Contact: Pamela McCurdy, 651-757-2559
St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota GreenCorps is now recruiting host sites and members for the upcoming year.
Minnesota GreenCorps is an AmeriCorps program that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) started in 2009. AmeriCorps is a national community service program that helps communities with a wide variety of challenges. In the first two years of the Minnesota GreenCorps program, more than 50 AmeriCorps members were placed in positions with cities, counties, school districts, universities and nonprofit organizations.
Goals of the Minnesota GreenCorps program include reducing solid waste and increasing recycling in communities; reducing greenhouse gases and other air pollutants; reducing stormwater runoff and improving water quality; and training new environmental professionals. Positions for the upcoming year are in the areas of energy conservation, waste prevention, living green and green infrastructure.
In the first year of the program, members successfully increased recycling and reduced waste at participating sites and K-12 schools, benchmarked energy data and implemented energy-saving measures in government-owned buildings, and educated citizens on ways to reduce their impact on the environment. Members also mobilized more than 700 volunteers in community service projects that helped improve or protect the environment.
Minnesota GreenCorps is a unique opportunity for individuals to gain experience in the environmental field, whether they are just out of college or contemplating a career change.
Kathleen McCarthy, a second-year member who is serving as a Living Green Outreach member with Capitol Region Watershed District in St. Paul, said, “Serving in Minnesota GreenCorps has been an extremely rewarding experience that combines community service and member development. I’m gaining critical job skills in a local government setting while empowering community members to take action toward improving Minnesota’s water resources.”
The upcoming year of the program is scheduled to begin this September, with applications for host sites due May 5, and applications for AmeriCorps members due May 26, 2011. For more information on Minnesota GreenCorps, email the MPCA’s Stephanie Souter at stephanie.souter@state.mn.us or visit www.pca.state.mn.us/mngreencorps.
