James will work in the woods this summer! As a resident in our program at J Bar J Boys Ranch, James has come far. Seeing how well he is doing, it may be a surprise to know he initially struggled. When we talked with him recently about his experience in our program, he shared “If you realize that staff is here to help you, and just pay attention to what you need to get done, it all gets much easier.”
He is very excited about his upcoming summer job through Central Oregon Youth Conservation Corps (COYCC), a Heart of Oregon/US Forest Service partnership program! The USFS office is only a mile and a half from the ranch, a commute James will make on a bike which we were happy to be able to provide him. The job natural resources conservation, and he will be doing maintenance and cleaning up debris after fires.
The COYCC program runs for 8 weeks, a time when corpsmembers learn job skills, earn wages, and become the next generation of conservationists through projects that improve public lands and keep local communities safer from wildfire. All of this will help James move toward is bigger goal: a career as a fire fighter!
We are happy for James in his upcoming position, and proud of everything he has accomplished during his time with us!