keep joking that we’re going to be really buff by the end of the summer.”
While at Fisherville Brook, Clarkson explained that Chimney Swifts are among Audubon’s list of responsibility birds – species that are still relatively abundant, but whose populations have declined in numbers. Audubon is working to address these declines now. The towers crew members were enlisted to build will not only serve as proactive measures to bolster Chimney Swift numbers by providing nesting sites, but also spread awareness.
The towers have now been erected at Fisherville and Caratunk Wildlife Refuges, and one will be installed this fall at the Wanskuck Community Library in Providence where students will monitor its use. “This is a great tool for advocacy, but also for conservation of the species as a whole,” Clarkson says. “The YCL crew helped with the construction of the first three towers, and now we’ll monitor them and see how things go.”
Over the din of whirring power tools, crew members instruct and encourage each other as they concentrate on pre-drilling a series of holes into the walls of the towers. At one point, a mistake slips into their purview: “We realized we had about an extra half an inch on that side,” says Kaitlyn Williams, a recent environmental conservation biology grad, pointing to the edge of the box, “so we had to undo it and line it up properly.” Along with Ella Stinnette and Anne Marie Nagle – anthropology and forestry majors, respectively – the trio takes turns drilling. When asked if there’s a lot of trial and error involved, they laugh and self-efface: “I would say so, yeah.”
There’s camaraderie and humbleness, even in the face of course-correcting and pulling out screws. Carberry and Clarkson are close by to lend aid, but this far into the program, even when presented with new types of jobs, the crew is adept in taking each challenge in stride and problem solving as a team.
New this year, Audubon added a second YCL crew in order to complete a number of projects with urban partners, and to create opportunities for students to contribute to land stewardship in their own communities of Providence, Pawtucket, Cranston, and Warwick. Mary Ann Cofrin, the generous donor who made it possible, relays that it was an easy decision to fund the new group. “To me, the most important thing we can do for the planet is make sure the next generation is ready to address the issues and understands how crucial this work is.”
An avid nature enthusiast, Cofrin also cites the health benefits and meditative value of spending time outdoors. She feels that everyone should be able to experience nature, whether they live in a city or near a wildlife refuge. “There’s so much variation in nature that I never get bored – it feeds our souls,” she relays.
Of all the tasks completed this summer, a few members share that trail work was a favorite, not just for the satisfaction of cutting and grooming paths crucial to visitors and researchers but also for the experience in nature, similar to what Cofrin describes. “I didn’t realize that if you go out in the woods or in nature every day, you’re bound to see cool stuff,” says Bally. “We’ve seen deer and bird eggs and interesting bugs; the exposure to wildlife has been really rewarding.”
Audubon is grateful for the support of Cofrin and other generous donors that allows us to provide summer employment, staff mentors, and practical experience for students who are considering career paths and getting involved with environmental issues in their own communities. “We’re all feeling climate anxieties,” expresses Bally, “but instead of sitting around and feeling pessimistic, we can do something, even a little bit. I’m really proud of the crew. It brings me hope to see young adults that really care and want to help.”
––––Abbie Lahmers is the managing editor of Hey Rhody Media Co., as well as a freelance fiction editor/proofreader and nature writer who enjoys hiking and camping around New England. She can be reached at amlahmers@gmail.com.––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Meet the Crew: Double Vision in 2024
Members of the Youth Conservation League (YCL) headed to work this summer in wildlife refuges, land trusts, and city parks across Rhode Island. And this year, their impact was doubled. Thanks to generous donors, a second crew was added in 2024 so that the program could have reach in city communities as well as more rural land trust properties.
Crew North and Crew South earned rave reviews for their skills, enthusiasm and hard work. Audubon thanks the members of the 2024 Youth Conservation League for a job well done and is grateful for the generous donors and supporters who make this program possible.
It was clear from the get-go that these five crew members really knew what they were doing. They, along with three Charlestown Land Trust (CLT) board members put in an entire trail in one of our newest properties today.It was clear from the get-go that these five crew members really knew what they were doing. They, along with three Charlestown Land Trust (CLT) board members put in an entire trail in one of our newest properties today.
– Keith KillingbeckFormer Audubon Board MemberCurrent Council of Advisors Member
Founded to Support Community Conservation
When many think of wildlife refuges and native habitats, they imagine peaceful places in rural areas where nature seems to take care of its own. But if you ask a Land Trust, they are likely to share that property stewardship is never as easy as it looks. Even natural spaces in cities which are critical to environmental health require care and attention.
Managing conservation lands, no matter the location, requires resources. As Land Trusts across the state began to face this challenge, the Conservation Stewardship Collaborative (CSC) was founded with a gift from the Sharpe family in 2007. Every year, the CSC has brought together a team from eight of the state’s major environmental groups to select key stewardship initiatives for funding.
In 2010, Audubon proposed the Youth Conservation League (YCL), a summer program for high school and college-age students to work with land trusts on stewardship projects. “The CSC wanted to involve young people,” said CSC founder and Audubon Council of Advisors Member Julie Sharpe. “Could we provide them paid summer jobs at a time when they were considering their careers? We knew the work wouldn’t be easy, but it would offer them hands-on experience and connections in the environmental field.”
Under Audubon’s leadership, the YCL has continued to expand. In 2024, two crews completed stewardship projects in both city and rural areas, with many members working in their own communities. “I was thrilled to see the YCL adding urban projects to their work this year,” Sharpe said. “Today, the focus of conservation is shifting to stormwater management, climate resilience, and protection of working lands. It’s more important than ever to engage people where they live and make our conservation work relevant to their communities.” Audubon couldn’t agree more and thanks the CSC for allowing us to provide valuable environmental experiences for youth and opening doors for more community conversations.
Support the Youth Conservation League!Visit asri.org/donate
